Dear Friends in Christ our King,
Have you ever missed an important appointment? There is a particular pain in realizing that an opportunity has passed and that someone has been disappointed.
That feeling helps us understand what happened when the Magi arrived in Jerusalem asking, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” Herod was troubled, and Scripture tells us that all Jerusalem was troubled with him. Herod’s fear is easy to understand, but the unease of Jerusalem reveals something deeper: they realized they had missed the decisive appointment. After centuries of waiting for the Messiah, foreigners arrived to announce that He had already been born, and Jerusalem had not noticed.
This negligence, especially on the part of the chief priests and scribes, is a warning for us. Like them, we are richly blessed: we have the Scriptures, the sacraments, and the abiding presence of Christ in His Church. Our Lord has established clear appointments with us. He is at Holy Mass, in Confession, in prayer, and above all through life in the state of grace, where He dwells within us.
Yet, familiarity can breed complacency. When the promises of God become routine, we grow distracted and risk missing His presence, just as Israel’s leaders did. Their complacency came from comfort. They had made peace with the world and secured their place within it. This too is a warning for us. History shows again and again that faith weakens when it becomes too comfortable.