_(Homily
for 28th December 2019. Read 1st John 1:5-2:2, Psalm 124
and Matthew 2:13-18)_
_“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).*_
Today we remember the Holy Innocents; the children who were slaughtered
by Herod in an attempt to kill the baby, Jesus. When the wise men were being
led by the star to the newly born king, they mistakenly went to the Palace
assuming kings are only born in palaces. That was how Herod got to know about
Jesus. He couldn’t stomach the existence of another king alive when he was still
king.
Herod instructed the wise men to find out about the child and return
news to him so that he too could go and do the child homage. This was a trick.
He wanted by all means to eliminate the child. As God would have it, Herod
realized that his trick failed when after two whole years the wise men never
returned. In a rage, Herod gave a command for the killing of all the male
children two years old and younger. Herod did this as an act of war; an attempt
to protect his kingship. What Herod never realized was that Jesus was not an
earthly king interested in worldly power.
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 even to the
detriment of others. The Herod in you wants to hold on to power not minding how
many lives would be lost. The Herod in you is ready to eliminate, to kill and
destroy others so long as it makes advances your self-interest. The Herod in
you, for instance, supports abortion and is ready to kill others just to avoid
the shame of the public. The Herod in you does not care about others.
How often have I felt so threatened by the success of others to the
extent of doing all in my power to pull them down, get them out of the way or
outrightly eliminate them? What actions do I take to remain in power? If we
were to be very sincere with ourselves, we are guilty of even worse crimes than
Herod himself on a daily basis. As our first reading asserts, if we claim we
have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves but if we confess our sins, God is
faithful and just and will forgive our sins.
Repent. Let others shine. What belongs to you can never pass you by.
Pulling others down, defaming people’s character or blackmailing just to look
good will not get you far. In the end, no matter how hard you try, you can
never stop anyone from achieving their God-given potentials just as Herod could
not stop Jesus.
The death of the Holy innocents casts a dark shadow on our Christmas
celebration. It gives us a glimpse of the darkness that so filled the earth
before Christ’s birth brought light to the world. It also gives us a glimpse of
what life on earth would have been if Jesus had not brought salvation. If Jesus
wasn’t born, I guess none of us would have been alive today.
As to why God allowed these children to die instead of giving Herod a
knock, we do not know, we cannot question God’s ways. All we know is that we
serve a God who will always protect us by warning us ahead of danger just as He
did by sending an Angel to warn Joseph.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, free me from the spirit of Herod. Amen.
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, Psalm 124 and Matthew 2:13-18).
No comments:
Post a Comment