FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
First Reading - 1 John 1:5-2:3
Gospel - Matthew 2:13-18
The gospel presents an account of the martyrdom of children at Bethlehem on account of Christ. The evangelist Matthew was a Christian of Jewish stock, and it was especially important to him to see Jesus as being the fulfilment of the tradition of Israel. So he saw Jesus not only as the Messiah but also as the second Moses, the founder of a new People of God and the giver of a new Law (the Sermon on the Mount). This is also represented in the childhood of Jesus for which he carefully draws parallelism with the childhood of Moses.
When each was born, the king (Pharaoh or Herod) was afraid of a rival and determined to eliminate the child, consulting his wise men about his location. A number of Jewish babies were killed. Both Jesus and Moses (as a young man) had to go into exile to escape death. Both were eventually informed by an angel that it was safe to return, ‘for those who sought to kill you/the child are dead’ (Exodus 4.19 or Matthew 2.20).
We have no check on the historical details as far as Jesus is concerned, but it would well accord with King Herod’s character and behaviour, as told by the Jewish historian, Josephus. He executed several members of his immediate family on suspicion that they were trying to supplant him. In later life he became even more extreme. When he was dying at Jericho he ordered all the chief men of the kingdom to be gathered into the theatre at Jericho, and gave orders that they should be slaughtered when he died. That would make sure that there was sorrow and mourning in the land! In the little town of Bethlehem there would not have been at any one time many male babies under the age of two, certainly not enough to daunt the pitiless Herod. The Church has honoured these involuntary silent witnesses to the young Jesus, putting their feast so close to the day of his birth that it stressed how narrow was the escape.
The first reading underlines the importance of the blood of Christ, whereby he has reconciled the humility with God. It's through this sacrifice of Christ we have become the children of light. The light which not only dispels darkness from our lives but also from the world.
My dear friends, Christ is the light that dispels the darkness of sin and shame. However, the invitation is given to remain in the light of Christ by being witnesses of Christ before people. The blood of the innocent children stands as witness before all, for they died for the sake of Christ. We can prove ourselves to be the witnesses of light or the children of light if we overcome the darkness of sin from our lives. There are gray areas or areas that are prone to darkness that must be sorted out, so that darkness may not overcome us stealthily.
May God help us to overcome the power of darkness and remain as the true children of light.
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