Homily
for December 28, 2017.
“Then
Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious
rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem.” Matthew 2:16.
Somehow, our readings for the last two days took us away from the whole
Christmas scenario far away to the stoning of Stephen and the resurrection
scene but today’s readings suddenly bring us back again to the baby Jesus. But
then, coming back is not so funny in that we are reminded today of much pain,
tears and sorrow that followed the whole birth narrative of Jesus.
The story of the Holy Innocents not only tells us much about human
nature, it also shows us that nothing happens in this life without a reason.
There is a Herod that lives in every human being; it is called “ego”, it
wants to reign, to dominate, to be worshipped by all means by others, it does
not believe there can or should be room for anyone else to shine, it does not
accept second fiddle. The dark side about the ego is that it is always under
threat and it is ever ready kill if that would help reinforce its false
self-esteem.
Herod only heard that the new born baby is a king but he failed to
realize that this king was not an earthly king. How often have I felt so
threatened by the success of others that I have directly and indirectly sought
to pull them down? How often have I sought for security in the passing things
of this world? Herod felt killing those children would secure his kingdom but the
question is: “Did his kingdom last forever?”
I must come to terms with the fact that the Herod in me must be tamed. I
must remind myself each day that naked I came to this world and naked I shall
return; that everything I consider mine today were given to me and none of them
really belongs to me. This life is not a competition. We all have our own race
to run! And trust me, nothing is worth the head of a fellow human being.
The second lesson we learn today is that bad things happen for a reason.
Imagine yourself holding and playing with your child who is just a year and
half. He or she is now learning how to crawl and talk and at times the child
smiles to you. You feel so happy just being with this precious little child of
yours. Then one day, soldiers just emerge out of the blues, they take you child
and yank its head of in your presence.
Unthinkable. But that is exactly what our Gospel passage today relates. Put
yourself in the shoes of the mothers of these children, imagine the pain you
must have felt and even the anger you may have had towards God for not
preventing this horrible thing from happening. Mind you, none of these mothers
and fathers knew about the birth of Jesus Christ at that time, none of them had
the privilege of seeing the big picture as we now see today; none of them knew
there was a reason for the death of their precious little kids.
The way and manner in which the
Holy Innocents died teaches us that no matter how bad things may be, no matter
our circumstances in life, it is for a reason. At times, in the midst of my
pain, I find myself acting as if I am wiser than God, I find myself asking God
questions and telling him what ought to have happened and what shouldn’t have
happened.
However, no matter how I try, the fact remains that I don’t know better
than God, I cannot give him advice, I cannot be wiser than my creator. And so,
no matter the amount of pain I face, I must constantly tell myself that God is
still on the throne; that God still cares about me, that God never sleeps and that
everything God permits to happen is ultimately for my good.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace of humility and power to see beyond my
circumstances in life. Amen.
Merry
Christmas. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless
you. (Feast of the Holy Innocents. Bible Study: 1st John 1:5-2:2 and
Matthew 2:13-18).
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