December 28: Holy Innocents’ Day

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi [Matthew 2:16, New International Version].

There are two ways to preach the story of the visit of the magi to the Holy Couple and the Messiah. One method–the more popular one–is not only suitable for children, its three wise men, three gifts, and popular Christmas hymn, “We Three Kings,” supply the pastor with a ready-made “three points and a poem” sermon for the congregation. Moreover, concentrating on the “easy version,” which sticks to the visit and the gifts, allows the preacher to skim right by the messy details of Herod and his reaction to the “good news” of Jesus’ birth.

Indeed, the more difficult method of treating the story of the magi’s search for the newly born king begins with the fact that the magi apparently know some OT scripture–at least some of the parts given to them and us by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 60 tells of a great king to be born at some point in the future. The passage relates that as a result of that birth, Jerusalem and Judah will become rich and powerful. Jerusalem will be the center of vibrant trade, a true crossroads for all things good. And so, of course, when the magi see the new star in the sky and see that, from their own “eastern” perspective, it seems to be hovering in the general direction of Jerusalem, they head off to Herod, thinking perhaps that he has a new son.

Only, Herod doesn’t have a new son [he does have several sons that he will later murder, but that’s a story for another day]. Funny thing: Herod doesn’t know his scripture, and so he’s unfamiliar with Isaiah 60 [see Matthew 2:4]. He calls together his chief priests and teachers of the law–two groups who will raise their heads again some 33 years later. They tell Herod that the magi are actually referencing the wrong scripture, that if Herod turns instead to Micah 5:2-4, Herod will see that the birthplace of the new king won’t be Jerusalem, but rather Bethlehem. Herod tells the wise “trio”–notice that their actual number is never stated in the text–to ride to Bethlehem, about nine miles away, and when they run into the newly born king, get word to Herod so that he can come and worship the young child himself [Matthew 2:8].

After meeting with Joseph, Mary, and, of course, Jesus, the magi deposit their gifts, sign the newborn registry, and, having been warned in a dream, go home without telling Herod about their discovery [Matthew 2:12]. Herod, of course, is furious [Matthew 2:16]. He’s also full of fear for he has so much to lose. And so he gives the order to kill all male children born in and around Bethlehem under the age of two. Thinking back to the time that the magi said the star had first appeared, Herod figures that two years of male children will ensure safety for his throne.

Since about 485 A.D., significant portions of Christ’s Holy Church have commemorated “the massacre of the Holy Innocents” –Herod’s killing of those little boys born in and around Bethlehem at approximately the same time as was Jesus. It might make us feel a little better that the number killed was probably no more than 20 or so, at least according to the computations of a number of scholars who have analyzed census records of that time. Bethlehem was, after all, a very small town in those days.

Some Christians point out that those young boys should be regarded as the first Christian martyrs, if unknowingly so. Today, two thousand years later, their deaths are commemorated as Holy Innocents’ Day, also called The Innocents’ Day, Childermas, or Children’s Mass. The specific day of the rite varies. For example, he Church of England, the Lutheran Church, and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church celebrate it on December 28. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the feast on December 29. Mainline Protestant denominations generally do not commemorate the event.

Overall, the Holy Innocents story presents us with not a few difficulties. For example, we see in Matthew 2:13, that even prior to Herod’s edict, Joseph is warned in a dream of the coming danger and so, he takes Mary and the baby to Egypt to avoid Herod’s wrath. They stay there in Egypt until Herod’s death.

Those who search for theodicy might appropriately ask, “Why weren’t the parents of the other 20 or so little boys not also warned in a dream of the danger? Couldn’t they, or at least some of them, have fled to Egypt as well?” Perhaps that’s a discussion for another day …, or perhaps today is as good as any.

The story of the first Christian martyrs–the Massacre of the Holy Innocents–points out a sad reality that we must face and confess: Not everyone is saved from the violent decisions of others. Take the Holy Innocents in our own day. As we approach 2021, ought we to acknowledge and lament that during the next calendar year, just within our country, almost one million unborn Holy Innocents will perish due to the willful actions of others to terminate their lives? The Innocents will, of course, have no say in the situation. No guardian will be appointed to represent or protect them. They will be unceremoniously dispatched.

Mainline Protestant denominations will, of course, stand to the side, lamenting the brokenness of the world around us, mumbling political mantras–but offering no Holy Scripture–providing moral cover, but no moral leadership, to those who repeat to themselves what they have learned from the secular world around them, a point not contradicted by mainline Protestants: that “We’re only talking about matters of reproductive freedom.” The denominations will lament the pitiful, destructive actions long ago of a powerless puppet king name Herod, all the while largely ignoring the current sorrow that is sowed and reaped under our very noses. To paraphrase our Lord, in doing so, the denominations will “strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel” [Matthew 23:24].

And yet there is hope. His name is Jesus. The same Jesus, who was born in the midst of Herod’s brutality, and who escaped with his parents to Egypt, knows the suffering and plight of today’s Holy Innocents and many others as well. He’s the Jesus who heals the sick, makes the lame to walk, and the blind to see. He comforts the widow and the condemned, especially those who are too young even to know and appreciate the concerted powers that are assembled against them. He is the same Jesus who commands us to love our neighbor and who showed us that love is expressed in sacrifice in favor of others, not in violence directed toward them.