There are so many wonderful stories in the Christmas saga. We know the story about the sheep and the shepherds and the angels above them, singing “Glory to God in the highest.” We know the story of the shepherds going to the stable and the manger and visiting the baby Jesus who is lying in a manger. We love the story of the wise men with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are wonderful Christmas stories. But then the story turns ugly. It turns ugly fast. Today our gospel confronts us with the death of innocent children at the hands of Herod. We are reminded today that the birth of Christ does not remove the power of evil from our world. Just as quickly as Christ enters the world, the silent night is jolted back to reality by the power of Herod.
I love Christmas and my guess is that many of you love it as well. So, the jolt of reality that appears in our text today is difficult to swallow. Here we are still in the Christmas spirit, with our decorations still up and maybe some holiday celebrations still on the horizon, hearing that Herod ordered all the children in Bethlehem under the age of two to be killed. Since the first time I read this text a few weeks ago, I have been asking myself if I think this massacre really happened. Did Herod actually kill approximately 20 infants in the 1,000 person village of Bethlehem, in an effort to kill the newly born babe, Savior of the nations, the Messiah? To tell you the truth, I really wish I would have stumbled upon an answer. What I can tell you is that scholars really disagree about it. Some think that Herod, who was not a very nice king, did in fact kill these children and others argue that it did not actually happen. Regardless of whether or not Herod, in a fit of anger, killed the innocent children of Bethlehem, we are still met with this text in our lectionary for today. This text is still a part of Matthew’s Gospel and we are still called to try and make sense of it in our world today, on this First Sunday of Christmas.
O God, we hear the crying for little ones of yours;
For many still are dying in conflicts and in wars --
In every troubled nation, on every violent street,
How great the lamentation when fear and anger meet!
Our text today is the story of the first martyrs of the church – the first people killed for Jesus Christ. Albeit, I don’t think they died knowing the full purpose of their death. I still think that they died for the faith – because of Jesus Christ. Throughout history many innocent people have been killed. Over 150 were killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota. Millions were killed in the Holocaust. Over one hundred thousand were killed in Hiroshima. Almost 3,000 died on 9/11. And thousands have been killed in Iraq.
More recently, the midnight Christmas Mass was canceled in Baghdad as a consequence of the never-ending assassinations of Christians and the attack against Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on October 31st, which killed 57 people. For security reasons, churches will not be decorated. Masses will be somber and held during the day. All of the parish churches have security guards, but when worshipers step outside the church and into the street, they become an easy target. In Iraq, Christmas is a time of hope and joy as well as pain and martyrdom.
We could easily read this as only a doom and gloom text. One could suggest that there is no good news to be found in this gospel lesson. However, I think there is good news to be found in this text from Matthew. The good news is that God is always with us.
God was present in the massacre of the innocents and in the massacres that continue to happen throughout the world. For Joseph, God was present in the form of an angel. God was present on 9/11; we have evidence in the Ground Zero cross made of steel beams that was found amidst the debris. God is present in the kind words spoken to us in times of grief. God is present in the small acts of kindness done by friends during times of tragedy. Emmanuel, God with us, is with us when we are in Bethlehem, scared for the lives of those we love, and when we are in Egypt, fleeing from our homes. God is present when we reach an age or a point in our health that we have to move from the place we have called home for so long. God is with us when our jobs cause us to relocate. God is present when we are called to move to another country, another state, or another house. God is with us when times are favorable and when they are unfavorable.
Mary and Joseph feared Herod's order;
Soldiers were coming! They had to flee.
Taking young Jesus, they crossed the border;
So was our Lord a young refugee.
Some heard the promise — God's hand would bless them!
Some fled from hunger, famine and pain.
Some left a place where others oppressed them;
All trusted God and started again.
Mary, Joseph, and the babe born in Bethlehem knew what it was like to be forced to leave behind friends, family, and security. Because of the angel’s message they knew that God was present in Bethlehem, but they also knew that God would be with them in Egypt. Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus knew what it was like to be refugees. They knew what it was like to flee their homeland.
Our world is filled with refugees. Throughout the world there are many people fleeing their homelands, seeking refuge and safety. By the end of 2009, there were an estimated 10.4 million refugees under the United Nations Refugee Agency’s responsibility.
Often we hear about people that are trying to get into the United States by fleeing Mexico. In August of 2004, US Border Patrol agents in Texas, found a life-sized crucifix, minus the cross, on a sandbar in the middle of the river Rio Grande. When no one claimed it, they donated it to the local Catholic Church. Many call this crucifix “Jesus Christ of the Undocumented.” It has become a symbol of the struggles of undocumented immigrants trying to reach the Promised Land – The United States. It is a symbol for refugees who are seeking safety in a country of freedom and opportunity. It is a symbol of Christ being with them.
In Bethlehem, the birth place of the Messiah, there is a 30 foot wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Bethlehem residents find themselves cut off from relatives, unable to worship at religious sites in Jerusalem, and limited in their opportunities for higher education and employment. The concrete wall not only separates the West Bank from Israel, it cuts through Palestinian land, separating farmers from fields and effectively annexing their land. Many Palestinians who have the means have left the Holy Land in search of a better life elsewhere. The Christian population of Bethlehem has declined from a majority several decades ago to about fifteen percent today. There are people fleeing the land where baby Jesus was born seeking refuge, safety, and better opportunities.
Whenever one is weeping, the whole world suffers, too.
Yet, Jesus, as we serve them, we're also serving you.
So may we not ignore them, nor turn our eyes away,
But help us labor for them to bring a better day.
O Prince of Peace, you lead us in ways of truth and grace.
May we be brave to practice your peace in every place --
To love each fear-filled nation, to serve each troubled street.
How great the celebration when peace and justice meet!
After we have been cheered by the Christmas season and made wishes for peace on earth around our Christmas trees, these texts wrench us back to reality like a winter wind, taking our breath away. We do not live in a peaceful snow globe; we live in a world where children die and mothers grieve—not just occasionally, but every day, not just in hospitals but on city streets and in mud huts. We live in a world where the oppressed suffer and the oppressors get away, literally, with murder.
On Christmas we were met with quite a story. Bethlehem. Sheep. Shepherds. Stars. The sky full of angels singing “Glory to God in the highest.” The stable, the manger, the baby Jesus, a cow, a donkey, the wise men, the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. It was such a perfect night. It was so beautiful. It was so wonderful. And in a short time, it turned real ugly. That is the way life is sometimes. So, this is part of the Christmas story, but it’s not the end of the Christmas story. The story of Christmas does not end with a massacre of innocent children in Bethlehem. The story cannot end, because Jesus fled from his homeland and was not killed by the anger of Herod. The story cannot end here because there is good news in this story. The good news is that God is always with us: God was present, God is present, and God will continue to be present in and through our lives. That is good news! The good news of Christmas. Amen.
