THE DAYS OF HEROD
I cannot help but wonder, as I hear myself reading this Gospel once again, if we are – right now – living in Herod’s time?
I ask because for all of the attention we place on the three kings, and on Mary and Joseph and the Child Jesus; I find it impossible to ignore how much I keep recognizing signs of Herod’s personality and activities in the headlines of today.
Because as much as today’s Gospel is about the three kings and the gifts they brought, it is also about Herod and the trouble the news of this newborn child caused him, as we are told, all of Jerusalem. For this reason, Herod asked the Kings to report back to him where they found the child – we can only assume to kill him, since that is what he did to all the other boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity.
Perhaps you have never stopped to think about why Herod was so disturbed by the news of this child’s birth, so I think it is helpful to understand the context of the day, and who Herod was, if we are to understand the significance of our feast for us today.