Stop that Killing, Be a Defender of Human Lives!
Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80
To have to celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John-the-Baptist on a Sunday, the Day-of-the-Lord, instead of the Resurrection of Christ, maybe considered nothing less than a scandal: how can the feast day of a saint topple and replace that of God himself, Jesus Christ, whose resurrection from the dead we celebrate every Sunday? Well, when we understand that the Day-of-the-Sun, Sunday, is inferior to every human life, and that the Defence of human life is far superior to every obligation given to human beings, then the celebration of the solemnity of John-the-Baptist on a Sunday is NOT scandalous; rather, the greatest scandal of humanity is the levity with which we treat God, and how easily we kill human life instead of defending it! Today, we must stop the killing, and become defenders of human lives!
If God created everything else before creating the human person, in Genesis 1, that proves that human life is the crown and apex of God’s creation. If Adam and Eve sinned against God, in Genesis 3, and God saved them from death, instead of destroying them, that means that God is ready to do anything to defend the life he created. If God was ready to sacrifice his only begotten Son, in John 3:16-17, to save human lives, that shows how limitless the Defence of human life is for God. In fact, we celebrate Sunday to emphasize the resurrection of Christ because Christ died to save human life! But what do we get today: abortion, euthanasia, suicide, wars, assassinations, genocides, ethnic cleansing, and capital punishments! Where is the Defence of life, what is the worth of the human life in the 21st century?
Remember that every Solemnity, including Sunday, celebrates an aspect of the mystery of human salvation. The Solemnity of the Nativity of John-the-Baptist celebrates the importance of every human life in God’s scheme of salvation. Today, this Sunday, we celebrate “God’s graciousness” to us because the name John – Yehohana – means “God is gracious.” God’s graciousness to every human being is, first and foremost, manifested in the gift of life given to every human being. When every life is seen, accepted, and defended as a gift of God, then the Solemnity of today – the Defence of human life – begins to make sense.
The very first instance of God’s graciousness to every human being is at conception: “The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name,” says our first reading. To be “called” is to be given a mission by God; it is to say that every human life has an inbuilt purpose by God. Every human life is not a product of chance and coincidence; human life is no respecter of legal definition of a fetus as either a human being or not, neither is the question at how many months, weeks nor days before a fetus is considered a human being. No wonder, from the definition of a fetus as non-human, we have condescended to killing human beings outside of the womb – child and adult euthanasia! The irony of all this is that the human person deciding the fate of other human beings cannot even create a human being: where is our humanity, even animals do not kill their own specie?
Every human being has a triple mission: to offer one’s life for the good of others, either as parents or priests; to spend one’s life crusading for justice and peace upon earth; and to participate actively in the sharping of the political and public landscapes. The “call” of Isaiah today is also our call: “[God] made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory”. If the glory of the Lord must shine today, it is your responsibility and mine as well. The enabling power is already in each one of us, by the virtue of our missions given to us from the womb: “I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!” Every life counts, because every person has a role to play in God’s scheme of things – God’s transformation of our lives and polity.
If emphasis is laid on the importance of the individual human being today, it is because the calamities that are ours today befell us because those who are supposed to fix them have been eliminated through abortions, euthanasia, wars, etc. Imagine the geniuses aborted because of Down syndrome and the so-called unwanted pregnancies; scientists eliminated for their intelligence, and people killed because of their race and the color of their skin or gender! Our generation needs conversion towards the respect of life! If you stop that killing and become a defender of human life from conception to natural death, the human lot on earth would improve!
The greatest problem of our generation is its faith in itself, its hubris and pride. Our generation refuses to acknowledge the God who is responsible for human life, and the creator of every living being. The smarter people become these days, the more irrelevant God becomes for them, and all the more politically incorrect it becomes to identify with Christianity. The foundation of Western education is fast being eroded, irreligiosity and atheism are in the ascendency. Yet, for those of us who believe, even the names we bear foretell our future and announce our origin: we come from God and return to God. The protest of Elizabeth brings this fact out clearly: “When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, ‘No. He will be called John.’” Just as Zachariah, whose name means “the remembrance of Yahweh,” and God showed in his life that he remembers his promises by granting them (he and Elizabeth) a son, so must God be allowed the liberty to work in their son, Yehohana (God is gracious), to realize God’s plans of mercy and compassion on his people. Yes, a name speaks volumes, a name is a prophecy about its bearer!
“What, then, will this child be?” is the mystery of human life: every human life must be allowed to blossom and never short-circuited. Not even the individual has the right to suicide because other human beings are counting on you! A human life is a divine story, with God as the script writer; it is a symphony that needs other human beings to perform. Human lives are interconnected in more than one way, at least they have the same God and creator, just as their missions are intertwined. We need one another, as fellow travelers, not as rivals. The earth is large and big enough to accommodate our talents and differences. Yes, God has a reason for creating you and me differently. Stop that killing, and defend life, so that we may all enjoy God’s plan for each one of us!
Assignment for the Week:
Ask yourself one question and answer it: What makes me unique and does that tally with the meaning of my name?
I would love to receive your homilies father. You cannot remember everyone from St. Andrews but I remember you.
Thanks for the honor. If you’re on Whatsapp, then I can send it to you by giving me your number. On the contrary, you can send me your email address.