Greed, Fear, and The Holy Innocents

When Herod ordered the murder of all the male Hebrew babies up to age two, those babies who died because of Christ became known as “The Holy Innocents”.  Since the legalization of abortion in America in 1973, more than 50 million babies have died from abortion and are today’s “Holy Innocents”.   There are some startling resemblances and differences between the two.
 

An estimated 4,000 Hebrew babies died because of one man’s fear and greed.  Filled with greed and envy, Herod misused his power.  His decree was a desperate act to eliminate a child who he feared would become his political rival.  As a result, the slain babies have been remembered for more than 2,000 years.   Herod’s evil act created the first of thousands upon thousands of red martyrs who have died for Jesus.  One can only imagine the horror and shock of the parents of these babies.  The Bible only tells us that “Rachel would not be consoled”. 

 

 It seems ironic that nearly the same number of babies that died at Herod’s decree die each day in America through abortion, very sadly, with the assent of their mothers.  Abortion is legal because of the greed of an industry making millions of dollars in profit each year.   Mothers turn to abortion for a very different reason - fear.  In most cases, the father has either abandoned the mother or is pressuring her to abort.  She fears the loss of the relationship if she doesn’t comply.  She fears parenting on her own. She fears losing her job or that the demands of parenting will force her to quit work or school.  She fears the loss of her goals and dreams, having to depend on the government for her very existence, and being plunged in poverty.  She fears disappointing her parents, being thrown out of her home and disowned.  And because women who abort report that they would have continued the pregnancy if they had had just one person to turn to for encouragement and emotional support, it is clear that the mothers seeking abortion fear isolation and abandonment most of all.  In the end, though, when a person kills her own child, she ends up feeling like a monster and this isolates her from everyone.  Common after-effects of abortion may include but are not limited to self-loathing, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, failure to bond with others, self-destructive behaviors, and sleep disorders.
 

Aborted babies will likely be remembered in history in the same way that the Hebrew babies are remembered - as innocents whose deaths were sanctioned by an unjust government.  As Bishop Fulton Sheen said, “Laws are only laws when they comply with the will of God.”  Since it is God who creates life and who told us, “Thou shall not kill”, we know that the destruction of these children is a grievous violation against His law.  And yet, our nation’s Democratic party promotes abortion as a plank of its platform. Like Herod, greed and fear of the loss of power motivate the Democratic party to promote the murder of our nation’s unborn babies.

 

Still, the blood of our aborted babies can not be restricted to the shoulders of the parents of the babies, the abortion workers, and the politicians who defend abortion.   Just as when our country allowed slavery, our entire society bears the responsibility for an unjust law.  No one has the right to hurt women and kill babies, and everyone is called to defend the right to life.  

 

Jesus calls each of us to be Good Samaritans, offering help to parents who are contemplating abortion and to those who are suffering after abortion.  We must pray to Jesus for the conversion of abortion workers and all politicians who promote abortion.  We must be salt and light for the world.  If all Christians truly acted like followers of Christ, abortion would end and the world would be changed with His message of hope and help.