HOLY INNOCENTS DAY – December 28, 2008

SCRIPTURES – Isaiah 61:10 – 62:3; Gal. 4:4-7; Matt. 2:1-18

The week before Christmas I watched again the 2006 movie, “The Nativity,” which tells the story of the birth of Jesus. It is no light and cheery Christmas movie. It begins with the soldiers of King Herod arriving in Bethlehem to slaughter all the young boys in the town. This sets the tone; sacrifice and suffering are the focus throughout the movie. This is as it should be, for sacrifice and suffering were the focus and purpose of Christ’s life. The cross casts its shadow upon Jesus’ entire life, beginning with His conception and birth. It casts its shadow upon the lives of His followers, also.

 St. Matthew in his Gospel tells us that the cross cast its shadow upon the children of Bethlehem, the holy innocents, who are remembered by the Church on December 28. Matthew says that when the Magi do not return to King Herod with details regarding the new King of the Jews they had come to visit, Herod senses that he has been deceived. Whatever they had discovered in Bethlehem was something that they did not want to share with him. Whomever they had found there was not for him to know about. Herod did not take this slight by the Wise Men lightly.

 Herod was a man of decision and action, you see. The December 2008 National Geographic praises him, calling him, “An astute and generous ruler, a brilliant general, and one of the most imaginative and energetic builders of the ancient world… [who] guided his kingdom to new prosperity and power.” He was responsible for some of the greatest building projects the world had seen, including the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and a network of mighty palaces and fortresses throughout his territories, some of which remain to this day. But, he was also responsible for some of the most savage killings imaginable, including the murder his wife Mariamne; her brother, who was Israel’s high priest; three of his own sons; his mother-in-law; and many of his friends and associates. He even planned to have the entire nation of Israel plunged into mourning after he died by having his soldiers massacre a crowd of leading citizens. Fortunately, they did not carry out this scheme. Although it may seem incomprehensible that a ruler would decree the death of all young male children in one of his towns – the author of the National Geographic article, for instance, confidently asserts that “Herod is almost certainly innocent of this crime” because the only historical record of it is in Matthew’s Gospel – that action was totally in character for Herod the Great. He wanted no competition for his throne as the King of the Jews. So he decreed death for those innocent little ones, who are sometimes referred to as the first martyrs for Christ.

 The account of the holy innocents of Bethlehem makes it clear that, from the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, association with Him has had its consequences. No person and no era is immune to suffering on account of Christ – including our own. Indeed, in the 20^th century more Christians were killed for their faith, primarily in Moslem and Communist countries, than in all the other centuries combined. And, over the past four decades the leaders of nations throughout the world have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent children by legalizing abortion, dwarfing the atrocity Herod committed.

 The children of Bethlehem suffered for Christ, although unintentionally. As we come to the end of another calendar year, it would be well for us to reflect on the type of witness to our Lord that each of us has been in the past year. How have we dealt with persecution, if it has happened to us in any way, no matter how subtle? Have we stood up for our faith and been counted for the Lord? Have we stood up for the innocent children in the womb, whose lives have been created by God and sanctified by the Son of God Himself coming as a growing fetus in the womb of His mother, and yet who have been marked for death and for whom our society is silent? Have we borne the cross and been witnesses to Jesus as Creator and Redeemer?

 There is great joy with the arrival of Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem, but there is pain as well. The Savior came to take away the sins of the world, including our sins of timidity, the desire for the favor of others over the favor of God, and weak faith, but it was at a price of pain. He would suffer throughout His life, and His suffering would intensify until the day of Good Friday, when it was completed on the cross on which He died to pay the price of our sins and the sins of all people. The job not completed by Herod was completed by the Roman governor, Pilate. The shadow of the cross tempers the joy of Christmas with the sense of pain yet to come.

 That pain is experienced not only by Jesus but by those who are close to Him as well. When Mary comes to present her infant son at the temple, the righteous man Simeon tells her that a sword will pierce her own soul too. Certainly, the death of the holy innocents caused great anguish to their parents and family members. St. Matthew, as he writes his narrative, states that the whole nation was drawn into the pain of the slaughter:

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

 Yet, beyond the pain, there is something more: there is praise and promise. Although there is a theme of sadness on this Day of the Holy Innocents, there is also a theme of triumph. God warns the Magi, and they do not go back to Herod. God sends His angel to warn Joseph, and he leaves with his family during the night and finds refuge in Egypt. God promises to be with, save, and direct the lives of His people, a promise that He will keep despite the power of those who oppose them. But what about the poor children of Bethlehem? God sends His angel to them, also ― to take them home to Him. What Paul says in the book of Romans is very true of them:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Their lives in and praise of the Lord goes on, as they are part of the great multitude in heaven that is shouting their hallelujah’s to the Lord God Almighty.

 Several years after the death of the children at Bethlehem, Herod died and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were able to return from Egypt to the land of God’s promise. Their life went on. The child Jesus grew in strength and wisdom amid the sunny hills of Nazareth, far removed from the streets of Bethlehem and the terror and sadness they had known. But the death of the little children was never forgotten. Today we join those children in praising God, as we remember them these many centuries after their tragic deaths.

 The martyrdom of the Holy Innocents touches our hearts. It reminds us that senseless evil and sin are very much part of this world, and that the most weak and innocent often suffer because of the desires of the strong. It makes us aware all the more of the need of the Savior, the promised babe of Bethlehem, who lived and died and rose again for us, the One who brings us forgiveness of sins and the One whom it is our joy to serve. God has promised the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives to lead us in witnessing to Christ our Lord. By God’s grace, holy innocence is also our calling, however long our earthly life may be. May we find encouragement and blessing in recalling the Holy Innocents, looking forward to the heavenly meeting with them and the shared privilege of praising Jesus, the Baby born in Bethlehem for our present and eternal salvation.