When the wise men from the East came to King Herod and asked him where they could find the new-born King of the Jews, Herod was worried – and for good reason. He was the King of the Jews only because the Romans had appointed him to the position. Not only was he not a descendant of King David, he was not a Jew at all. A true descendant of King David could cause the people to rally on his behalf, and to reject Herod and his family’s claim to the throne. As a result of his fear, Herod sought to find the Child, in order to kill him; and, when his plan was thwarted by the wise men, who did not return to him because they had been warned by an angel of God not to do so, Herod put to death all the children in Bethlehem and its surrounding area that were two years old or younger. Church tradition puts the number of children killed by Herod at 14,000.
Herod acted out of fear, greed, and a love of power, and did not hesitate to use murder in order to maintain his grip on an earthly throne. Had it been within his power, he would have killed the new-born Child Who is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We need to consider how like Herod we are, as well.
Think about it: Christ has been born in each of us, by virtue of His grace and mercy when we are baptized. He has come to save us; and we would be wise to allow Him to rule in our lives, and be our King. But we love too much the pleasures and powers and temptations of this world; and we will do anything, it seems, not to be forced to set aside worldly things. We persist in our sins; and, when we refuse to follow the way of life identified for us by the Church – the life of prayer, and fasting; of giving; of struggling to achieve holiness in thought, word and deed, and to rid ourselves of following our passions – it is as if we, too, are trying to put to death within ourselves the holy One Who has come to dwell in us, that we might live forevermore in Him. Of course, we cannot put Him to death, any more than could Herod. But it is possible for us to put to death our own innocence – that is, to so deaden our conscience that we no longer recognize the good, nor desire to obtain it, if doing so conflicts with satisfying our flesh.
Brothers and sisters, this should not be. Even as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we should be vigilant to protect and nurture what God has done in and for us, as Joseph acted to protect the Child and his mother, taking them away to a place of safety. When we are beset with thoughts or desires to fulfill our passions, we should flee to God in prayer; and should take refuge in fasting, and prostrations. We should set ourselves free from attachments to this world, again, by fasting, and by taking from what God has entrusted to us to give for the needs of others, and for the work of the Church. We should fortify ourselves with the words of holy Scripture, and the teachings of the fathers, and the lives of the saints, and, above all, by taking into ourselves the most precious and holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we might nurture the life within us, and make it our own, and let it be seen in and through us.
Herod died in great torment; and so, too, does great torment await those who do not repent of their sins. As we remember and celebrate the birth of Him Who came to die that we might have life, and have it abundantly, let us dedicate ourselves anew to the labor of making Him the Lord of our lives, to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.
Christ is born!
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