| Feast of the Holy Innocents, 2001
Jeremiah 31:15 The Herodization of America
The Jewish historian Josephus described the death of a political figure of his time. He writes: "[He] was inflamed with a slow fire, which outwardly seemed not so vehement, but inwardly affected all his entrails; he had a ravenous and unnatural appetite, which could not be satisfied in any manner; besides he had an ulcer in his bowels, with a strange and furious colic; his feet were swelled, and of a venomous color; his members rotted, and were full of crawling worms; he had strong convulsions and shortness of breath; and after having tried the physicians for relief without success, he died."
Which leader was it that came to such a ghastly end? It was King Herod, the same Herod who ordered the death of all the male babies of Bethlehem. The Feast we observe tonight is called the Holy Innocents. It is a grim commemoration of the slaughter of these young ones. They are called innocent not because they were free of original sin, but because they had done nothing deserving of death.
How long has the Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents? The Bible scholar Origen, who died in A.D. 254, mentions this festival as already having a long history in his day, so it appears that it was one of the first feasts of the Church.
Let us reflect on the death of the innocents, and the lessons we learn from it regarding the abortion issue.
Why did King Herod hunt down these toddlers? Our Gospel reading from Matthew chapter two explains. Herod heard rumors of the birth of an up-and-coming king of the Jews. The prospect of a potential rival to his power alarmed him. So, he decided to locate the babe and kill it. In order to track down the child, he concocted a scheme to outwit the Wise Men. He pretended to the Wise Men that he intended to go and honor the new-born king. But in a God-given dream, the three Magi were tipped off about his real intentions, so they returned to the East, without divulging to Herod the location of the royal child. Herod was enraged at getting duped like this. What did he do next? Matthew 2:16 says, "he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men." Herod calculated that by rounding up all the babies in a dragnet and murdering them, his royal rival would be finished off as well.
An angel warned Joseph what was about to transpire. Joseph immediately escaped by night with mother and child into Egypt. It took years before it was safe enough for Joseph to return his family to Palestine. Finally, the angel notified him that they could now go home to Nazareth without danger.
What happened to Herod? We already commented on his end. Josephus tells us a combination of Ebola, leprosy and gangrene rotted away his flesh. He got his just deserts. How did Herod assassinate the Bethlehem children? By a royal edict Herod ordered that all the young boys in the vicinity be gathered together, ostensibly for the purpose of procuring one more piece of tax information. The mothers and fathers of these infants unwittingly and dutifully brought their baby boys to the designated place, and then, soldiers wrenched the children from their arms and butchered them. A boy was run over by a car a couple days ago in Orange County. The newspaper showed a picture of the parents. Anguish was etched on their faces. The loss of a son or daughter can create the most agonizing sorrow, and Bethlehem in those days wailed with unspeakable grief.
Nevertheless, prophecy was fulfilled in Herod's act. St. Mathew quotes the prophet Jeremiah, when he writes: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more." (Jeremiah 31:15). Rachel was the wife of the patriarch Jacob. She died in Bethlehem, near Ramah, while giving birth to her second son Benjamin. Rachel, the mother, prefigures all the mothers of the Bethlehem region weeping in bereavement for their slain babies.
What else do we learn by observing this festival? The Holy Innocents invites us to consider the intrinsic worth of small children and babies. Each and every child is a gift from God and a blessing. As Christians we are called upon to love them, discipline them, be patient with them, defend them from danger, and after their baptism, treat them as covenant members of Christ's Church. We are to assist parents, and encourage them to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. A popular notion today is to let children decide for themselves their own religion and values. Evidently this is the style of parenting that John Walker's parents employed with him. He opted for the murderous Taliban. An upbringing without a commitment to Christ produces an empty soul. Such a child will grasp for any ideology, no matter how hellish it may be. Using a laissez-faire concept to raise our children is diametrically opposed to God's will and Word.
What about infanticide? How should we view it? Nature itself seems to tell us that the slaying and violence committed against innocent children is the apex of evil. Most people today would agree with this assertion. They would strenuously object to the brutal treatment of babies. Yet these same people are reluctant to defend the rights of unborn babies inside the womb. This is not simply ignorance; it is wicked, cold-blooded ignorance. Satan has given much of our nation over to a Herod-like callousness. Tiny human beings fashioned in the image of God are exterminated like vermin, and the executioners are not only given legal protection for their butchery, they are very well paid for it. Since 1973 approximately thirty-five million innocent unborn children have been legally killed. It is called abortion. January 22, 1973 is when the court ruled on Roe vs. Wade, a decision that has unleashed the Herodization of America. The Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand during the full nine months of pregnancy, a notion that completely contradicts Scripture.
The Bible suggests the personhood of pre-born infants. In Luke 1:41 Elizabeth and Mary met one another. They were both pregnant. The Virgin Mary was carrying Jesus, the incarnate Son of God; and Elizabeth was six months along with John the Baptist. The text says the when Mary greeted Elizabeth, "the babe leaped in her womb." In other words, the real presence of the Messiah in Mary's womb caused baby John the Baptist to leap for joy in Elizabeth's womb.
There is a principle laid down here. The reaction of John the Baptist while still in the matrix of his mother suggests a developed personality at that early stage. It suggests that the personhood of each and every human being commences before birth. God's Word teaches that personhood begins at conception. And if the Bible regards unborn children to be fully human, we should as well.
What about the lives of pre-born babies who die through miscarriage? What happens to them, and to their souls? We believe the Scriptures teach that unborn babies are persons with God-created souls at conception. Hence, if their lives are cut short, either through miscarriage or abortion, then we can be confident that they are numbered among the redeemed. That is to say, we hope and have a certain level of confidence that God will be particularly gracious toward those who have never had the opportunity to receive baptism or be exposed to the Gospel. This is one reason for our epistle passage from Revelation. By describing a vision of 144,000 surrounding the Lamb of God on His heavenly throne, the Church wants to assure us of their final destination. The 144,000 symbolically represent all the redeemed in the world from the beginning of time until the Last Day; they sing a new song in Paradise. The souls of the Holy Innocents and all the unborn are part of that number, and at the last day they will receive complete, glorified bodies. Of course, this does not in any way justify the deliberate taking of unborn life.
What are we to do about abortion? What is the duty of the Church towards protecting and saving the unborn? How can we reverse the Herodization of America? First, we view the abortion industry with outrage. Abortion may be legal in America, but in the eyes of God and the Church it is an abomination. There is a special damnation for those who, like Herod, shed innocent blood. On this Feast of Holy Innocents our message is clear: we condemn Planned Parenthood, abortion doctors and clinics, and every agency which aids and abets this shameful industry. They are evil, wicked, and a disgrace to our nation.
The division of labor within the Church allows some members to dedicate themselves full-time to the abortion battles in the media and courts. There are many local and national pro-life organizations that deserve our support.
Secondly, we ought to search for ways to encourage pregnant women and girls to carry their babies to term and then give them up for adoption. Adoption ought to be a major solution to this problem. There are millions of families who yearn to adopt a child. With so many married couples looking to adopt, no baby should be aborted.
Many pregnant women end up abandoned by the father, and by the family also. In such cases, a young lady can become overwhelmed by feelings of desperation, and if they are going to do the right thing: that is, stay away from the abortion clinics and carry their young ones the full nine months, then they will need some help. They will need homes, shelters, financial help, love and encouragement. These efforts demand personal commitment and perseverance. Christian sympathy is needed to lead these young ladies to a Christian life. Those who get involved will have to deal with filth, disease, rude and repulsive people, and all kinds of heart-rending scenes. Homes for unmarried mothers take a lot of sacrifice, but are crucial in the war against abortion.
Moreover, it sometimes takes a good bit of persuasion to convince a woman to go through nine months of troubles. The nausea, tiredness, and pain have to be confronted. Abortion is so tempting because it offers a quick fix. A woman seeking immediate satisfaction will see abortion as the most tempting option. Yet, we must stress that adoption is superior in the long run. With adoption you offer years of good life to your offspring; you bring joy into the world; you have the satisfaction of having sacrificed a few months of your life to save a full life of another; thus, you retain a clear conscience.
The physical and psychological effects of abortion, on the other hand, go on forever; the guilt and sorrow can't be avoided. Post-abortion syndrome is a very real thing. One woman who had an abortion admitted: "I envy a mother who goes to weep beside her baby's grave; because she knows where it is laid, and remembers how it looked in life, and is not ashamed to say, 'I have lost a child.' And when I hear mothers lamenting over such a loss, I pity them indeed; but I feel like saying to them, 'You think you are deeply afflicted, but your trouble is really light, because it is not mingled with remorse, and you are not to blame for the infant's death'. Truly, all sorrow that I have ever known or heard of is not to be compared with my sorrow, and that of others who have sinned in like manner!" [From Marvin Olasky's Abortion Rites ; pp. 184-185. Certainly one of the finest books on the subject.]
Another key to reversing the terror of abortion is prayer and worship. Let us never think that prayer and worship are cop-out evasions to a problem. We are dead wrong if we underestimate the power and importance of worship.
The truth is this, it is worship that transforms the world and moves history; when we neglect worship, everything goes to seed. The Herods of the world take over, and pagan savagery dominates. Our response therefore should be a dedication to, and participation in, the worship and sacraments of the Church. If our first response to the abortion industry is political, or judicial, or more litigation, we are no better than they, for we have put our trust in human action as the ultimate determiner of history.
The Bible teaches the power and primacy of worship. It is God Almighty who is sovereign, and worship reorients us to God's plan, God's purpose, and God's program. We believe that worship is the starting point for cultural transformation, for it is worship that ultimately brings about the demise of the wicked and the exaltation of the righteous. So let us this evening raise our voices to God in prayer and worship, let us bring the plight of the unborn to the ears of our Heavenly Father. Let us pray for national repentance and revival, a revival to put an end to the Herodization of America.
Return to Sermons |
