Right
after we celebrate Christmas, our church recognizes 3 feast days in a row,
representing the different people who worship & honor Jesus at his
birth. The day after Christmas is the
feast of St. Stephen, a martyr in the early Church whom we can see as representing
all who have sacrificed and given their lives for our faith. Next, we have the feast of John the
Evangelist, who is representative of all the Church leaders who work tirelessly
for our faith. Today, we celebrate and
honor the Holy Innocents, children who were massacred by King Herod in
Bethlehem when he had heard of Jesus' birth.
Martyrs, church leaders, children: they all honor Jesus at his birth.
Two of these feasts recognize those who died for our faith, showing us how the
cross, the sacrifice Christ made for our salvation, is an essential part of the
message we hear this Christmas season.
As
Luke tells us about the massacre of the holy innocents as part of the story of
the Magi, he quotes the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping
for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” Jeremiah portrays Rachel, the wife
of Jacob, the patriarch of the people of Israel, as weeping at the place where
the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march
into the Babylonian captivity. As Rachel is imagined weeping for her people
forced into exile, as the parents of the children massacred at Bethlehem weep
for their loss, what do we have to weep for today in our modern world? We see children and families suffering and
torn apart by violence, or by alcohol and drug abuse. We see innocents killed by abortion. We see many in our world & in our own
society go to bed hungry for lack of food to eat. We certainly have a lot to weep for
ourselves.
Yet,
while the prophet Jeremiah calls for weeping, he also brings a message of hope
and liberation to the people of Israel forced into exile. Herod's actions were brutal and painful, but
they weren't the final word. God gives
us hope in the birth of Christ. Through
Jesus, God proclaims his kingdom and promises us salvation. How are we called to help proclaim this
kingdom that is here already yet is still not fulfilled?
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