Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?

Sages from the East followed a star that brought them to the Land of Israel. They have no Sacred Scriptures because they are from the nations of the world. They read “the Book of Nature” and as sages they understand that: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). When they come to the Land of Israel, they go to the king and they ask a very provocative question. They ask the king himself : “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). With their question, they remind Herod the King that his kingdom and all kingdoms, authorities and powers in the world are nothing alongside the Kingdom of God. This was the reality proclaimed by the people of Israel on coming out of Egypt: “The Lord will reign for ever and ever” (Exodus 15:18). The life of the people of Israel radiate this when the people lives according to the Torah of God.

In the Torah, there are laws about a human king. God already knows that the people of Israel will demand a human king in order to be like all the nations of the world. However, in giving laws for a king, God defines the task of the king in Israel which distinguishes him from all the kings of the nations. The king in Israel will be the paragon of a life lived according to the Torah. “When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the levitical priests. It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes, neither exalting himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that he and his descendants may reign long over his kingdom in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). The sages come from the East, looking for the king of the Jews who will fulfill the laws of the king. Jesus will proclaim that he has come to fulfill this word of God: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Herod is a king like all the other kings of this world. He acts according to his own will and not according to the will of God. Like Pharaoh in Egypt and most of the kings of the people before him, he enslaves the people. The God of Israel warned his people through Samuel the prophet that a human king would indeed enslave them: “You shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day” (1 Samuel 8:17-18). We celebrate on this feast the birth of Jesus, Son of David, the true king. May God give us the grace to choose him, live in his kingdom and follow him.