The motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, told a story of a successful business man named Mr. B. who ended up being late to work one day because of traffic. In the process he misses an important phone call. Irritated by the morning traffic, Mr. B. calls one of his managers into his office and yells at him about some missing reports he needed, "YESTERDAY!" The manager leaves the office noticeably upset. He stomps right past his secretary and closes the door. She rings into his office and tells him she has an urgent message. He snarls at her, "My door was closed! Can't you see I'm busy? Leave me alone." The secretary doesn't know what hit her. Now she is upset and spends the rest of the day stewing about it wondering what she did that was so wrong.

When the secretary gets home, she is still upset. She passes her sixteen-year old son's bedroom. It is a teenage mess. The woman hunts the boy down, only to find him planted in front of the television playing a video game. She shouts, "I've told you 1000 times, to clean your room. You are grounded from electronics until your room is spotless." The dejected teenager storms upstairs and heads to his bedroom. "Fluffy," the family pet, crosses his path. Without warning the teenager swings his foot and gives the cat a swift kick across the room. Fur flies as the cat escapes under a table wondering what it did that was so wrong. Fears, anxiety, and doubt thrust upon the innocent. Life teaches us that expecting "bad" will generally produce our expectations, although entering the day with high hopes will likely generate a positive day.

Saint Matthew tells us of the days when King Herod had heard of the news of Jesus' birth. Word had traveled quickly from the local shepherds that the Messiah King had been born for Israel. This news "greatly troubled" Herod. Herod was not in the line of historical Jewish kings, but was made king of Judea by the Roman senate. Although Herod and his family converted to Judaism, he was not held in favor by the Hebrews, and was always viewed as a puppet of Rome. Herod spent most of his rule building great edifices to himself and brutalizing the people, therefore the birth of a true king of the Jews would be news, which would further incite the people against his rule.

When the Magi show up, joyful over news of this same birth, Herod sought to use them as a tool to find Jesus, then destroy him before he could ruin Herod's reign. Herod had learned from the priests that the Messiah King would be born in Bethlehem, so he directed the Magi, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." A dream directed the Eastern wise men to return home by a different route. Yet Herod, in his desire to find the Christ child, wanted his fear, his anxiety, his anger to fall on someone. Therefore, the puppet king ordered all male children, two years and under in Bethlehem and surrounding villages, to be killed.

Saint Matthew also tells us that Jeremiah foretold of the wailing which followed from those "wondering what it did that was so wrong." We like the parents of the "Holy Innocent" believe at times that G_d has forgotten us or in dark times, perhaps is punishing us. We often fail to believe that Jesus came seeking only good for us. Fear, envy, and other negative emotional reactions move people in their approaches to situations. Unlike Herod, we must face our uncertainty with the heart of the Magi, ready to find G_d's presence in our situations, hopeful that envy, fear, and doubt will melt away to be replaced with joy. We must not react negatively like Ziglar's Mr. B, and then expect a chain of positive responses. Prayer should always precede our actions and reactions. Pause and ask G_d's Holy Spirit for a more trusting attitude for all persons and all situations, and especially those which cause us envy, fear, or doubt. Then we may joyfully anticipate the Peace of G_d.

Pax,

jbt

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