POSTSCRIPT / December 27, 2016 / Tuesday
By FEDERICO D. PASCUAL JR.
Opinion Columnist
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Herod’s ilk still stalks the earth
SUMMARY killing is as old as the earth. Even in biblical times, rulers who had neither respect nor patience for due process had their hands stained with the blood of their innocent victims.
Matthew tells us of King Herod of ancient Judea, who felt threatened by the reported birth of a child in Bethlehem destined to be king of the Jews — his replacement? Herod asked the Magi, who confirmed to him the disturbing news, for feedback after their visit to the newborn.
But the Three Wise Men, sensing something was amiss, did not report back to Herod, whose heightened insecurity sent him ordering in rage that all boys in Bethlehem and vicinity two years of age or under be killed right away.
The suspected Christs were not old enough to fight back so there was no need to plant a weapon near their bodies or concoct stories of self-defense. The mad order was simply, and ruthlessly, to “kill ‘em” all.
But Herod’s police missed Jesus, who had been spirited out in the nick of time to Egypt. As Matthew narrated:
“When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.”
■ ‘Holy Innocents’ remembered tomorrow
THE MASSACRE, waged by Herod in the name of public order, is remembered tomorrow throughout Christendom – a grim reminder that reincarnations of the madman are still among us.
Although Jewish, the “Holy Innocents” have been claimed as martyrs for Christianity. As in varying reports on the number of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, there are differing estimates of how many were the Innocents – from a low 14,000 to a high 144,000.
But based partly on the population of Bethlehem at the time, a little more than 1,000, the Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-12) suggested that probably only six to 20 children were killed in the town, with a dozen or so more in the surrounding areas.
Settling for a 35-to-1,100 ratio between those believed killed versus the estimated population, that would mean a 3 percent kill rate by Herod’s executioners.
President Duterte estimates that there are some 3,700,000 drug peddlers and users in the country whom he vowed to kill if they do not mend their ways. The roughly 6,000 drug suspects killed so far are 6,000 out of the 3,700,000, or .17 percent of the target sector.
■ Pope’s ‘urbi et orbi’ Christmas message
AT NOON last Sunday, from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis addressed his Christmas message to a crowd of some 40,000 in the square and his “urbi et orbi” (to the city and to the world) blessing to everyone.
Excerpts: “Today the Church once again experiences the wonder of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and the shepherds of Bethlehem, as they contemplate the newborn Child laid in a manger: Jesus, the Savior.
“On this day full of light, the prophetic proclamation resounds: ‘For to us a child is born, To us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder; and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’
“The power of this Child, Son of God and Son of Mary, is not the power of this world, based on might and wealth; it is the power of love. It is the power which created the heavens and the earth, which gives life to all creation; it is the force which attracts man and woman, and makes them one flesh, one single existence; it is the power which gives new birth, pardons faults, reconciles enemies, and transforms evil into good. It is the power of God.
“The birth of Jesus was accompanied by the angels’ song as they proclaimed: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!’ Today this message goes out to the ends of the earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace.
“Peace to men and women in the war-torn land of Syria, where far too much blood has been spilled. Above all in Aleppo, site of the most awful battles in recent weeks, it is most urgent that assistance and support be guaranteed to the exhausted civil populace, with respect for humanitarian law.
“Peace to those who have lost a person dear to them as a result of brutal acts of terrorism, and to those who have sown fear and death into the hearts of so many countries and cities.
“Peace – not merely the word, but a real and concrete peace – to our abandoned and excluded brothers and sisters, to those who suffer hunger and to all the victims of violence. Peace to exiles, migrants and refugees, to all those who in our day are subject to human trafficking.
“Peace to the peoples who suffer because of the economic ambitions of the few, because of the sheer greed and the idolatry of money, which leads to slavery. Peace to those affected by social and economic unrest, and to those who endure the consequences of earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.
“Peace to the children, on this special day on which God became a child, above all those deprived of the joys of childhood because of hunger, wars or the selfishness of adults.
“Peace on earth to men and women of goodwill, who work quietly and patiently each day, in their families and in society, to build a more humane and just world, sustained by the conviction that only with peace is there the possibility of a more prosperous future for all.”