Fulfilling a Prophecy

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Innocents

The murder of all the boys, two years old or younger, by the order of King Herod is commemorated in the “Coventry Carol.” “Herod the King, in his raging, Charged he hath this day; His men of might, in his own sight, All children young, to slay.” The carol is named for the city of Coventry because in the 15th century, the trade union of shearers and tailors presented a pageant depicting the slaying of the Innocents.

St. Matthew’s Gospel tells this woeful tale. Just as Pharaoh had ordered a similar massacre of all Jewish boys, King Herod, fearful that the prophecy of the birth of a Messiah would overthrow his kingdom, orders his soldiers to murder the young boys of Bethlehem.

As I have mentioned before, St. Matthew’s Gospel is particularly focused on revealing Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Warned by an angel, Joseph takes Mary and her newborn son to Egypt where they stay until those who sought the death of Jesus had died themselves.

It is difficult to call this day of feast day, yet it carries that rank in the liturgy of the church. However, this feast day reminds us that Jesus was born into a world that had been darkened by sin. These young boys died so that God’s plan of salvation would find its fulfillment in the birth of Jesus. As we all know, Jesus himself will die years later to open heaven’s gate to all those who have given their lives for Jesus.

The passage that we read from St. John’s First Letter reminds us that we still walk in darkness even though Jesus proclaimed that he was the light of the world. It is now our responsibility to see to it that that light is never extinguished.