Feast of the Holy Innocents – Matthew 2:13-18
Today’s Gospel begins with an angel appearing to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells him: “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you." The angel warns Joseph that Herod is searching for the child and his plan is to kill the child.
On hearing these words, Joseph immediately took Mary and Jesus and they began the long journey to Egypt. They stayed in Egypt until the received word of Herod’s death.
When Herod realized that Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to safety, he was furious! He vented his anger by ordering a massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and the region. Any male child two years and younger was to be killed. Thus, the prophecy of Jeremiah, written centuries earlier, was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing, wailing, and lamenting."
The “mystery of life” continues on in our life time. Just as there was wailing, sorrow, and lamenting in Jesus’ day, there also is wailing, sorrow, and lamenting in our day. Sadly, there are many places in our world where people are suffering significantly. If we were ever to have true peace in our world, we might not recognize this planet as our home. We might think that we have gone to heaven.
What can you and I do to make our world more loving and more peace-filled? Let us to strive to act and respond lovingly to the people and the situations that we encounter as we go about our daily routine today. We may not be able to change the world, but we can strive to make our "little corner of the world” a more loving and joyful place. Who knows? The actions of one person may make your “little corner of the world” a brighter and more loving place.
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