The Holy Innocents

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 were no more."

- Matthew 2:16-18

Today we continue with the Christmastide readings concerning the events of Jesus' early life. In the previous readings, we learned that the Wise Men of the East, or the Magi, returned to their own land by an alternate route. Herod had requested that they return to him, to tell him where the child was. But the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Joseph has also been warned in a dream, by an angel, to take the child to Egypt because of the impending danger.

My study bible notes that Herod's cruelty was prefigured at Moses' birth, when Pharaoh attempted to kill all male children in order to destroy the first Israel. As we have previously written in commentary, Jesus' early life parallels that of Israel itself, including the flight or exile to Egypt. All of these events at Christmastide - the early events of Jesus' life, up to and including Baptism in the Jordan and the first miracle of changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana - have historically been included since the time of the ancient Church in commemoration at this time of year. These are readings of manifestation - God's hand in the world, giving us these images, or "ikons" which have come to us from the divine: the Holy Child, his Virgin Mother, and all the events surrounding the incarnation of the Son, including his revelation as Son at the Baptism in the Jordan. These events parallel the history of Israel itself; they fulfill its prophecies, so that as Christians we have the traditional theological understanding that Jesus is the true Israel. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. It is important to think about this as we review these events at Christmastide.

The quotation above is from the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15). Jeremiah recorded the people of Jerusalem being led away into exile. On their mournful pilgrimage to exile in an alien land, they passed Ramah, where Rachel's tomb is said to be. Rachel was the wife of Jacob, who was also known as Israel, and was the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel who were named after his sons. My study bible notes: "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, known as the Holy Innocents, who are regarded as saints and martyrs in many branches of the Church. The note continues: "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 slaughter of the Innocents reminds us in a very visceral and powerful way of the conflict between the powers - spiritual and worldly - that we have been discussing all through these Christmastide readings. Once again, we have the conflicting images in the action of the Spirit and of the king. The Spirit leads through dreams and prophecies, and wisdom. Joseph has repeatedly been given dreams in which an angel appears to him and teaches him what he must do to negotiate his responsibility for the Incarnate Christ in the world, filled already with its dangers for this young infant child. The wise men, or Magi, are also divinely taught by dreams. In these dreams come wisdom about how to negotiate the path of worship and the roles they play in this world in honoring properly this child, the Son Incarnate. But this wisdom from the Spirit, and all the information a jealous Herod desires to protect himself from the newborn King, does not manifest itself to Herod nor to the leaders of the temple upon whom he calls to find out more information: the chief priests and the scribes. All they have available to them is the ancient prophecy of Micah regarding where the birth of the Child is to take place. Without this wisdom, without the power of the Spirit, Herod acts as worldly power acts: with the violence of powerful kings. His solution, having been eluded by the wise men, is simply to slaughter all the male children under the age of two in Bethlehem and its districts. Great violence is the act of an angry man, with the power to order mass murder of the innocent in order to preserve that power for himself. So, at once in this scene of the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, we witness the violence that is to come in the future in Jesus' life. Jesus will teach us holy wisdom, spiritual truth. His life will be one of a healer and a teacher. For the threat to worldly power, to those who do not have the leadings of the Spirit and its wisdom as do Joseph and the wise men, Jesus will also suffer death, execution through crucifixion.

The stage is set for the war of the powers of the world and the power of the Spirit. We make our choices, too, as we negotiate life in the world. The fulfillment of great and powerful prophecy, of centuries of expectation, is, in this book, a part of a "real world" point of view - but one that does not compromise in its aims and intentions and judgment. Spirit plays the greatest role in the actions of wisdom behind both Incarnation and the choices made by those who would protect, worship and care for this child. And we continue to negotiate that road, what will come to be called Jesus' "Way." The fulfillment of prophecy and the righteous life of Jesus, Incarnate Son, will not be easy nor will it be simple. His wisdom is at once direct and to the point - and at the same time, it will elude those who "seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand." The road, the Way, continues as it began, in a world that is not perfect and in our lives which are not perfectly charmed by faith, but rather in which we are called upon to make our choices as to whether or not we seek to follow the Wisdom of the Spirit to lead our choices through the world, or not. How does the life of faith, told in these books, mirror your own?