Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 28, 2024 - Dec. 28 - Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
[1 John 1:5-2:2 and Matt 2:13-18]"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." [Matthew]
The infancy narratives in the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke serve much like the overtures to a musical or an opera. They contain incidents that announce "themes" that will be heard later on in the performance. The Gospel According to Matthew, written primarily for Jewish converts, strives to show how everything connected to the life of Jesus was foretold in the history of the Chosen People and the prophets. The story of the Holy Innocents is connected to the story of the Magi and both have "precedents." But both illustrate themes that will show up in the adult life and ministry of Jesus. The decree of Herod echoes the decree of Pharaoh in Exodus in which Moses is spared from Pharaoh's decree to slaughter male Hebrew children [Ex. 1:22 - 2:10]. The journey and gifts of the Magi echo Isaiah 60:6: All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense..... These "echoes" will sound in Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as a New Moses, especially in the Sermon on the Mount. The story of the Magi sounds the theme of Gentile attraction to Jesus, which will appear in the healing of the Centurion's servant [Matt. 8:10-11] and the daughter of the Canaanite woman [Matt. 15:21-28].
Children around the world from the unborn to teens suffer as the result of political or social decisions made by adults seeking power, whether in the home or the nation. Herod and Pharaoh reflect this. On the feast of the Holy Innocents, we are reminded not only of Jesus' subsequent life and ministry, but of the terrible scourge of child abuse which can take place in the home or in the nation as a result of decisions and actions from individuals or political bodies. It is a matter of life and death. AMEN