Greed for Power

Homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany

The Wise Men, or “Magi,” cross into one more kingdom in their long journey. Courteously they visit the monarch of that kingdom, not knowing he was the infamous Herod. I suppose every amenity took place: formal welcome, diplomatic over-do, huge meals, fine drinks. Such excesses must take place, even in a commonplace kingdom. Finally, when the moment arrives, our Magi pose the question that is so much on their minds. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have read the signs and know of his birth.” They trust Herod for the truth, since, obviously, this infant will be the next in line, replacing Herod.

What seems like a sincere question strikes terror into the Herodian heart. So he maintains his diplomatic balance, temporizing with a promise to find the answer, and skillfully ends the meeting for that night. But, within him are the words, Newborn King? No, no, no! I AM THE KING! My lineage is the answer to this menacing child. Herod’s insides shout for him to do something!

He goes to the chief priests and scribes. He charms them with a seemingly idle interest, an “honest” question. Do you experts, busy studying day and night, do you know anything about the predicted Messiah figure we used to hope for? If he were to be born today, I wonder, where might that be? “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they respond, “where the great King David was born.” These experts know the scriptures well, as Herod does not. The Messiah will be David’s successor, shepherd of the people Israel, fulfillment of everything the Jewish people have awaited for centuries. The Herodian head swirls.

At last he forms a plan to kill this pretender to his throne. Herod will identify the town to these Magi and they will search out and find the baby for him! He makes his way across the halls and utters the words: “Bethlehem is the place! The child is in Bethlehem! All you have to do is find him. Oh, and of course, let me know where he is. Why? So that I too may do him homage.” Death is the homage Herod has in mind. His lust for power will banish the command of love, in order for him to stay in control. He is most willing to compete directly even with God and with Christ. He is accepting in advance the same deal Satan will offer to Jesus in the desert thirty years later. “You can control the whole world, if you will only fall down and worship me. Help me defeat God.”

The funny thing is that, for Jesus, “power” is not at all the same thing Herod and Satan are grabbing for. They want to become bigger and bigger, to out-stretch infinity. But his goal is to become less and less, to become transparent, just as love is. Heavy selfish greed cannot demolish this heavenly plan, but it surely can seem to. To Herod it certainly seems to. The child’s weakness demonstrates what God has in mind as an answer to evil: tender, unfearing openness to love. In our sinfulness, we scoff at such a plan. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus will never win out. Evil will triumph in the end. The cross will do what Herod could not, but that Satan could.

Of course, the Magi do not cooperate with Herod. He reacts furiously and decides to use his power to kill the infant who threatens his kingdom by slaughtering all baby boys under the age of two. However, an angel warns Joseph who escapes with his family to Egypt. Herod’s fury and his evil plan do not triumph this time, nor will it triumph on Mount Calvary. Love will triumph. Jesus puts an end to the triumph of selfish greed through his weakness. God’s power, as St. Paul will write in his letter to the Romans, is the folly of the cross. The shadow of the cross casts itself even in the joyous event of which the angels sing and of which we sing. In the beloved Christmas Carol, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” Felix Mendelssohn wrote, Jesus “was born that man no more may die!” God will triumph. This the essential message of this Sunday on which we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus to Gentiles whom the Magi represent.