Magi came asking, “Where is the child
who has been born king of the Jews?
For we observed his star at its rising,
and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened,
and all Jerusalem with him.
—Matthew 2.2
Herod worries for his crown,
and his minions for their supremacy,
for the way it was once
in the thoughts of their hearts.
A crowd storms the capitol.
The army is sent to Bethlehem.
And at home, in the palace of my ego
my own Herod quakes.
The Sovereign of Love
and the Empire of fear
have both revealed themselves.
Who will I serve?
Will I cede power
to the Sovereign of Love?
Stand with the power of grace alone,
the courage of self-giving?
Or try to take the country back
for myself and my kind?
Lead me, star of gentleness,
home by another road.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net