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“THOU LITTLE TINY CHILD” Our program today is called “THOU LITTLE TINY CHILD”. These words sound old-fashioned, and so they are. The words “thou little tiny child” are taken from the 14th century English Christmas hymn called “Coventry Carol”. The tiny child is, of course, the infant Jesus. The “Coventry Carol” has a beautiful melody and haunting lyrics, and it tells the story of King Herod’s rage at being deceived by the three magi who went home from Bethlehem without divulging the child Jesus’ exact location. This provoked King Herod’s order to his army to slaughter all the little boys in Bethlehem age two and under. Today, I will talk about the child Jesus, the magi, and King Herod. We will keep in mind that the “Feast of the Epiphany” refers to the definitive revelation of God to the Gentiles through the new covenant in Christ’s name. The “Feast of the Holy Innocents”, celebrated during the “Octave of Christmas”, celebrates the martyred children of Bethlehem. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Our lesson for today is called “THOU LITTLE TINY CHILD”. Let’s go to the Bible and read a portion from Matthew’s gospel. Matthew will tell us about the magi who rejoiced that, in Christ, salvation had come to the gentile (or non-Israelite) world. Then Matthew reveals Herod’s anger and his murderous decision to slaughter the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem. From the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, starting with verse 10: WHEN THEY saw the star, (the magi) rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. AND BEING warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 13. Now when they had 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, 15. 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: 18. "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." [Mt 2:10-18] Now, let’s return to the 14th century “Coventry Carol” and look at the lyrics of this bittersweet Christmas hymn. In centuries gone by, the “Coventry Carol” formed part of the annual Christian mystery plays celebrated in Coventry, England. (By “mystery”, I refer to the human person’s limited powers to comprehend or grasp the infinite mind of God.) The mystery plays enacted the redemption story from the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden to the Last Judgment. The “Coventry Carol” was sung at the climax of the narrative of Jesus’ birth. It is sung by the mothers of Bethlehem who quietly, desperately sing to hush their baby boys lest Herod’s soldiers locate them by the sound of their crying. Here are the words of the “Coventry Carol”: Lully, lulla, thow littel tyne child, O sisters too, How may we do Herod the King In his raging That wo is me, Pore child, for thee, King Herod ruled greater Palestine at the time of Jesus' birth. He was a brilliant man who eventually descended into madness, a final decay not uncommon to old and desperate rulers. Weary from a lifetime of battling to stay on top, in power, and alive, the aging king's reign was marked by stagnancy, suspicion, and vengeance. The fire of the old king's paranoia was not confined to his palaces or doomed family members; periodically it leaped through the weary populace of Judea, consuming the lives of both innocent and guilty alike. The Judean throne had become a reliquary and Herod its relic. Fueled by the fever of absolute power, Herod vents his fury on Bethlehem's infants--all male children two years old and younger. The fate of these children is sealed by the arrival in Jerusalem of three royal gentiles from Persia who publicly announce their intention of visiting a child, a newborn boy destined to become King of the Jews. Jerusalem's inhabitants, weak and powerful alike, consider the arrival of the eastern magi as auspicious and ominous. The Persian princes support their quest by significant astronomical and textual evidence: a star pointing to Bethlehem and the prophecy of Micah taken from the sacred Jewish texts: BUT YOU, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days." [Mic 5:2] The three wise men intend to worship the child and give him gifts. Matthew's gospel would later report that the news ignited a firestorm of controversy. Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled. [cf. Mt 2:3] Many people, who seem quite ordinary at first glance, are very much like Herod in their minds and hearts. The “citizen” Herod’s favorite words are What are you going to do for me? He rejects moral and ethical truth because it interferes with his getting what he wants, when he wants it, and how he wants it. The citizen Herod today shuns the good of others and the good of his community as a sell-out of his personal interests. The moment he can betray his community, he will, whether his community is his own family, neighborhood or workplace. Nevertheless, the citizen Herod of this generation is like the old King of Judea. He fails to grasp that human violence and slaughter begins with the death of truth. The society that does not confront the horror of death will die by glorifying it. The U.S. has been cited as a culture of death because for decades, sanctimonious politicians and judges have piously enacted and sustained human kill programs to serve our lifestyle and convenience. Capital punishment, abortion, birth control and euthanasia are being applied on an ever-widening scale with devastating consequences. Legalized abortion is the premier killing program. Consider that tens of millions of unborn infants have been aborted over the past thirty years. That any child must die for the sake of his parents’ empowerment, choice and lifestyle, is utterly repugnant. Unless a nation is able and willing to argue coherently for the cause of human life, it has no right to a future. No constructive program or secure future exists for the society that excludes the defense of its weak and innocent members. Never is the death of a human being in the best interest of any individual or society. A society does not prove its maturity by fine-tuning human kill programs or inventing more sophisticated methods to accomplish the unchangeable brutal fact of human killing. "You shall not kill", commands the Lord your God. [Exo 20:13] AND (JESUS) said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." [Mk 4:23-25] Jesus is coming soon because he is the messiah. Although messiah is a Hebrew word, its meaning is clear: Jesus is the Son of God, the anointed one, the Christ. He is the Alpha and Omega, the one "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty". [Rev 1:8] Jesus Christ is coming soon to set things right in the world as only the messiah can do. He will appear in his glory, joined by the whole company of angels. Seated on his glorious throne [cf. Mt 19:28], he will cut down the harvest and judge the yield of the nations. Without exception, each and every human soul will appear before the Lord that his heart and his works may be judged. Christ will judge the hearts of all souls, that is to say, the goodness of the human person's immortal intellect and will. To discern the truth of one's innermost heart, the Lord will judge the works for which that soul is responsible. Let us turn now to the little tiny child and to his magnificent and incomparable Kingdom. Jesus Christ gives life and wills liberty for everyone. He is the eternal Word through whom the Father "formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being". [Gen 2:7] Because he is the just judge of every man, Christ is the messiah of the world, messiah of all its nations and messiah for all its people. He is not anointed by attrition, that is to say, he is not merely the saviour of those who seek and find him after escaping into adulthood with scarcely their lives. He is the messiah of eternity, the chosen one "ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead". [Acts 10:41] "For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light." [Mk 4:22] The light of God's truth reveals that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". [Rom 3:23] Rarely are human astonishment and grief more overwhelming than when a person confronts sin and its murderous effects. And never is human desolation greater than for men and women who confront the shattering consequences of their offenses against human life: FOR YOUR lifeblood, I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. [Gen 9:5-6] The death of any human being is a grief to God, for the Lord saw Adam and Eve subject themselves to death, and he witnessed Cain's murder of his brother Abel. [cf. Gen 4:1-16] The killing of a human being is an anguish to the Father, for he stayed the hand of his servant Abraham and spared the life of Isaac, the child of promise. [cf. Heb 11:9,17] The murder of any human being is an abomination in the sight of the Father, who suffered the passion and death of his only begotten son, our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the power of death would be destroyed forever. Have you sinned against life? Have you loved yourself and despised the innocent? Has your heart condemned you? In defense of Gospel truth and the values that represent it, the Catholic Church absolutely opposes attacks against human life, most especially the lives of innocent and helpless human beings who are not rich and powerful or economically profitable. The Church offers reconciliation with Christ as the only remedy for sins against human life. That wo is me, Pore child, for thee, +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Your life depends on hope, and you must believe that God is love. If, directly or indirectly, you bear responsibility for sins against human life, be grateful for the grief that overwhelms you. Your sorrow now can help to save your life. God gives you suffering to heal your spiritual sight. Lift up your eyes to Christ on the cross. See how he safely shelters the innocent souls in his Sacred Heart! Prostrate yourself before the King of Kings in remorse. Confess God's sovereign authority over all human life. Love Christ, and believe that he will care for you in this difficult time. Let Christ use your suffering in his own way. Entrust your wounded heart entirely to him; take care to protect your heart from further harm. Seek help from strong persons of faith who will pray with you. In the meantime, God will offer grace sufficient to your strength. Your conscience, under the sentence of death, longs to be freed. Examine your conscience thoroughly before the Spirit of Truth. Humble it in the light of right reason. If you sincerely repent, if you yearn to be absolved, if you resolve to champion the weak and helpless, the Lord Jesus will honor you at his banquet table. Your eyes of faith will behold the splendor of eternal life and love, and you will stand confident before the throne of heaven. God's love fills the hearts of his servants. Offer the love of your heart as a ransom for the innocent. Become who you serve. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ |
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