They Followed a Star

“…and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:2 In today’s reflection, I want to compare a tale of five kings, which reveals two different versions of success. The first king from the Roman Empire is well-known in history: Herod, King of the Jews. However, he is not actually Jewish. Although he marries a Jewish Maccabean princess, his insecurity leads him to murder her along with many other relatives. He is known for being a great builder, most notably for the temple and the Herodian he constructed near Bethlehem. Here are kings number two, three, and four, whom we refer to as the Magi. We often think of the Magi as three kings because they brought three gifts. However, they were part of a larger group. The term “Magi”