Matthew 2.12-23
When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more.”
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In our Gospel reading today we hear the sad story of Herod’s murder of the little boys living in or near Bethlehem. What prompted him to commit an act of such evil savagery?
Well, as the Fathers point out, when the Magi did not return to tell him whether or not they had found this King who’s star they had followed, the wicked king was convinced that they must have indeed found the One they sought. And having found Him and worshipped Him, they felt themselves under no allegiance to him, the ‘rightful’ king of the land, but instead recognised Him as the true king. And quite likely understanding his true purpose in wishing them to return and tell him where this new King was, that he intended not to worship Him but murder Him, they had journeyed home by a different route.
This explanation from the Fathers explains to me something that often has caused me to wonder about the way Herod behaved in relation to the Magi. To put it simply, why had he not sent someone with them to Bethlehem, or at least had some minion of his follow them? The answer, it would seem, is twofold.
First, in his arrogance and confidence in his worldly power, it never occurred to him that the Magi would defy him. He was king of all the land and ruler over all who stood within his borders. His authority was absolute. No one would dare to defy him. In his mind, as surely as day follows night these men would return, inform him as to whether they had found the One Whom they sought; and if they had, give him the exact location of this new King Who threatened his power.
And secondly, it appears that he was not convinced that these Magi, strangers in his land, would find any such King. Perhaps they were on what we would call a wild goose chase? The news they brought was troubling. But many before they had claimed that the Messiah had come or even claimed to be the Messiah themselves and it had come to nothing. Most likely this would prove to be the case this time also. But just in case there was something to the story, he would have the Magi return on their way home. That, he thought, covered all the possibilities.
As we know, he was wrong. And, as already mentioned, he found the fact that they didn’t return more alarming than their original arrival in Jerusalem. For the fact of their failure to return confirmed that a new King had come and was dwelling in the kingdom.
As a result, the wickedness already in Herod’s heart sank to depths unheard of. His original plan had been to murder a single little boy. Perhaps there might be some collateral damage. Perhaps it might be necessary to kill His parents as well. But his target was a single child living in Bethlehem. However, once he could no longer identify his target, he decided he would take extreme measures. He would kill them all.
He had a rough idea of the age of the boy he was looking for. He had learned from the Magi when the star appeared. Around two years ago. So, he would kill all the little boys two years old or younger in Bethlehem. Just to be sure. And then, to be even more sure, he would kill all the little boys living in the region of the little town. He had made a mistake before, trusting the Magi. He would not make a mistake this time.
But, as we know, he was very mistaken. His whole plan was a mistake. Had Herod been wise, he would have taken his failure with the Magi as a warning. He knew that the Person he was trying to kill was the Christ, the Messiah sent by Almighty God. What man could hope to fight against God and win? Herod, however, would not be warned. Instead, he doubled down, to put it modern parlance. He more than doubled down. He went from planning to kill one child to the actual murder of many, adding horror upon horror to his wickedness.
And all for what? For nothing. His thorough plan, which he thought left nothing to chance, failed. He murdered child after child after child, breaking the hearts of their mothers and fathers, only to miss the mark. The One he sought was already gone, long before his soldiers arrived. All he achieved was to ensure the infamy of his name for all generations. And most likely his own damnation, unless, of course, he had repented of his evil before his death. And, sadly, from what history tells us of him, that seems most unlikely.
I do not wish to end on so grim a note. So, let us return to the Holy Innocents, the victims of his terrible crime. And let us recall what the Fathers say concerning them. They tell us that while Herod intended to do them evil, instead he ensured a glorious fate for them. For even though they died, it was a martyr’s death. He sought their destruction; but, instead, he opened the door for them into Paradise. This, of course, does not justify what he did; but it should console us. For their fate is a sign of hope for us all. It tells us that, while the wicked of the world may take the lives of those who have Faith in Christ, they can never take Christ from them. For nothing can separate those who love Christ from the love of Christ. Amen.
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