A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

On the 1st Sunday after Christmas, A.D. 2008;

The Feast of “The Holy Innocents”

 

 

“Listening to God.”

 

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,

AMEN.

 

St. Matthew 2:12-13.

“and being warned of god in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the lord appeareth to joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”

 

 

The Gospel lesson this morning places us right in the middle of the second chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.  We have heard of the cruel decree of King Herod, (who was known as Herod the Great), and the resulting actions of the barbaric slaying of all the male children of two years and younger in “Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men”.1  The commemoration of this event has become known as the “Feast of the Holy Innocents”, and is sometimes referred to as the “Childermas or the Children’s Mass.  In order to understand what this event means for us, we have to consider the big picture; the events that surround this brutal action by order of Herod.

 

The Magi, or Wise Men, came from the East to Jerusalem enquiring, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and are come to Worship Him”.2  The Wise Men were originally the “priestly caste or social order” among the Persians and Babylonians.  These particular Wise Men were experts in the study of stars.  They arrived in Jerusalem the bustling capital city of Israel, seeking the one whom they thought was to be born a King.  They thought for sure the Israelites would have heard the news of the birth of a future King.  For Beth-lehem was only six miles from Jerusalem.  This arrival was based on their calculations of the stars and on prophecy from the Prophets Micah and Isaiah.  The prophecy of Micah tells us, “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”.3  This prophecy was given more than seven hundred years before the birth of the Christ child.  This prophecy details the exact location of His birth, His destiny, and His Eternalness.  There were two insignificant towns in Israel that were named Beth-lehem.  When Herod, “demanded of them where Christ should be born”,4 the Wise Men responded with prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah.  “And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel”.5  The prophecies of Micah and Isaiah interrelate one to another in this verse from the Gospel according to St. Matthew.  The title “Governor” comes from the Prophet Isaiah which states, the “Governor” that will come from Beth-lehem is none other than the Christ child.  “And the government shall be upon His shoulders”.6  This background should be adequate enough for us to understand how this particular news of an up and coming ruler would cause Herod to go into an absolute frenzy of fear.  Another little bit of information to support this paranoid behavior is the fact that when Herod’s rule was questioned or threatened by his sons, he not only killed one, but three of his sons and his wife.  As far as he was concerned, his rule was absolute and would not be challenged by anyone.  This kept the Roman authorities that appointed him King, very pleased in his abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

Herod instructed the Wise Men to go to Beth-lehem and “search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also”.7  Herod had no intentions of visiting the Christ child.  Beth-lehem was only six miles from Jerusalem.  Herod could have easily made the trip to and from Beth-lehem in a half of a day.  If the Wise Men had sent word as instructed, Herod would have dispatched a band of his murderers to kill the child and possibly the parents as well.  Herod would not stand to have his authority questioned or challenged.

 

Once the Wise Men saw the young child with Mary His mother, they fell down, and worshipped Him.  Doesn’t this seem a bit odd?  You wouldn’t worship a worldly King or Ruler, you would simply pay him obeisance.  What is even more telling are their gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  The gifts were in recognition of Jesus as King, Jesus as the Son of God, and Jesus as the suffering Saviour.  Their Worship of the Christ child and their gifts were extremely significant to indicate their recognition of the “DEITY” of the one whom they were worshipping.  “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way”.8  Once the Wise Men had departed “the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt”.9  Being warned of God by a special divine revelation, both the Wise Men and Joseph did as they were told.  How did Herod respond to the birth of Christ child?

 

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise Men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Beth-lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the Wise Men”.10  Herod responded by killing.  He conspired to kill the Saviour of the world.  Christ’s time had not arrived.  He and His mother were carried into Egypt by Joseph’s obedience to God, in order to escape the murder of the children, the Holy Innocents.  Innocent in that they were sinless.  Holy in that they were taken by God into His Kingdom.  Let’s examine this innocence.

 

 

The innocence of a child teaches us great humility.  Mankind looks towards the crown of their individual glory and successes.  The Gospel gives us this example in Herod.  We should look towards that Heavenly crown of our Saviour, being His yoke and His cross.  This is where the humbling of ourselves begins.  We look towards the actions and the suffering of our Saviour for our salvation.  The disciples asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”.11  In Herod’s mind he was the greatest because of his worldly power.  Jesus has just exclaimed that whosoever is the greatest is the one who is willing to forgive the most.  Jesus cut right to the chase.  The “BASIC HUMAN MOTIVATION OF PRIDE”, the very root of our sinful nature, needs to be confessed, in order for us to answer our calling to the duty of our “MORAL OBLIGATION OF FORGIVENESS”.  You must be converted.  We saw this in our Gospel lesson.

 

The Magi or Wise Men were converted for “they departed into their country another way”.12  Once Jesus Christ comes into our heart and soul to be our Saviour, we will never again be the same.  The Magi had this life changing experience.  If they hadn’t, they would have returned to Herod, even though they were warned in a dream not to return to him.  Joseph had been visited several times by the “Angel of the Lord” and he responded each time.  How will we respond to God’s call to us?  When we approach the Altar to receive the “Body and Blood of Jesus Christ”, the Holy Ghost will enable “HUMILITY” to work in us.  Then it is up to us how we will receive this gift.  Let us be “Wise Men” and listen to God.

 

Amen.

 

God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost,

be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion,

most justly due this day, both now and forever,

world without end,Amen.

1  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:16.

2  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:2.

3  The Book of the Prophet Micah 5:2.

4  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:4.

5  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:6.

6  The Book of the Prophet Isaiah 9:6.

7  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:8.

8  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:12.

9  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:13-14.

10 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:16.

11  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 18:1-4.

12  The Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:12.