Epiphany of the Lord - Fr. Leo

The infant Jesus and King Herod are the focus of today’s gospel.  In Christ, we have God made vulnerable to humanity, and in Herod, the expression of what is worst in human nature.  On one hand, we have Christ who died for others vs., Herod who lives for himself. All part of the age old drama of good versus evil.

What is striking about today’s gospel, is its timelessness.  On the world stage today, we have countless cases of the vulnerable becoming the victim of the egoist.  One of the most disturbing is Putin, a modern day Herod, who will sacrifice the innocent for his need for power.  In Palestine innocent people are being killed in a warbetween Muslim terrorist and Jewish nationalist.  Israeli fails to acknowledge that Palestinians are not Hamas or Houthis.  So here as well, Netanyahu plays the strong man who can not spare the innocent.  

The list goes on.  What are we to do?  Each of us can help by making loving service to others more prominent in our lives.  We have just had a wonderful season with family, our greatest treasure.  However, we need to remember we are also part of a larger family that needs our care.  So our prayer, and the little things each of us can do in a day, even the smallest things, will add up and make a big difference.  

Maybe we can make a New Year’s resolution to make an effort to do some small thing for a stranger as often as we can.  This will be our way of burying the Herod in us, and of embracing the infant Christ in our minds, hearts, and souls!