Posted by Chuck Scherl
From The office of Readings, today, Saturday, December 28, 2024
From a sermon by Saint Quodvultdeus, bishop
(Sermo 2 de Symbolo: PL 40, 655)
They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ
A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.
Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.
You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.
Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace—so small, yet so great—who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God’s adopted children.
The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the savior already working salvation.
But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.
How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.
After reading St. Quodvultdeus’ homily, I cannot but think about the evil of abortion happening so often in our world, I can’t help but compare it to the story of Herod and the Holy Innocents. Innocent babies are taken from their mothers’ wombs, their lives thrown away like they don’t matter. This reading makes me realize there are two sides to this. Herod himself wasn’t pure evil—it was his actions and his selfish motivations that were.
I believe that many mothers who choose abortion do so because they’re afraid. Maybe they’re scared they won’t be able to care for their child, or maybe they don’t want their life to change. I don’t think most mothers justify it by saying their baby will go straight to God. Regardless of why, the action itself is evil, even though the person isn’t.
The amazing thing about Jesus is that no sin is too big for Him to forgive. Abortion is serious, but it’s not unforgivable. Jesus forgave the thief on the cross when he admitted his wrongs and asked for mercy. I pray that mothers who have chosen abortion will realize what they’ve done and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. I also pray for those who are thinking about abortion, that they’ll find the courage to trust in God and choose life for their child.
Even though I grieve for the lives of those children, I know they are now with God. Today’s feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us of that. These children, baptized in the blood of the Lamb, are in God’s presence. I believe They have forgiven their mothers and are praying for their moms to find repentance and peace. Lord, these little ones praise you and skip with joy like lambs, for you have set them free.
Lord Jesus, help me to join with these modern-day Holy Innocents in praying for mothers who are thinking about abortion. Open their hearts and minds so they can see Your will and trust in You. Help them believe that their child will be cared for in this world, no matter what. Heal their fears and show them Your love and mercy. Amen.
