Category Archives: Holy Innocents

There is a song titled “The Greatest Love of All” originally sung by George Benson and later covered by Whitney Houston, and part of the words in the song are: “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier, let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.” These words give us the impression and understanding that children ought to be loved, cared for, and protected. However, this is not always the case. In some countries and in some places, children are being mistreated, abused and even exploited. As Christians, we are often reminded to be child-like, and Jesus often reminds us: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” But are we following what Jesus says? Are we like little children, and also making effort to protect children around us from harm?

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, where Herod out of his insecurity and insanity, ordered the massacre of infants at Bethlehem. To Herod, these children meant nothing to him, and he chose to eliminate them just because he feared one child, the infant Jesus. Herod was more interested in protecting his power, even to the point of committing murder, even though Jesus is king not of the kind which Herod thought. But Herod could not see that, since he was already consumed and blinded with greed, pride, ego, power and prestige.

Even today, this senseless brutality and exploitation towards children are being committed for political, racial and religious reasons. The Feast of the Holy Innocents remind us that it is our duty to protect the rights and dignity of children. Just as Mary and Joseph protected Jesus from the evil of Herod, we as Christians are reminded to protect the children from the various forms of evil against them. Are we doing our part, so that the children of our future are secured?

Paranoia is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Sometimes, paranoia can cause a person to commit greater sins such as to kill, either through character assassination or even physically, in an attempt to get rid of what one irrationally perceives to be threat.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The Holy Innocents were martyred or killed because King Herod was a paranoid and insanely jealous man. He was constantly worried and paranoid that he would lose his throne, since the Romans had given him the throne as a gift, and the Romans could just as easily take it away and give it to someone else. This led King Herod to irrationally see Jesus as a threat to his sovereignty and power, and Jesus had to be exterminated to protect his interests. Since he did not know what Jesus look like and where Jesus was, he decided to kill any babies around, with the hope that one of them would turn out to be Jesus.

Some of us too can sometimes be paranoid or jealous about something. As a result, great sins could be committed to protect what we think is rightfully ours. Have we forgotten that our ultimate purpose is to glorify God in all we do? Why are some of us so easily paranoid and jealous? May we come to realise that our paranoia and jealousy stems from our ego and pride, and learn to walk humbly in God’s presence.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Like St Stephen whose Feast we celebrated on Dec 26, the Holy Innocents were martyred or killed. Their deaths were a consequence of Jesus fleeing to Egypt. Why did they have to die? King Herod was a paranoid and insanely jealous man. He did not want anybody coming between him and his throne. He saw Jesus as a threat to his sovereignty and power. So, in his mind, the best solution would be to kill Jesus. Since he did not know what Jesus look like and where Jesus was, the simple option would be to kill any babies around, with the hope that one of them would turn out to be Jesus.

Some of us too can sometimes be paranoid or jealous about something. As a result, great sins could be committed to protect what we think is rightfully ours. Are we forgetting our ultimate purpose to be in good relationship with the Lord and eventually dwell in His presence? Have worldly pleasures and riches blinded us? Let us choose wisely for our eternal future.