Even though Jesus was conceived not by the seed of man but by the power of the Holy Spirit, he was truly human—just as human as we are. Like any other child, he spent nine months in his mother’s womb.
St John’s gospel reminds us of what happened when the Word became flesh. Jesus was the light shining in the darkness: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone.” These words invite us to examine the sharp contrast between light and darkness, between life and death.
Once a year, I dedicated one Sunday sermon to a topic that many find difficult to deal with. It’s about the right to life of the unborn. This fundamental human right is one of the things Jesus came to teach us. As we read in St Matthew’s gospel, Jesus said: “Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.”
Because of the darkness—we may feel overwhelmed by the chaos of this world and the chaos of our own lives—some of us are not ready to make room for a child. I do not write these words to condemn anyone. I am only saying the obvious. We were all once living in our mother’s womb for nine months. We know that the unborn child is just as human as we are. But we get the idea that an unwanted child would be better off dead.
We never use those words. We try to make it sound more agreeable by talking about overpopulation and sustainability. Even so, the truth is plain simple. We would rather sacrifice the child’s life in order to make our life a little easier.
The good news is that God will pardon all those who are guilty. If they repent, he will forgive the man who urges the mother to get an abortion, the mother who goes for the abortion, the doctors and the nurses who do the abortion. God will forgive them all as long as they ask him for mercy.
Thus says the Prophet Isaiah: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” This is the reason why God sent his Son, Jesus Christ. He wants to tell us as he told the woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you. Go in peace and sin no more.”
This article by Fr. Joe Babendreier first appeared in the Sunday Nation on 24th March 2019.