The wise men come from the east and seek the Jewish king, although there had been many Jewish kings before whom they did not seek. (…)
They ask about the Jewish king,
Herod inquires about Christ,
an adult man about a small child,
someone famous about an unknown person,
the exalted about the humble,
the eloquent about the mute,
the rich about the needy,
the strong about the weak,
and yet they ask someone contemptible
about the one to whom they should bow,
about the one who truly bore no royal splendor,
but whose true majesty was worthy of respect.
(St. Augustine, Homily 373)
