Today much of the Western Church holds this fourth day of Christmastide as the remembrance of the Holy Innocents; otherwise known as Childermas. Today we are reminded that Christmas is not just about kitsch and hygge but is also about a great cosmic war. The earthly human powers and the dark cosmic powers that animate them do not take kindly to the arrival of the true King of the world. The contractions and pangs Mary's body suffered as she labored to birth the God-man into creation are paralleled by the sufferings of the parents and children of the region of Bethlehem; and ultimately these sufferings are paralleled by the those of everyone and all creation as we labor to shed our false selves and to achieve our end and to see Christ revealed in all things.
The slaughter of the innocents happens after a group of Zoroastrian priests, otherwise known as Magians, apply their astrological arts to the interpretation of a certain star formation and rightly predict the birth of the King of the Jews, and even more rightly decided to make pilgrimage in order to bow down before him.
These Zoroastrian priests start asking around for the King who was just born and word of their quest makes its way to Herod; Herod the Great that is. Herod was a Roman Jew who ruled over his kingdom that was a client state of the Roman Republic. So Herod ruled a kingdom that was subordinate to the greater empire of Rome. Herod was not called “The Great” for nothing; his story is complicated but let us just say he was incredibly rich and powerful and violent and tyrannical and built magnificent, monumental structures. It is also quite relevant to our story to note the he was the king of the Jews. And thus, Herod and all the people of Jerusalem are perturbed by the Magian's inquiries. Nothing like asking for the king in the wrong place to kick the political hornet's nest and disturb the peace. Not mentioned but in the background are the spiritual powers who parallel Herod in their realm of the air. Herod is the king of the Jews and Satan is the king of the age and both are due for a regime change. We should keep such parallels of the spiritual realm in mind throughout.
Herod knows that the figure foretold by the prophets, the Anointed/Messiah/Christ, is one and the same with the King of the Jews. The Anointed is the true king and Herod is sitting on his throne. Herod gets the religious rulers together and they all agree that the scriptures of the prophet Micah predict the Anointed will be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod summons the Magians and asks would they please tell him when they find the Anointed so Herod can worship him too. The Magians are not just astrologers but are also oneiromancers and so, after their visit to the Anointed, they are warned in a dream to avoid Herod on their return trip home.
And then the slaughter of the innocents happens. Herod goes into a rage when he finds out that the Zoroastrians made him look like a fool and he sends men to Bethlehem to kill all the boys in the area who are two years old or younger. Herod tries to brute force the Anointed out of existence. Jesus survives, though, because the Lord's angel had already appeared to Joseph and sent their family to live as refugees in Egypt until Herod's death. Though I don't have time to develop this thought, let us not fail to mention that, with the slaughter of the innocents, God himself becomes a refugee; God has to flee the pursuit of violent men. With the death of these baby boys a prophecy captured by a single verse (31:15) in the scroll of Jeremiah is fulfilled:
Thus says Yhwh, “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
And why this awful fifteenth verse; this pause for grief in an exultant song of redemption and rescue and restoration and rebuilding?
What do we make of all this? Why does the Church remember such a day every year in her liturgical calendar? The historical veracity of the story is debated of course. There is no other historical record of such a thing happening though it is in keeping with Herod's reputation. Various sects of the Church hold that the number of victims range from 14,000 to 144,000, with some estimates as low as 20 or so. Regardless of the facts on the ground, we know that the biblical authors are much more interested in giving us meaning and typological insight and a sense of the logic of reality than they are in giving us the "what it would have looked like if you had a video camera," material perspective. With this in mind, we can sadly see just how true the story of Childermas is.
We have the original version of this story told of the birth of Moses in Exodus 1:1-2:10. In that story, the Pharaoh sees that the Israelites in his land have grown too powerful and numerous. Another king is afraid his power will be taken away from him. Pharaoh fears that the Israelites might betray him and wage war against him and so he enslaves and tries to diminish them through forced labor; their numbers only increase. Then he attempts to reduce their numbers as a game manager would thin out a herd of elk. He tells the Hebrew midwives to murder all the boys who are born to the Israelites by throwing them into the Nile river. And so through the waters of death and chaos the great prophet and shepherd and type of the Anointed who was to come, Moses, is saved by three women: his mother, his sister, and Pharaoh's own daughter.
One might make any number of criticisms of the Bible but it's failure to acknowledge the brokenness of things would not be an easy case to make. Isn't the slaughter of the innocents still happening all around us? As the modern nation state of Israel has prosecuted its genocide in Gaza, at least 13,000 children have been killed with these estimates ranging from 30-50% of all the deaths in that war. The Ukraine war is approaching 2500 child deaths. Over one million pre-born babies have been murdered in the USA alone this year. We could go on and on and on. Children are so vulnerable, such an inconvenience, so often taken advantage of, always pay the greatest price in the wars of men.
So what do we do? Here's what I suggest for today: read the readings, pray the collect, grieve and weep with Rachel, and pray.
The Readings
Jeremiah 31:15-17 (I recommend the whole chapter)
Revelation 21:1-7
Matthew 2:13-18
Psalm 124
The Collect
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, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ways to Pray
Pray for comfort for the souls of all the babies aborted this year
Pray for comfort for the souls of all the children killed in war this year
Pray for the children who are experiencing solidarity with Jesus as refugees of war
Pray for all the children in your city who are being abused and neglected
Pray for all the children who are currently enslaved as child laborers, specifically, you might repent of your entanglement in oppression and pray for those children you are not aware of who have made many of the objects you own.
Pray for the children in your local church
Pray for all mothers, and pregnant women, and those that have suffered miscarriages
Pray for the justice of the Lord to prevail and increase, starting in your own life
Eodem fine
After prophesying the slaughter of the innocents, Jeremiah goes on to say, "Hold back your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your labor said Yhwh, and they shall come back from the enemy's land, and there is hope for your future said Yhwh, and the sons shall come back to their place."
Herod turned to dust long ago. The kings of this world are already dying and their kingdoms are passing away. The shadow of the old world is being engulfed by a great tidal wave of light that has already come with the arrival of this God-man, Jesus. Nothing will go to waste. The labor pains will turn to joyous laughter someday. They will come back; they shall come back to their place. For now we breathe out with prophetic groan and grief.