Am I a Herod (Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28)

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Herod’s massacre of the innocent male infants is considered to be one of the cruelest and most dehumanizing acts of violence in the New Testament. The Bible and some writings record that Herod “the Great”, king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his religious indifference. Hence, he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. Having become greatly troubled when he heard that there was “a newborn king of the Jews” (Jesus Christ), Herod (a man known to be a tyrant capable of extreme brutality) became furious and ordered the massacre of all the male infants (who were two years old or below) in Bethlehem where Jesus was born (cf. Matthew 2:13-18).


In the first reading, St John says that “…God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5b). In another place, he exhorts that “… 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” (1 Jn 1:7). Now, let us pay attention to a certain property of light: Light has the power to ILLUMINATE, EXPOSE and SHOW THE WAY. In the presence of “light”, the dark spots of sin in us are exposed! In the presence of "light", the sores of our disfigured freewill are laid bare! In the presence of "light", the bumps and potholes of our disordered consciences are clearly seen! In the presence of "light", the pitfalls of our awkward thought processes are exposed; and so on. That is the power of light! That is the power of God!


A life without God is doomed! A life without light is dead! A life without God is in utter darkness! Such a life cannot but always contemplate evil, relish evil, inhale and exhale evil, plan evil and execute evil. That is what it means for someone to grope in darkness! Don’t think such a person is happy. Go closer to the person, make inquiries about the person, and you will discover that such a person has no joy. That was the state of Herod! He was in utter darkness: darkness of selfishness, darkness of power intoxication, darkness of moral catastrophe, darkness of extreme brutality. There was no light in him, and that is why he contemplated, planned and executed the killing of innocent male children and many more.


Let me shift from Herod! Let me talk to myself! Is there any darkness in me? In me, is there any act of selfishness, selfishness to the point of "murder": do I murder with my tongue, with my thoughts, with my looks, through my actions and inactions, and so on? Yes, I may berate and condemn Herod for slaughtering those defenseless infants. But don’t I think I may have been playing the heinous role of Herod in my attitude towards children, towards those who look up to me, who take me as their mentor, those who look at my life in order to grow in virtue and faith, etc? Has it ever occurred to me that some of my actions and inactions could constitute a serious danger to their moral and religious formation?


On a day like this, we must seriously pray for a continuous personal conversion so that we discontinue “murdering” those who look up to us (for their character formation). We must also seriously pray for defenseless children in the womb who are being slaughtered without qualms. We must also seriously pray for children and other defenseless people in the world who are continuously stripped of their human dignity, who are being forced and lured into prostitution, armed robbery, terrorism, and so on. Indeed, Herod is still at work in our time. But our efforts and prayers can turn the tides of our contemporary Herodian brutalities. The most important question is: AM I A HEROD? 


Prayer:

May we work against, speak against and make our societies, communities, nations and the world free of Herodian proclivities and activities, Amen!



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