28 December 2017 – homily for the feast of the Holy Innocents – Matthew 2:13-18

        Right after we celebrate Christ’s birth, our Church recognizes 3 feast days in a row, representing people from different walks of life who worship and honor Jesus during the joyful Christmas season.  The day after Christmas is the feast of St. Stephen, a martyr in the early Church - he represents those who have sacrificed and given their lives for our faith.  Next, we have the feast of John the Evangelist, who represents our Church leaders, both laity and ordained, who work tirelessly for our faith.  Today, we honor the Holy Innocents, children who were massacred by King Herod in Bethlehem when he had heard of Jesus' birth.  Martyrs, church leaders, and children: they all honor Jesus at his birth in the midst of the reality of their lives. Two of these feasts recognize those who died for our faith, showing us how the shadow of the cross, the sacrifice Christ made for our salvation, is an essential part of the message we hear this Christmas season.

         Luke tells us about the massacre of the holy innocents as part of  the story of the Magi, quoting 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, we always may weep for things we see  today in our modern world.  We see children and families suffering and torn apart by violence, by alcohol and drug abuse. We see innocents killed by abortion.  We see many in our world and in our own society go to bed hungry for lack of food to eat.  We certainly have a lot to weep for in our world today. 

         In the midst of this weeping, he hear a message of hope and liberation to the people of Israel forced into exile.  Herod's act of violence is not the final word.  God gives us hope in the birth of Christ.  Through Jesus’ birth into our world, God proclaims his kingdom and promises us salvation. We ourselves can help proclaim this kingdom in the reality of our world today.