When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
That a star rose to signal the birth of the king of the Jews would not have seemed strange to the people of that time. It was widely accepted that the births and deaths of great people were marked by signs in the heavens.
The Magi use the phrase “king of the Jews.” It is one of Matthew’s hints of the Passion. One can’t help but think of these very words hanging above Christ’s head on the cross.
The Christmas season is not a time of unmixed joy. There is also sadness, pain. It will be lonely for those who have just lost someone they loved. For some others, it is always lonely. This season sends us deep within our soul – a mixture of happy and sad thoughts, thanksgiving for what we have, sometimes musing of what might have been.
Don’t resist the mixture. It’s already there in the feast itself. We’re celebrating the birth of the one who suffered, died, and rose from the dead to open the door of life for us. We/re celebrating the birth of the one who came to reach out to those who need him. That's what he came to do.
And that’s what he still does.
