Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 122 : 1-2a, 2bcd
To You, I lift up my eyes; to You, Whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master.
As the eyes of maids look to the hand of their mistress, so our eyes look to YHVH our God, till He shows us His mercy.
Liturgical Colour : Red
2 Timothy 1 : 1-3, 6-12
From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of His promise of eternal life, in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus Our Lord.
I give thanks to God, Whom I serve with a clear conscience, the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame, the gift of God you received, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment.
Do not be ashamed of testifying to Our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel, with the strength of God. He saved us and called us – a calling which proceeds from His holiness. This did not depend on our merits, but on His generosity and His own initiative.
This calling, given to us from all time, in Christ Jesus has just been manifested with the glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light, in His Gospel. Of this message, I was made herald, Apostle and teacher.
For its sake, I now suffer this trial, but I am not ashamed, for I know in Whom I have believed, and I am convinced, that He is capable of taking care of all I have entrusted to Him, until that day.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the innocent martyrs of the time of the Lord’s coming into the world, those children below the age of two years old in the town of Bethlehem, the place where the Lord was born over two millennia ago according to the prophets. Those children were killed by the order of the king of Judea and Galilee then, king Herod the Great.
King Herod heard of the star that appeared over the town of Bethlehem from the three Magi who was on their way to find the star, and the king asked his advisors and the priests on the matter, who confirmed with him how the signs all pointed out to the coming of the Messiah prophesied in the Scriptures and the Torah, as the prophets had all proclaimed Him and spoke of the time and circumstances of His coming.
King Herod became afraid of the news of the coming of this Messiah, Whom the Jews believed to be the descendant and therefore Heir of king David of Israel, the once powerful and mighty King who ruled over all the people of Israel. According to the prophecies, the Messiah would restore Israel and rule over David’s kingdom and sit on his throne as his rightful Heir, and God would make His reign forever secure.
Instead of welcoming the coming of the Lord and True King of all as prophesied, king Herod succumbed to his fear, his anger, his jealousy, his desires and greed, his hubris and ambition, as he was often known for, and sought to destroy this King before He could become a threat to his own power and kingdom. That was why he sent the troops to destroy the King, ordering them to kill all infants and newborns aged two and below.
For us to understand even more clearly in context of what happened, we must also know that king Herod himself was a usurper of the righteous king, who before king Herod’s ascent to power, was the Hasmonean kings of Judea, the descendants of the Biblical Maccabees. The Maccabees as described in the Book of Maccabees led the rebellion against the tyranny of the Greek Seleucid kings and eventually won independence for the Jewish nation, and their descendants eventually became kings.
King Herod belonged to the Idumean people, a non-Jew himself, coming from the desert regions bordering both Judea and Arabia. He came to power by riding on the coattails of the Roman Republic, who under one of its generals, Pompey the Great, came to conquer the provinces and territories of Syria, and eventually, through political manoeuvres, overthrew the Hasmonean kings, and the reign of king Herod the Great was established.
Thus, all these historical facts coupled with the many grandiose projects king Herod undertook, such as the rebuilding and expansion of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, expansion of the city of Jerusalem itself and building of new cities such as Caesarea and also buildings named in his own honour like the Herodion, showed how insecure king Herod was, and how much he desired power, glory, fame and worldly honour.
That was why, he acted in such an evil and wicked manner, to preserve and protect himself from his supposed ‘Enemy’, the King Who was to come and born in Bethlehem, by killing all the innocent children hoping that this King would be killed alongside the other children, without any regards for the sanctity of human life and just how wicked that action had been in the eyes of God and men alike.
Then we may also be wondering, why God allowed such a great tragedy to happen? Why did He allow the innocent children to be slaughtered? Surely He could have done something to prevent it? But this is where then we must understand that while God is all powerful and mighty, He also gave us all, each and every one of us free will and the freedom to choose what we are to do with our own lives.
King Herod chose freely of his own free will to commit such a heinous and evil action, and his abuse of the freedom that God has granted him, the authority and power entrusted to him therefore is the culprit behind the evil deeds and all the sufferings suffered by the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem and their families. This is a classic example of how power and earthly glory can corrupt and lead us into sin, if we allow them to overcome us.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the tragedy of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem was not the only tragedy that happened in this world. So many wars, conflicts and all sorts of actions had happened throughout the history of mankind and civilisation, because men chose to abuse the freedom and the privileges given to them by God, misusing the power and authority entrusted to them to satisfy their own needs over the sufferings of others.
And we ourselves may also be to blame for this, as surely at some point in our lives we have also acted in manner that cause others to suffer for the sake of our happiness and enjoyment. If we want to blame or look down on King Herod for having committed such a terrible evil and crime, perhaps we may want to look at ourselves first before that. Have we ourselves lived worthily in our faith? Have we acted in ways that bring glory to God and happiness to everyone and not just to ourselves?
Let us all reflect on this even as we rejoice in this joyful Christmas season. Let us seek to make our Christmas celebrations meaningful and filled with the true joy of Christ and not the fleeting joy and greed of the world, the same greed and desire that brought king Herod and so many other sons and daughters of mankind into sin. Let us all turn away from excessive attachments to worldly pleasures and desires, especially in this Christmas time and season, putting our focus and attention back on the Lord, our God and Saviour.
May God be with us always and may He strengthen each and every one of us in our faith, so that we may resist the temptations of pride, greed, hubris, ambition, and all the things that often led us to sin, to manipulation and the harming of others. May God bless our Church and the world today, that true faith in God may triumph over the greed of mankind. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 2 : 13-18
After the wise men had left, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the Child in order to kill Him.”
Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and left that night for Egypt, where He stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled : I called My Son out of Egypt.
When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learnt from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.
In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled : A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation : Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 123 : 2-3, 4-5, 7b-8
Had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.
A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.
The snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Liturgical Colour : Red
1 John 1 : 5 – 1 John 2 : 2
We heard His message from Him and announce it to you : God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we are in fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.
If we say, “We have no sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, His word is not in us.
My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial Victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Maccabees 7 : 1, 20-31
It happened also that seven brothers were arrested with their mother. The king had them scourged and flogged to force them to eat the flesh of a pig which was prohibited by the Law.
More than all of them, their mother ought to be admired and remembered. She saw her seven sons die in a single day. But she endured it even with joy for she had put her hope in the Lord. Full of a noble sense of honour, she encouraged each one of them in the language of their ancestors. Her woman’s heart was moved by manly courage, so she told them :
“I wonder how you were born of me; it was not I who gave you breath and life, nor I who ordered the matter of your body. The Creator of the world Who formed man in the beginning and ordered the unfolding of all creation shall in His mercy, give you back breath and life, since you now despise them for the love of His laws.”
Antiochus thought she was making fun of him and suspected that she had insulted him. As the youngest was still alive, the king tried to win him over not only with his words, but even promised to make him rich and happy, if he would abandon the traditions of his ancestors. He would make him his Friend and appoint him to a high position in the kingdom.
But as the young man did not pay him any attention, the king ordered the mother to be brought in. He urged her to advise her son in order to save his life. After being asked twice by the king, she agreed to persuade her son. She bent over him and fooled the cruel tyrant by saying in her ancestral language : “My son, have pity on me. For nine months I carried you in my womb and suckled you for three years; I raised you up and educated you until this day.”
“I ask you now, my son, that when you see the heavens, the earth and all that is in it, you know that God made all this from nothing, and the human race as well. Do not fear these executioners, but make yourself worthy of your brothers – accept death that you may again meet your brothers in the time of mercy.”
When she finished speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I do not obey the king’s order but the precepts of the Law given by Moses to our ancestors. And you who have devised such tortures against the Hebrews, shall not escape the hands of God.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Maccabees 6 : 18-31
Eleazar, one of the prominent teachers of the Law, already old and of noble appearance, was forced to open his mouth to eat the flesh of a pig. But he preferred to die honourably than to live in disgrace, and voluntarily came to the place where they beat him to death. He spat out bravely the piece of meat, as should be done by those who do not want to do things prohibited by the Law, even to save their life.
Those in charge of this impious banquet took him aside, since they had known him for a long time, and tried to convince him to pretend to be eating the meat, but in reality, to eat something allowed by the Law and prepared by himself. In this way, he could escape death, and be treated with humanity for the sake of their long-time friendship.
But he preferred to make a noble decision worthy of his age, of his noble years, of his shining white hair, and of the irreproachable life he had led from childhood. Above all, showing respect for the holy laws established by God, he answered that he would rather be sent to the place of the dead. And he added, “It would be unworthy to pretend at our age, and to lead many young people to suppose that I, at ninety years, have gone over to the pagan customs. If I led them astray for the sake of this short life I would bring disgrace to my old age.”
“Even if I could now be saved from mortals, I cannot – whether living or dead – escape from the hands of the Almighty. I prefer to bravely sacrifice my life now, as befits my old age. So I shall leave an excellent example to the young, dying voluntarily and valiantly for the sacred and holy laws.” Having said this, he gave himself over to death.
Those who escorted him considered his words foolishness, so their previous gentleness turned into harshness. When he was almost at the point of death, he said groaning, “The Holy Lord, Who sees all, knows that though I could have saved myself from death, I now endure terrible sufferings in my body. But in my soul, I suffer gladly because of the respect I have for Him.”
In his death, he left a noble example and a memorial of virtue and strength, not only to the young but to the whole nation.
Liturgical Colour : White
Revelations 7 : 9, 14b-17
After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the Throne of God, and serve Him, day and night, in His sanctuary.”
“He, Who sits on the throne, will spread His tent over them. Never again, will they suffer hunger or thirst, or be burnt by the sun, or any scorching wind. For the Lamb, near the Throne, will be their Shepherd, and He will bring them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away their tears.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the messages of hope mentioned in the Scriptures, both from the prophet Hosea in the Old Testament, as well as from the Gospel passage showing us the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage or bleeding issue and the returning of the dead daughter of the synagogue official to life by the Lord Jesus.
In the first reading, the prophet Hosea was speaking in the context of the time, when the northern kingdom of Israel to whom he had been sent to by God, was beset by its enemies and was on the verge of destruction and annihilation. And the people living there had nothing else to depend on, for their pagan idols and gods did nothing to help them, for those were merely handicrafts of man’s hands, and no earthly power could help them.
But the Lord promised His people through His prophet Hosea, that if only that they would turn away from their sinful ways and repent sincerely from those wickedness and disobedience, then they would once again become His people and receive the fullness of His protection, love and grace as they once had before. Ultimately, the Lord loves us all, and by no means that He wants to see us destroyed.
That is why, in the Gospel passage today, He showed compassion to the old woman suffering from the bleeding problem. He had pity on her, and seeing her great faith, and the perseverance and the courage she mustered, despite the dangers she might have to face in order to reach out to the Lord, and the doubts and fears on her heart. She had faith and trusted in the Lord while many of her fellow countrymen did not have the same faith.
Similarly, while many people laughed at the Lord Jesus and mocked Him when He said that the little girl, the synagogue official’s daughter was only sleeping, Jairus, the official, remained faithful and trusted in the Lord’s ability to raise up his daughter, even back from the death. Indeed, as we have heard from the Gospel, the Lord Jesus did indeed restore his daughter to life, and the Lord’s promise to His people was upheld.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in all of these, we can easily witness how we mankind have both the capacity to doubt as well as to be faithful. We have been given free will and wisdom by God, to discern carefully and to make choices and decisions, whether we want to follow Him and love Him, or whether we prefer to walk on our own path and distance ourselves from Him.
Are we therefore taking the concrete steps necessary for us to seek the Lord and find His healing, mercy and forgiveness? Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that each and every one of us have to make a decision in our lives, and before it is too late, let us all wholeheartedly and sincerely turn ourselves towards the Lord, following the examples of the woman with bleeding and the synagogue official.
And today, we also celebrate the feast of the Holy Chinese Martyrs, those who have been persecuted because of their Christian faith in China, particularly those who were martyred during the late era of the Qing Dynasty China and the vicious Boxer Rebellion just over a century ago. It was indeed very difficult for one to be a Christian at that time, since the government was not in favour of Christianity, and looked at the Christian missionaries with great suspicion.
Many of the Christians, both the local converts and the missionaries, both local and foreign ones, had to endure difficult trials, go into hiding and practicing their faith amidst persecution, enduring prison and even summary execution at the hands of their enemies. They lived in a particularly troubled and difficult time, and yet, many of them persevered in their faith, regardless of the challenges they faced.
Many of them were martyred, but they died with courage and conviction, knowing that they were sinners who were trying to seek the Lord with all of their hearts, like the woman with haemorrhage and like Jairus, the synagogue official. They had faith in God, and they remained true and anchored on that faith which they had, to the very end. And although they suffered, but as the Lord promised all of His faithful ones in our first reading today, their rewards will be great.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we follow in their footsteps and walk from now on, faithfully in Christ’s ways? May the Lord be with us, and may He continue to guide us towards Him, that we may embrace Him fully and continue to grow closer in our relationship with Him. Let us always remember God’s love and His everlasting providence, every moment of our lives. May God bless us all. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 