Today’s Gospel is the story of the three “Magi” or three “kings.” Matthew is using a “narrative” form of writing to introduce major themes of his Gospel. The visit of the Maji introduces us to the conflict between good and evil, a conflict which will lead to the life of Jesus not ending well. We meet a villain, King Herod. We see how he co-opted the Jewish religious leaders, the chief priests and scribes, to discover where this new “king of the Jews,” whom the Magi had come to find, had been born. Years later, that same collaboration between religious leaders of the Jews and the Roman governor Pilate will lead to Jesus’ crucifixion. Yet Matthew is also teaching through this story that God (who is good) cannot be overcome by evil. The Magi recognize the evil in Herod, and instead of reporting back to him after they find the child, they “departed for their country by another way.” And Joseph, as we heard last week, protects his family by taking them to live in Egypt until Herod dies. Both the Magi and Joseph were warned of danger to the child by a dream, one way Hebrew Scripture uses to indicate a direct message from God. Recognizing evil is a talent we Christians must have in our holiness journey. It is easy to make excuses for people, institutions and ourselves for bad behavior. Recognizing evil is the first part of discerning what to do about it. How am I dealing with the evil I see in the world around me? Do I excuse it because there are also some good things about it? Do I see myself as unable to do anything about it? It would be nice if we could just bask in the loveliness of the Christmas story. But Matthew’s account about the Maji is showing us a child who will eventually face evil and put his life on the line.
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
The post January 4, Epiphany of the Lord, Good vs Evil: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.