Often in the midst of Christmas celebrations and of seeing the joy in the faces of children opening their gifts, many do not have in their immediate thoughts what occurred after the birth of Christ. Quoted from Matthew 2 without references and notes [1]:
The Visit of the Magi.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
The Flight to Egypt.
When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “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.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.”
Besides setting aside the thoughts of the long and difficult journey [2] the Holy Family had to make starting in the middle of the night, and of the Blessed Mother protecting Her beloved child while riding a donkey led by Saint Joseph, many also do not care to remember the blood-thirsty Herod, and the people in positions of power who were/are like him who had/have abused power by taking innocent lives and by forcing indirectly the deracination of families, families who had/have for generations lived in their motherland, families with elderly members and small children, families with debilitated loved ones suffering from illnesses, without the least bit of concern whether they lived or died, and whether they were/are able to travel long distances to foreign lands to seek shelter from violence.
Knowing that all kinds of sufferings from the aftermath of such abuses of power are continuing dampens the joy of Christmas. Like in days of Herod, there are people who are sobbing and lamenting. They cannot be heard only because they are out of sight, out of earshot and out of mind.
For those who had/have blocked from their minds by self-serving rationalizations, convenient denials and opportunistic amnesia the deaths and sufferings that they had/have caused, may each one of them look beyond his/her earthly existence and seek pardon from God with absolute and lasting humility, and may God save them from the fires of Hell and lead their souls to Heaven along with those who have most need of God's mercy [3] who harbor ulterior motives, advocating that killing is the key to peace when the Prince of Peace born to the world on Christmas Day had taught those in the world to love their enemies [4].
[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/2, 1-18.
[2] A Google search reveals that the time to walk one-way between the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and Cairo, Egypt, is 147 hours, or approximately 6 days, 24 hours a day without stopping. See Google directions. It is not certain that the Holy Family was ever in the vicinity of Cairo, or if they even stopped long at any one place within Egypt.
[3] Adapted from the Fatima prayer: https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/hellb2.htm
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-44&version=NIV
No comments:
Post a Comment