Fr. Jarek Kurek: There you go — we’ve been celebrating another Christmas, a truly beautiful time for any family.
And yet today, the loveliness of this season seems to have been disturbed. What we see instead is the Holy Family — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — fleeing in fear.
Who caused this havoc? Herod. Herod, having heard of the rise of a new king, perhaps one mightier than himself, felt threatened. He might have thought, “I am the star of the show; I cannot let anyone else shine.” Cruel as it was, he chose to annihilate the potential danger.
Jealousy — that was Herod’s feeling, a trait that has marked the human condition since the beginning of the world.
And yet, from the very beginning, weren’t we meant, as humans and as families, to be united in love — as we see in the story of Adam and Eve?
But the Enemy came lurking — the Devil, diabolos, the one who divides.
Why did he disturb the harmony of human existence? Because he was jealous. In fact, he was the prototype of Herod: he too felt threatened and refused to let anyone hold a higher place than himself.
Cain was jealous and became a murderer of his brother Abel. The brothers of Joseph shared that same jealousy. And many others have followed that path.
But we hardly need those biblical examples. Just look at the news — from Ukraine, the Middle East, or Africa. Killing each other has become our daily bread, something once thought unthinkable after the tragedy of World War II.
Yet murder can take subtler forms. It can be found in our words — for words can wound, sometimes lethally. It can appear in our gaze — don’t we say someone gave a “murderous look”?
What does that say about us? Doesn’t it reveal our unhappiness, our bitterness, perhaps even hatred? And yet the worst of all these feelings is Herod’s feeling — jealousy. Because jealousy, believe it or not, leads directly to murder, though it may not always take a physical form.
Today, this Christmas, we have a great chance to reverse the cycle. It is a marvellous opportunity to turn our hard feelings into compassion and love — to be reborn after the model of Jesus and his family. Does that idea attract me?
But this renewal requires real effort. I must look within, examine my heart, and confess before the inner tribunal of my conscience any trace of jealousy — whether in my family or in my community.
Anyone courageous enough to begin this spiritual renewal will soon rediscover our true human and Christian destiny.
And what is that? As human beings, we are meant to be a bond that unites all creation; as Christians, we are called to be witnesses to the bond of love.
There is no doubt that a destructive, divisive spiritual force is at work in the world. But we Christians, empowered by God’s love, have the mission of binding and unifying — wherever and whenever we can.