a christmas reflection: the slaughter of the innocents
for the past several years, i have tried to spend some time during advent reflecting on the gospel narratives of jesus' birth. this year, i have once again found myself drawn to the story of jesus' flight to egypt, and herod's slaughtering of the innocent children. the story is found only in matthew's gospel, and it occupies a mere six verses (2:13-18). but it is brimming with images and emotions that stick in the mind: the frightened family escaping in the night, the power-mad and murderous ruler, the women weeping for their children and refusing to be comforted.
as a trip to many art museums will attest, the slaughter of the innocents was a story that captivated the imaginations of people in the medieval are early modern periods. it is not nearly so popular today. most every christmas pagent has its shepherds and wise men, but how many have you seen that include herod's rage and rachel's weeping? granted, this probably has something to do with the fact that the parts in our pagents are mostly played by children, and few parents want their child to play a murderous soldier or a slaughtered baby. but this story also cuts against the grain of the sentimentality and cheerful consumerism that form the core of our contemporary approach to christmas. there is little heart-warming about a tyrant's willingness to kill children in order to maintain his power. it is difficult to imagine a gift-bag of any sort that could incorporate a depiction of this event.
of course, christmas is a time to celebrate the incarnation and birth of the savior, and not a time to mourn. in this sense, the slaughter of the innocents is peripheral to the meaning of christmas. but in another way it is central, because it shows us without flinching a picture of the world that the Son has come to redeem. it is not the world of our advertisements and shopping malls. it is not a world without pain or despair. it is not a world that knows only how to be clean and bright. rather, it is a world of greed and fear, of pathetic hatred, and of lust in all its forms. it is world where power is abused, the weak are exploited, and suffering goes on without relief. in short, it is a world of sin and death. and it is into this world that the eternal logos comes with light and love beyond comprehension.
we are, i think, invited to find ourselves in the story of jesus' birth, as we are invited to find ourselves in the other stories of the gospels. we are invited to come to jesus as shepherds or wise men, worshipping him and singing songs of praise. but we are also invited to come to him as weeping mothers, offering him our suffering, even as we know the suffering within is so great we are not yet willing to be comforted.
and we may also come to jesus, if not as herod, as persons who know we could be herod, as persons who have a herod living within them. for we not only live in a world where all is not yet right and good, but we live with souls not yet fully freed from sin and death. in great and small ways, we are not only the victims of evil, but also its perpetrators. and thus christmas gives us occasion not to sit back and be thankful that, when all is said and done, we are good people after all. rather, christmas is a time to celebrate that we are people who, along with the whole world, are being redeemed. and our redemption has come through this beautiful absurdity: that the second person of the trinity has taken flesh as a human being -as an eating and shitting, screaming and laughing, helpless baby boy.
as a trip to many art museums will attest, the slaughter of the innocents was a story that captivated the imaginations of people in the medieval are early modern periods. it is not nearly so popular today. most every christmas pagent has its shepherds and wise men, but how many have you seen that include herod's rage and rachel's weeping? granted, this probably has something to do with the fact that the parts in our pagents are mostly played by children, and few parents want their child to play a murderous soldier or a slaughtered baby. but this story also cuts against the grain of the sentimentality and cheerful consumerism that form the core of our contemporary approach to christmas. there is little heart-warming about a tyrant's willingness to kill children in order to maintain his power. it is difficult to imagine a gift-bag of any sort that could incorporate a depiction of this event.
of course, christmas is a time to celebrate the incarnation and birth of the savior, and not a time to mourn. in this sense, the slaughter of the innocents is peripheral to the meaning of christmas. but in another way it is central, because it shows us without flinching a picture of the world that the Son has come to redeem. it is not the world of our advertisements and shopping malls. it is not a world without pain or despair. it is not a world that knows only how to be clean and bright. rather, it is a world of greed and fear, of pathetic hatred, and of lust in all its forms. it is world where power is abused, the weak are exploited, and suffering goes on without relief. in short, it is a world of sin and death. and it is into this world that the eternal logos comes with light and love beyond comprehension.
we are, i think, invited to find ourselves in the story of jesus' birth, as we are invited to find ourselves in the other stories of the gospels. we are invited to come to jesus as shepherds or wise men, worshipping him and singing songs of praise. but we are also invited to come to him as weeping mothers, offering him our suffering, even as we know the suffering within is so great we are not yet willing to be comforted.
and we may also come to jesus, if not as herod, as persons who know we could be herod, as persons who have a herod living within them. for we not only live in a world where all is not yet right and good, but we live with souls not yet fully freed from sin and death. in great and small ways, we are not only the victims of evil, but also its perpetrators. and thus christmas gives us occasion not to sit back and be thankful that, when all is said and done, we are good people after all. rather, christmas is a time to celebrate that we are people who, along with the whole world, are being redeemed. and our redemption has come through this beautiful absurdity: that the second person of the trinity has taken flesh as a human being -as an eating and shitting, screaming and laughing, helpless baby boy.
posted by micah at 11:31 AM
1 Comments:
Thank you, Micah, for this post. I appreciate your reflections.
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