Advent in Your Everyday: Day #12

Today's Photo: "Tiny"

"When King Herod heard this he was distrubed, and all Jerusalem with him...Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared."
- Matthew 2:3 & 7

In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear about some Magi/Wise Men who come to Jerusalem and really want to see this amazing new baby they had heard about. What a lovely idea, right? Well, not so lovely from King Herod's perspective. He is infuriated and highly disturbed by this idea of a new, infant "king of the Jews" (this is how the Magi refer to the baby).

King Herod has some MAJOR power issues. He tries to trick the Magi into tracking the baby down and then immediately reporting back to him so that he can kill the baby. Super Powerful King Herod (basically the King Koopa of his day) feels threatened by a tiny baby he has never seen.

Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if King Herod had taken a different approach. What if he would've been like, "Aww. How delightful! Let me come, too. I'd love to meet this little Savior of all Creation"? Or what if he'd said, "This is awesome! I have so much work to do as King, I could really use some help. Maybe this little baby will grow up and help me lead the people"? I know, I know - it didn't work out that way.

Most of us have never felt threatened by little babies. But, there are "power" related issues around us all the time. Whether it's in our family relationships, or at work, or in congregations, or with friends - there usually seem to be people who desperately want all the power and attention. We've all known mini-King Herods. In fact, we all have a little bit of that desire to be #1.

We're approaching the mid-point of this Advent season. This is a good time to remember that we don't have to compete with anyone or anything for power or wealth or attention. We can take the route that King Herod chose not to take; we can support the real King instead of fighting against Him. We can be on Jesus' team. We can work together to catch glimpses of the kingdom of God right here, right now.