3rd Day Christmas novena "Look for your star"

 HERODES

The truth is that the story of those Magi caught me totally off guard... A king? In my territory? Is someone trying to dethrone me? I was meticulous, I informed myself about every detail and well, I became a great connoisseur of history, of the readings, I went to the prophecies, I scrutinised what the Magi told me, I even pretended to be a follower of the future Messiah...

The things they said were beautiful, sometimes I even doubted if all that wasn't true, a very beautiful story... But in the end, like all stories, something idyllic, disturbing and even dangerous. Imagine what they would have said from Rome, if they found out what I had allowed, if they found out that I was an accomplice, if they found out that I knew and had knowledge of that extra-ordinary event.

It would have been a massacre for all my people and of course for me. You can call me selfish and think that I am the bad guy... but what about you? What do you do with that beautiful message that you come across? What sacrifices do others have to make in order to lead the lifestyle you have? At least I am aware of what I did and why.

Perhaps you are not even aware of your complicity in inequality, in the deaths of your fellow human beings and their sacrifices. You may believe that you can do nothing in the world order... but it is an excuse as I used a thousand and one to justify it. I am Herod, the evil one, the murderer of children, the one who sacrificed a whole generation for the greater good... but who are you?

What sacrifices are you ready to do for others good?