Right after we celebrate Christ’s birth, our Church recognizes three feast days in a row, representing people from different walks of life who worship and honor Jesus during the season of Christmas. The day after Christmas is the feast of St. Stephen, a martyr in the early Church. We can see Stephen representing those who have sacrificed and given their lives for our faith. Next, we have the feast of John the Evangelist. We can see John as representing our Church leaders, both laity and ordained, who serve tirelessly for our faith. Today, we honor the Holy Innocents, children who were massacred by King Herod in the town of Bethlehem when he had heard of Jesus' birth. Martyrs, church leaders, and children: they all honor Jesus at his birth in the midst of their own reality. 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’s Gospel tells of the massacre of these children as a part of the story of the Magi. Luke’s Gospel 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.” The prophet 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 who have been forced into exile, as the parents of the children killed in Bethlehem weep for their loss, we too may weep for things we see today in our modern world. We see children and families suffering and torn apart by violence, alcohol and drug abuse. We see the innocent unborn 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.
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