Of lizards and kings

Now that Christmas is packed up, it’s back to our bondage | Andrée Seu

So the baby is born. Now what?

The problem with baby kings is that they grow up and want to rule. Say what you want about Herod the Great, he was not confused on this point. The man who would be tetrarch at Rome's pleasure saw the handwriting on the wall: If this man is king, then I am not. The town isn't big enough for both of us.

Have you ever asked yourself why the inquiries of the Persian astrologers (whom we fete on Jan. 6) shook up not only Herod but "all Jerusalem with him" (Matthew 2:3)? For that matter, have you ever wondered why it is that when Jesus freed a Gerasene resident from his demons, the story did not end, "then the people all hailed Jesus as their savior and king," but ended thus: "then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region" (Mark 5:17)?