Luke 2:23 "([A]s it is written in the law of the Lord, "'Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.)'" This is in parentheses because Luke is explaining to his readers why Mary and Joseph presented the newborn Jesus in the temple.

God's law is so simple and reveals His Truth so effortlessly. Every Jewish male who was born was to be called holy to the Lord, and thus was presented at the temple. God is not confused about what it means to be male or female, so there is no need for human beings to think about that, it is obvious from how we are made what we are, and what the Lord intended us to be. That is just simple truth.

Further, the males are to be called holy to the Lord if they "open the womb", that is, if they are born. It is a sad truth that pregnancy is a dangerous time for the unborn, but that does not make those in the womb any less human. God's law makes that clear by differentiating between the males who are born, and those who unfortunately pass away before birth. There is no confusion as to whether the male who does not live to "open the wound" is a human being, he is a "male", that he is a human being is understood.

So from this simple expression of God's law, we see two truths: that the baby in the womb is a living human being, and that he or she is already his or her God-given gender in the womb. From where we stand, it is only the gender that is revealed to us when when he or she "opens the womb", not his or her humanity, yet both of those things are already known to God.

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn. Today's reading reinforces that these tiny, defenseless human beings are God's children, children that He has entrusted to us to care for in accordance with His law. Our failure to do so properly is, I believe, a major contributing factor in our present worldly distress. So let's stop pretending to be confused about when life begins, or what gender is. We already know, and we should appreciate the simple answers we have, rather than confusing ourselves and our children, and hurting them as well, with our prideful attempts at redefining the Truth.