Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” (Matthew 2:7-8)
Herod is no stranger to secret intrigues.
Nor is he a stranger to hypocrisy. Under the pretense of wanting to pay homage to the newborn king, he asks the magi to deliver the information he needs to kill the child.
“Hypocrisy” comes from a Greek word associated with acting on stage. It literally means an “actor’s mask”.
More than any other Gospel writer, Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ condemnation of hypocrisy – the word appears 12 times in his Gospel.
None of us really wants to be a hypocrite. We would cringe if anyone even called us one. Trouble is, we sometimes feel a touch of it in us. No one knows us as we know ourselves, and we know when we’ve faked it a bit.
There’s a place for diplomacy – using tact and timing, while still being faithful to the truth.
But hypocrisy is pretending something that’s not true. Peter tried that in the courtyard and got into an awful mess.
During Advent we open ourselves fully to Jesus and we talk straight to him. The truth, No mask. He can handle it.
