The Holy Innocents

Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning.

Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted,

Because they are no more."

- Matthew 2:13-18

Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, and the lectionary gives us this reading for its commemoration. (The feast day is pulled forward a day this year because the feast of St. Stephen, the protomartyr of Christianity, was commemorated on Sunday.)

Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, . . . My study bible has a note here which reads: "Egypt is where Israel once took refuge and was made captive. As the Israelites fled from Egypt (Ex. 12:31-42), so Joseph flees into Egypt, by night. It is probable the gifts of the Magi paid for this journey. Some of the first steps of Jesus are taken in exile. This is one of a number of instances in Scripture where God's people must elude civil power in order to do His will." I think there are a number of things to note in this passage. In the readings that tell us of events surrounding Jesus' birth, there are many "mysterious ways" in which the God's grace works to send messages to people who are instrumental in this story. In today's reading, a dream is given to Joseph to warn him. Just as the Annunciation to Mary, and Gabriel's appearance to Zacharias, there is an angel at work to send a message, who appears in Joseph's dream. I think the point made by the note in my study bible is crucial to our understanding of all the events surrounding Jesus' birth: our Savior is not born in easy circumstances. Rather, His birth is surrounded with difficulties. He is "God with us" not in a palace or an easy life, but "with us" in all the turmoils we may see in the world, and "with us" in our suffering under the evil and imperfections of earthly life and the burdens and struggles we have to bear because of it. This Holy Innocent and His family must flee by night, as if they are criminals, because of the whims of the powerful and the unjust.

. . . and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son." A note here reads, "Out of Egypt I called My Son refers to Israel in Hos. 11:1 (see Ex. 4:22; Num. 23:21-22; 24:5-8). In the Old Testament the son of God is Israel; here Jesus is the true Israel. He reenacts in His own life the history of Israel, without falling into sin." The notion of the persecution of innocents is a highly important spiritual understanding that teaches us about the world. In the Bible, the Holy Books of the Church, including the Old Testament, we are witness to a story about the persecution of innocents in this world. It is an important understanding, an addition to the comprehension of our place in the world, to see the persecution of the innocent by civil authority. It ties us to notions of power and its abuses that we, as "a holy people" must recognize. The work of Rene Girard, a professor who pioneered a reading of these texts as contrasted to the pagan mythologies in precisely this dimension, is quite important to our understanding of violence and the difference of its portrayal in the mythologies and in our Scripture. The Scriptures teach us insights about the persecution of the innocent through the whims associated with power, and give us an understanding and depth necessary to our perception of our place in the world as children of a loving and just God.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. A note here reads, "The cruelty of Herod was prefigured at Moses' birth, when Pharaoh attempted to kill all the male children in order to destroy the first Israel (Ex. 1:16, 22)." I think it's important that my study bible ties in all the scripture in the Old and the New Testaments -- this story and Israel's story. Speaking for myself, it's not only a reflection of Christ as Israel, but of all the "people of God" in the world. The picture of innocents suffering by the whims of the selfish and the powerful is for all of us to understand so that we may consider our choices, and choose wisely when confronted with our own dilemmas in life. Do we consider justice when we make those choices? The traditional elements that form our own temptations make up one side of this equation: jealousy, greed, selfish ambition, arrogance, and an image of ourselves as all-powerful. This is a kind of imitation of an archetypal sin - desiring to see in ourselves the quality of omnipotence that belongs to God.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." A note in my study bible says that "Jeremiah recorded the people of Jerusalem being led away to exile (Jer. 31:15). On their sad pilgrimage to an alien land, they passed Ramah (v. 18), where Rachel, wife of Jacob, lay buried (1 Sam. 10:2). In his prophecy Jeremiah pictures Rachel, who had long been dead, weeping even in her tomb for the fate that had befallen the people, her children. Now, the mothers of Bethlehem weep for the slaughter of their children, the Holy Innocents, who are regarded as saints and martyrs ... As Rachel was told her children would return from exile in Babylon (Jer. 31:16-17), so Jesus will return from His exile in Egypt."

The children of Bethlehem are murdered for the sake of the King of whom Herod learned from the wise men who visited him, as they sought that King. Such is the story of sheer selfish power, used only in consideration of ambition untempered by an understanding of higher authority than that of earthly rulers. Let us consider the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. Historians teach that this sort of behavior was not out of the ordinary for Herod, considered a harsh ruler even by contemporary standards. But what we learn from this passage is not merely a history lesson, it is a lesson in the spiritual understanding of the world in which we live, and our place in it through our own choices. What does it mean to hurt an innocent child in the pursuit of blind ambition and material power? How do we understand what we do without God? Without the spiritual or the holy in our lives? We see the acts of grace that protect the innocent and shape our story through Scripture. There is an active spiritual hand at work, through dreams, through the messengers of heaven - the angels, through prophecy, and even through the wisdom of the "wise men" who learn from the stars. So we take one important lesson out of so many available to us in this reading and its understanding in the whole of the Scripture of Israel, or the people of God: how do the acts of grace work in your life? Are you open to them, or does your own ambition blind you to the Spirit's work? Where is the Spirit in your life and does it guide you in making your choices? We live in a world, as pictured here, in which the effects of a life "without God" make us blind to what God would want for us, the ways in which God would help us to choose. How do you include grace, kindness and mercy in your life? Do you make room for the sight of spiritual perception? Let us consider today grace, and its qualities with which we, too, may be anointed. God's salvation, we believe, comes to us in the form of this Child, this Innocent. Let us consider Herod - the evil image even amid a time of great power used ruthlessly. And consider again, the grace of God that comes via this Child. Which wisdom do we choose to honor in our own lives? Whose wisdom is ours, and for what purposes? We make our choices asking for that grace, and its saving power, so that it is at work in our world, through us. What might we be without it?