When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’
- Matthew 2:16-18
A report from UNICEF this year on the war in Ukraine states that, “According to official UN data, at least 600 children have been killed in attacks since the escalation of the war in 2022. More than 1,350 children have been injured. The true number of children killed and injured is likely considerably higher.”
Save The Children reported in October 2024, “The occupied Palestinian territory is now ranked as the deadliest place in the world for children: about 30% of the 11,300 identified children killed in Gaza were younger than five and Gaza currently has the highest rates of child malnutrition globally.”
And the UN reported this year that, “Since 2011, nearly 12,000 children were verified as killed or injured in Syria, that’s one child every eight hours over the past ten years. As we all know, these are children that the UN was able to verify as having been killed or injured, and the actual numbers are likely to be much higher”.
Our reading today is for Holy Innocents’ Day. These “holy innocents” were the children ordered to be killed by Herod’s guards when he realized that the newborn Jesus had escaped him once the Magi returned to their homes by different routes, in order to avoid telling Herod where the Christ child was to be found.
Children have long suffered in this world from the horrifying actions of adults - through war, abuse, neglect, and apathy. “Children should be seen and not heard” was a common expression that, not surprisingly, left children both invisible and voiceless in the world. I often forget, in the wonder of modern-day Christmas in the West, that Christ coming to earth as a child was not merely a sentimental event, prequel, or origin story of Jesus; the Incarnation is God’s declaration of standing with the smallest, the weakest, and the powerless. Anyone who has ever held a baby knows the fragility of infancy, and the need to protect and care for God’s most helpless creatures. That child lives in the weak and fragile parts of our hearts as well, the parts that call for tenderness and care from those who hold us. All too often, these weaknesses are exploited by others to maintain dominance and bring about submission, so we learn to hide our weaknesses behind self-images of strength and independence. We can appear as those who need no help and no support. Christmas is our sacred time, when we can welcome the birth of Christ and reclaim the child who lives in each of us. When we no longer fear the vulnerable, then we can be free to be loved by and to care for God and God’s children. We are better able to embrace those who are our weak, our broken, our exploited, our holy innocents.
Musical Reflection - The Jerusalem Youth Chorus: "A Different Way"
We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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