Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, also known as the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem or the Martyrs of Bethlehem, in which the innocent children of Bethlehem were massacred by the forces of King Herod the Great, the then ruler over the land, in his futile pursuit and effort to destroy the fledgling Messiah, prophesied to be born in the city of David, Bethlehem of Judea. This day we recall this moment of great infamy and evil which mankind had committed in the pursuit of worldly glory and power, and we are all reminded that we have to be careful lest we are tempted and swayed by the many worldly temptations and coercions all around us which may lead us to our downfall and destruction through sin.

Back then, as we listened through the Gospel passage, King Herod who got to know about the coming of the Messiah through the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men who came to visit and pay homage to Him, saw this Messiah as a great threat to his rule as king, and hence he likely wanted to remove this threat as immediately and quickly as possible, firstly by pretending to want to pay homage to this new King also, and when the Three Magi, warned by the Angel of God of Herod’s true intentions, did not return back to him, hence, in his desperation, he committed a truly great sin in murdering the young and innocent children, which were without blame, and were caught in the events that unfolded then. They were killed amidst Herod’s futile effort to secure his reign and power.

Perhaps we can better understand the context as we learn more about the history of that time, and how Herod the Great himself came to power. Herod was a usurper and not a rightful king of Israel, as he actually took power by deceit and plots, and through collusion and cooperation with the Romans, who sought to secure their rule in the region. Prior to Herod’s accession to power, the land of the Israelites were ruled by the Hasmoneans, the descendants of the Maccabean rebels who led the descendants of the Israelites in a rebellion against the former rulers of the land, the Greek Seleucid Kings and gained independence for them. The Hasmonean Kingdom lasted for about a century since then before internal discord eventually led to its downfall, and Herod was the son of Antipater the Idumaean, a foreigner hailing from the lands adjacent to Judea, whom the Romans found favour in.

Thus, it was how Herod eventually rose to power, through his connections and plots, and the Romans eventually entrusted Judea, Galilee, Samaria and other surrounding regions to Herod the Great, who became sort of a client king for the Romans, a tactic that was often employed by the Romans back then to help them secure the lands that they had just conquered or extended their dominion towards. However, from this point of view, Herod was indeed a usurper, and hence, the people of God did not truly accept him as king and ruler over them. That was why Herod was known especially for his many efforts and megalomaniac ambitions, with many grand projects designed to shore up his rule and legitimacy among the people.

Given this context, it was likely therefore that Herod was desperate in holding onto power after a whole lifetime of trying to expand his rule and power, dominion and glory, and he did not wish to let all of these escape him or his family. This was why, we are taught and shown here a lesson of why we should not allow worldly temptations to bring us to ruin because of their strong allure and hold on us, the desires and ambitions of the world, which then led to Herod committing such a grievous and terrible crime in the futile efforts to secure his rule, which in the context of history eventually faltered and failed not long after that moment of massacre. Herod’s kingdom did not long last his immediate descendants, and eventually met its end and downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, something that may often make us wonder regarding this event of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem is that, if God is so good and loving, why is it that He allowed such a terrible atrocity to take place? That is precisely because while God despises sin and evil, at the same time He also gave us the freedom to choose our course in life, the free will that He has given each and every one of us. We have been given the capacity to discern our course of action in life, the wisdom and the ability to choose our path in life because God did not want to take that gift of free will from us. Hence, it is our free will to choose to do what is good or what is evil and wicked in the sight of God, and for Herod, he chose to abuse that free will, doing what was wicked for his own selfish desires. That is also how suffering came to be in our world today, when mankind abuse their free will and encroach on others’ rights.

The same therefore can be said to what is now happening in our world today. As we all well know, that war is still currently raging on in the Holy Land, with people suffering and dying daily in this recent conflict, borne out of human greed, ego, pride and desire, the desire to retain power and for more worldly influence and glory, which is honestly not that different from what had happened two millennia ago at Bethlehem. This is why we should learn from the lessons of the past, and not allow ourselves to be misled yet again by our human greed and desires, all the things which had caused the downfall of so many throughout time. This Christmas, many of our brethren in the Holy Land are unable to celebrate the way that many of us have done and are doing, and they are under constant threat and hardships.

Let us all therefore do our part to help them and to also strive for peace, that we should utterly and completely reject violence and all the wicked ways of the world so that we do not end up causing all these hardships and sufferings to others. Let us also in our lives be ever mindful of our actions in life, so that in our exercise of our freedom to choose our actions we do not cause inconvenience and difficulties for the people around us. Let the Lord our God, Whose birth we commemorate and celebrate this season be the centre and focus of our lives, and not our selfish desires and greed. May the Lord continue to guide us all that we may live our lives worthily as Christians as always. Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, Holy Martyrs, pray for us, especially for those now suffering in the Holy Land! Amen.