20171228
PROVIDING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR
CHILDREN TO GROW IN HOLINESS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 John 1:5-2:2 ©
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This is what we have heard from Jesus Christ,
and the message that we are announcing to you:
God is light; there is no darkness in him at all.
If we say that we are in union with God
while we are living in darkness,
we are lying because we are not living the truth.
But if we live our lives in the light,
as he is in the light,
we are in union with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin in us,
we are deceiving ourselves
and refusing to admit the truth;
but if we acknowledge our sins,
then God who is faithful and just
will forgive our sins and purify us
from everything that is wrong.
To say that we have never sinned
is to call God a liar
and to show that his word is not in us.
I am writing this, my children,
to stop you sinning;
but if anyone should sin,
we have our advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, who is just;
he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away,
and not only ours,
but the whole world’s.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 123(124):2-5,7-8 ©
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Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the
snare of the fowler.
If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.
Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the
snare of the fowler.
Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.
Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the
snare of the fowler.
Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the
snare of the fowler.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Te Deum
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Alleluia, alleluia!
We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord;
the noble army of martyrs praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 2:13-18 ©
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After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you,
and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends
to search for the child and do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the
child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until
Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the
prophet:
I called my son out of Egypt.
Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by
the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male
children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had
been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the
prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loudly lamenting:
it was Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted because they were no
more.
28 DECEMBER, 2017, Thursday, The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
PROVIDING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR CHILDREN TO GROW IN
HOLINESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 John
1:5-2:2; Ps 124:2-5,7-8; Matthew 2:13-18 ]
Traditionally,
we celebrate without questioning the Feast of the Holy Innocents because it is
based on the gospel of Matthew, where we read that Jesus fled to Egypt to take
refuge from King Herod’s persecution. Having “been outwitted by
the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male
children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had
been careful to ask the wise men.” Yet, if we examine deeper into the
reasons for the celebration of this feast, there are historical, theological
and scriptural controversies.
Historically,
we must not imagine that the killing of the babies involved hundreds of
children.
Bethlehem was a small town. Scripture scholars estimate there could have
been around 30 babies or less. Of course, this fact does not make Herod’s
crime less heinous, but it is important that we do not over exaggerate the
extent of suffering he inflicted by his decree. Some historians even held
that this slaughter did not historically happen because it was not recorded in
Jewish History. Nevertheless, in the light of Herod’s insecurity,
Matthew’s record of this incident has its basis.
Scripturally,
we must not take too literally St Matthew’s citation of Old Testament
prophecies to substantiate his claim that Jesus was indeed the Anointed One of
God. Nevertheless,
even though his arguments would not stand to sound exegesis today, yet such a
way of reading into scriptures using the sensus plenior is permissible.
To strengthen his position, he even took a verse out of context from Jeremiah
who was speaking about the exile, “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and
loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be
comforted because they were no more.” (Jer 31:15)
Regardless of the way he used the citations, it bolstered the Jews’ faith in
Jesus as the promised Messiah. St Matthew’s citation of Hosea’s word, “I
called my son out of Egypt”, was also taken out of context. In its
historical context, it had nothing to do with the flight to Egypt but rather
how God delivered the people from bondage in Egypt. But in Matthew’s
usage, it bolsters his claim of Jesus as the promised Messiah. That was
all that mattered.
Theologically,
what do we mean when we speak of the Holy Innocents as innocent? The truth is that the
babies were innocent not in the theological sense that they were without
sin. Today’s first reading makes it clear that all of us have
sinned. St John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just,
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So
the babies, although morally innocent, also required salvation by Christ.
This is the reason why infants are baptized in Christ even though they might
not have committed any personal sin. The truth is that we are all born
sinners and the sin of Adam lives in us. We might not manifest this reality
in sinful actions yet, but the potential to sin is already in us at our
conception.
Secondly, can
the babies be considered to be real martyrs when they did not choose to die for
Christ explicitly? Indeed, it is hard to see them as martyrs because they did not opt
to die for Christ, unlike St Stephen. In fact, they had no choice.
How then can
we make the best of this feast of the Holy Innocents? Precisely, in
honouring the Holy Innocents, because they died not for anything that they had
done but because of circumstances, the Church is teaching us the meaning of
innocent suffering. Jesus too was killed even though He committed no crime. He
did no wrong. St Peter wrote, “For what credit is it, if when you do
wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and
suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. For to this you
have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no
guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return;
when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pt 2:20-24)
He continues, “For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be
God’s will, than for doing wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” (1 Pt 3:17f)
Only innocent suffering can change lives and touch hearts. “As many
were astonished at him -his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the sons of men – so shall he startle many
nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not
been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall
understand.” (Isa 52:14f)
Secondly,
this Feast reminds us of the need to have good mentors for our children and to
set godly examples. Children are vulnerable and impressionable. How adults treat
them will determine what they will become. Indeed, the doctrine of
original sin is not just the fact that we are born with a wounded nature but
that through the bad examples of others, we influence others to sin. So
the goodness of our children to a great extent is dependent on whether they are
raised in a loving, caring and affirming environment. If they are formed
in a life-giving family, they will be life-giving. We must help our
children to walk in the light. “God is light and in him is no
darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in
darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Hence, people
like King Herod are those people who sow seeds of hatred, anger and resentment
among the young. They are insecure and plant the seeds of insecurity in
their children as well. This is often seen in parents and guardians who
are dictatorial and unreasonable in their behavior. Sometimes, they
express it by being competitive and comparing their children with others.
Another way of planting the wrong seeds of growth in our children is through
crimes against children, whether by exploitation of their labour, human
trafficking, sexual abuse, pedophilia or physical abuse. If society is
broken, it is because of the way we treat our young, allowing them to imbibe
values that are of the world. Indeed, if adults are evil and selfish and
permissive in their behavior, what can we expect from our children? They
only imitate what the adults do.
Thirdly, this
Feast again reminds us of the evil of abortion, the taking of innocent and
vulnerable lives. Whether we like it or not, a life is a life, whether it is one day
old or two years old. By taking their lives, we are doing a great act of
injustice to our own babies that we have conceived. The Church in
celebrating this feast of the Holy Innocents wants to remind us that the human
way of reckoning what counts is not that of God’s. A person has his
dignity not simply because of what he or she can do but merely by the fact that
she has a life and that life comes from God. This life is intrinsic and
no one has a right to take the life of another person, whether it is a baby or
an elderly. The Holy Innocents might appear as unimportant and
insignificant tools for Herod to use for asserting his power. But in
God’s eyes every person counts and is important to Him. Every life must
be protected and guarded, cherished and loved for itself. Even when a life
appears to be useless, especially a baby’s, or those who are elderly, God sees
value in that life.
Finally,
celebrating this Feast reminds us that God will use our sufferings, even if we
do not understand the rationale for it, for His greater glory. Like the Holy
Innocents who died because of Christ, they will be rewarded by God in His
way. They might not yet able to make a choice for Christ, but by dying
for Christ without knowing it, they in some sense bear witness to Him. We
can entrust our lives to Him and His judgement will see to it that justice is
done as the psalmist prays, “If the Lord had not been on our side when men rose
up against us, then would they have swallowed us alive when their anger was
kindled. Then would the waters have engulfed us, the torrent gone over
us; over our head would have swept the raging waters. Indeed the snare
has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who
made heaven and earth.” So let us entrust our lives to Him for He knows
what is best for us. Our part is just to cooperate with His grace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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