“Herod… killed all the male children in Bethlehem… Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’” Matthew 2:16-18
Within the birth narrative of Jesus lies the dark story of what is traditionally called the Slaughter of the Innocents. King Herod, in hopes of killing the Light of the World, calls for the massacre of the infant boys of Bethlehem. This fulfills the prophecy of the mother of the nation Israel, Rachel, weeping for her slaughtered children––and foreshadows that the restoration that would ultimately come through Jesus has not yet arrived.
While ultimately unsuccessful in his mission, Herod’s government-ordained slaughter of innocent children echoes into today. Roe v. Wade legalized this 49 years ago by permitting abortion. Massachusetts itself has now passed the one-year anniversary of the ROE (“Infanticide”) Act, where fully-formed children are legally allowed to be slaughtered up to birth.
In Massachusetts, we have some of the most expansive abortion laws in the nation, which means it’s easier to become desensitized to this extreme violence enacted on the most vulnerable in our society. That’s why this Sunday, January 23, 2022, I encourage you to consider celebrating Sanctity of Life Sunday––the closest Sunday to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
The fact of the matter is that over 18,000 children are killed in MA alone every year through abortion. 18,000. Let that sink in. That is not an insignificant number. As a young woman, I’ve grown up my entire life in a culture that tells me that it is not only acceptable but welcome to murder my future baby. He or she can be added to that horrendous number–and no one would stop me. I, and other women, apparently have “the choice” to not recognize human life and dignity. Far from insignificant, that is extremely consequential.
But we have the choice to not be numb to the reality of abortion. Like Rachel, we should weep for our Commonwealth’s lost children––because they are no more. We should also refuse to be comforted––because this IS a slaughter of innocents. As such, we cannot grow weary of working towards abolishing abortion in our lifetime.
MFI encourages you to use this opportunity to defend a culture of life! Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have some excellent Sanctity of Life Sunday resources available for your churches at the link here.
By being Rachels in a culture of Herod, we should use our sorrow to support a culture of life––IN our lifetime.
Post written by:
Deborah Cumbee, Research Assistant
