As a young man raised in the world, I valued the ability of our free will to chose and to make my own destiny in life by floating along the surrounding currents, or choosing to focus my efforts in a particular direction. Now I am not saying that I didn’t know right from wrong, but I was mostly unaware of the love God has for me and all of His teachings for my salvation. The world was telling me entirely something different! Thus said, we all know that all of us sin and fall short of that glory! (Romans 3:23)
As I matured, or gotten older (depending on what Matushka sees), I have come to recognize that we all struggle with surrender to the Alpha and the Omega. Most of us when we are young and full of vinegar and are quite head-strong, perhaps at times grasping at straws for stability, or feeling invincible and not fully realizing our life here on Earth has limitations. Some of those choices we later in life ask ourselves: What was I thinking?
We who were once strangers to Orthodoxy are now finding the true and tested teachings and healing here in the nave of her fortress. And in that teaching, I happened on this train of thought as we yesterday, commemorated the Holy Innocents, who have a special place in my heart. My wife and I visited their burial cave when we visited Bethlehem 14 years ago. We Orthodox know them as the first martyrs for Christ. Some 14,000 children were slaughtered by the decree of Herod. These are also saints that we ask for intercession each month as we pray for the lives of the unborn.
Our country, as well as many others, is at a loss for how to properly handle some of these social issues we are faced with these days. I am not trying to stir up old pain but you must know that the Orthodox Church is Pro-Life. I am not here to judge as I am a sinful man with a boatload of regrets, but I never had to deal with what is known by many as an unwanted child. My sisters and my existence sure made life a struggle for my divorced mother, but we were loved, beyond measure, as a nurturing mother will try to do, if she is able.
I travel into these deep painful waters today as I am reminded by the echo in the Gospel reading from Matthew (2:18) of the great prophet Jeremiah: “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”(Jer 31:15) Rachel soon died after giving birth to her second son, Benjamin whose descendants settled around Rama.
Blessed Theophylact writes: “Rama is a place in Palestine of high elevation, for the name itself means “high” ... This place fell by lot to the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, who was the son of Rachel, and Rachel was buried in Bethlehem. By “Rachel”, therefore, the prophet Jeremiah means “Bethlehem” …He is saying that weeping and lamentation will be heard from on high.” (The Explanation of Blessed Theophylact of The Holy Gospel According To St. Mathew, pg 29) St. John Chrysostom adds: “He naturally denominates her young children who were massacred. Then to show that the wound that befell her was incurable and cruel, He says, “she would not be comforted because they are not.” (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 9 on Matthew- Matt. II. 16)
This cruel choice is not understood by supporters of pro-choice, they argue about when a fetus is considered a child. But we all must realize that formation of an in infant in the womb is not of science and our manipulation. Yes, there are surgeries and chemicals that may help formation in some way, but after all that, creation belongs solely to the Creator. The unborn is alive and a separate person with their unique soul and dna, and should be safe in the womb and trustingly lying in the hands of God for His will to be done!
And then today we remember Joseph the Betrothed the eightyish year old widower who obeyed God and accepted this unborn child as his own. And according to history of that era that within the Roman law: the ancient pagan world saw nothing morally wrong with infanticide or with abandoning their newborns on the dung heaps or garbage dumps of cities. Some of which made their way into the slave trade and a few were also saved by families. (Philosopher Epictetus did this)
Of course for the Jewish people a Jewish child was not seen this way. A portion of the Hebrew Bible outlines rituals and offerings for childbirth for both boys and girls. Childbirth is sacred to them and a gift from God. Of course as we look at the Nativity of Christ, we can imagine that if Mary’s village knew, they would have seen her as dishonored as she was pregnant without a husband.
Many folks today see this country as a Christian nation and yet we have chosen roughly 100, 000 abortions each month this past year. Do Christians Sacrifice Their CHILDREN? (https://apnews.com/article/abortion-survey-pills-roe-election-2024-7179dda48eae0a764be89c2e0aafd80a) And on top of that, this nation greatly aides other poorer nations with this extermination. We need to pray with every breath we take, for the awakening of the social and civil influencers of this nation, that the Star of Bethlehem will guide us all to the cave, where God dwells. And that we may also seek repentance for this demonic practice. We are not God!
The Prophet Isaiah said: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you., says the Lord. (Isaiah 49:15) You see, first and foremost, the child belongs to God. And then in our forgetfulness of Him, we also find ourselves not practicing humility and forgiveness, which results in brokenness and is being inflicted on our families like a plague, which leads to abuse, abandonment and divorce. And sometimes that illness cripples the ability of a mother to nurture her children.
But we all have a nurturing that Mother that sees hope for me, and for you. SHE DOES NOT REST! And we constantly must raise our petitions to Her on behalf of the unborn and the brokenness of our crumbling families, for our pagan society, and our wavering money-hungry government. We need a brighter future for the world, and it needs to begin here. You can make a difference! “The man who cries out against evil men but does not pray for them will never know the grace of God.” (St. Silouan the Athonite)
O most holy Sovereign Lady Theotokos! Higher art thou than all the angels and archangels, and more honourable than all creation, a helper of the wronged art thou, the hope of the hopeless, an intercessor for the poor, the consolation of the sorrowful, a nourisher of the hungry, a robe for the naked, healing for the sick, the salvation of sinners, the help and protection of all Christians. O all-merciful Sovereign Lady Virgin Theotokos! Through thy mercy save and have mercy on the most holy Orthodox patriarchs, the most holy metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, and all the priestly and monastic orders, the military leaders, civic leaders, and Christ-loving armed forces, and well-wishers, and all Orthodox Christians do thou defend by thy precious omophor, and entreat, O Lady, Christ our God Who was incarnate of thee without seed, that He gird us with His power from on high against our enemies, visible and invisible, O all-merciful Sovereign Lady Theotokos! Raise us up out of the depths of sin, and deliver us from famine, destruction, from earthquake and flood, from fire and the sword, from invasion of aliens and civil war, and from sudden death, and from noxious winds, and from death-bearing plagues, and from all evil. Grant, O Lady, peace and health to thy servants, all Orthodox Christians, and enlighten their minds, and the eyes of their hearts unto salvation; and vouchsafe unto us, thy sinful servants, the kingdom of thy Son, Christ our God; for blessed and most-glorified is His dominion, together with His unoriginate Father, and His Most-Holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. (https://orthodox-europe.org/english/liturgics/prayers/akathist-theotokos/)
Fr. Gabriel Weller 1-12-2025
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