Believe it or not, when I hear the story of Magi in the
Gospel of Matthew, I feel closely connected too not the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary or
Joseph), not with the Magi, but with King Herod.
Why King Herod? Well when King
Herod is asked the question “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?” He was
deeply troubled! Why? Because he was supposedly King of the Jews!
Why am I like King Herod?
Well I too want to be the King/Ruler of my life! Already in my short priesthood, I can point
to plenty of times when I didn’t want to surrender my own desires to the King
of Kings! And yet, the Lord constantly
calls us to not be like King Herod, but to be like the three magi, also known
as three kings or three wise men. It is
in that story that the Magi were willing to follow the Lord wherever He called
them. They also brought gifts to the
Lord of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each gift revealed something about the
newborn! The gold represented Christ’s kingship. The frankincense, which was used in worship,
represented Christ’s divinity. While the
myrrh, which was used as a burial perfume, represented Christ’s frail
humanity.
Each of these gifts that Christ received from the Magi was
given back to His Father in heaven and to you and me. And just as Jesus, the King of Kings, gave
everything back, He likewise is asking us to give back everything we have
received from the Lord. So, as we begin this new year it would be great for us to turn away from our desire to be
the ruler of our lives, surrender to the true King of Kings, and bring our own
gifts of gold (talents), frankincense (prayers), and myrrh (sacrifices)!
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