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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Fr Dermot Preston, part of the Jesuit Mission to St Dominic's Roman Catholic Church, Newcastle

Good morning.

Queen Cleopatra once tried to seduce King Herod. That might sound like a scene from ‘Carry on Cleo’, but it actually happened.

She was in her late 20’s and he was younger and penniless and on the run through Egypt, escaping Parthian forces which had invaded Judaea. Herod knew that Cleopatra had bewitched his friend, Marc Antony, and wanted nothing to do with her schemes. Instead he blagged his way onto a ship to Rome and within a week, his fortunes reversed, he was on his way back to Palestine with an army and the blessing of the Romans.

The problem with Herod and the Christmas story is that people regard him as something of a Pantomime villain. Few know Herod’s back story – how he was brave, generous and resourceful rightly earning the nickname, ‘Herod the Great’.

The Herod we meet in the Christmas story is the later Herod, when ruthlessness and cruelty had come to the fore. The later Herod lived in FEAR and his decisions were dominated not by his hopes, but by worries and anxieties He saw intrigue in everything, slaughtering family and friends at whim and his people trembled. In the gospel of Matthew we hear that the threat he perceives from the birth of Jesus leads to his order to slaughter all the boys in Bethlehem under 2 years of age.

The Letter of John tells us that ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear’.

Lord, we thank you that you offer a way of life not governed by fear, and we know that you encounter us in the places, situations, and relationships that threaten peace. I pray that my decisions today might not be driven by my fears.

Amen

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