Matthew 2.16-17

THE FEAST OF HOLY INNOCENTS

Matthew 2.16-17

"Good Morning.

Here is the news for the 28th December 4BC. News is coming in of the suppression of a possible uprising in the small county town of Bethlehem in the early hours this morning. It is reported that between twenty to thirty young children have been killed by government troops.

Whilst the town was asleep, government troops, acting under the direct orders of King Herod arrived and entered houses in the residential section of the town. Fierce fighting soon broke out as the troops took young children from their cots and slew them in the streets. All is now quiet as parents sort through the corpses for their own children and arrange for their burial before sunset."

That is how the radio might have reported the massacre that took place in Bethlehem shortly after the birth of Jesus.

It is an event which we recall on the Feast of Holy Innocents on 28 December and is recorded in Matthew's gospel.

Although there is no other reference to this dreadful incident in the New Testament, and the contemporary Jewish historian, Josephus, ignores the event, there are no strong grounds for doubting its historicity. After all, Bethlehem was a pretty insignificant place and unlikely to draw the attention of historians. Furthermore, murders were frequent in 1st century Palestine and hardly worth reporting.

The event is entirely in keeping with what we know of the character of King Herod. He was a notorious murderer of

anyone who stood in his way. Shortly after taking up the throne, he annihilated the whole Sanhedrin - the supreme Jewish Court. He later had slaughtered over three hundred officers. He also murdered his own wife, mother-in-law and three of his sons. Even at the hour of his death, he arranged for the murder of the notable men of Jerusalem. It is

therefore not hard to believe that Herod was capable of doing such a thing.

Acting upon the advice of his advisers, following upon a visit of some travelling astrologers, he set about the killing of every male child up to the age of two years old in Bethlehem to ensure there would be no threat to him and his throne.

But why should Christians celebrate this event some two thousand years later? Is it not surely best forgotten in the annals of history? What does this story tell us about God? What on earth is the good news?

The innocent sufferings of those unable to defend themselves against the tyrannical ambitions of the powerful, is not just a thing of the past. It is an ever present threat, if not a reality, in the life of society. Whenever people feel impotent and unable to determine their own future against external forces which seek to mould and shape their lives to their

own advantage, the possibility of innocent suffering exists.

The defenceless child battered by its father in uncontrollable rage; the child deprived of love and affection by parents who seek to love only themselves; the child whose security is put at risk by the breakdown of a marriage, are all innocent sufferers in our society.

At the other end of the spectrum there are the elderly. The old man, confined to the house by crippling effects of arthritis dependent upon his son to come and do his shopping; the elderly woman who waits for the nurse to change her wet bed clothes; the elderly mother who waits patiently in the nursing home for her children who never come to visit her.

Such people have no political influence. They no longer have any value in the work force. They often exist at the mercy of parents, children, nurses, doctors, social workers and the impersonal forces of government policy and

lethargic bureaucracy. They are often the innocent victims of power struggles, Government policy and financial restraint.

But such innocent suffering is not limited to the young and elderly in society. Wherever you look, you can see people who suffer as the result of the selfish exercise of power and influence by others - the aboriginal of Australia, the people of Zimbabwe, the homeless of India, the starving of the Sudan, the exploited seafarer of the Philippines, the victim of rape and violence and the illiterate denied the opportunity of education.

The world is littered with the bodies of people whose lives have been stunted or denied growth by the action of those in positions of power. Lives which have never been allowed to realise their full potential by the action of those who have denied them their dignity as a fellow human being.

What then is the good news we have to offer to those who, like the innocent children of Bethlehem 2000 years ago, are being denied the opportunity to live their lives to the full.

Firstly, we can say that the God we believe in has himself been the victim of innocent suffering and therefore when we pray to him for help, we are praying to one who understands. Through personal experience Jesus, who was the image of the invisible God, knows what it is like to be a helpless infant; to be the victim of character assassination; to

be rejected; to be punished for something he has not done; and to be killed in the prime of life. Through personal experience of life, he knows what it is like to be at the receiving end of those who exercise power, irrespective of the suffering they may cause, in order to achieve their own selfish ends. In short, we have a sympathetic and understanding friend to whom we can turn in prayer.

But that is not all!

Secondly, the personal experience of weakness, impotence and powerlessness, at the hand of tyranny, oppression and greed, can also become the doorway to victory, triumph and power.

From the cradle to the grave - from the borrowed manger to the borrowed tomb - God in Christ, voluntarily allowed himself to be placed in positions of weakness. He never sought prestige and status; he never made self-centred demands or bullied others. In his last week upon earth, he allowed himself to be pushed from pillar to post; to be spat upon, whipped and scourged; to be falsely accused and wrongly convicted of a crime he had not committed. Finally, he allowed himself to be nailed upon a cross, to hang helplessly from his hands and to die an unnecessary and unjustified death. All this, in order to demonstrate once and for all, that love can be stronger than death which we see expressed in the Resurrection from the dead.

This surely is a message of hope, assurance and confidence which we can share with those who suffer innocently in this life. In weakness can be strength because the weak are more mindful of their need for God than the strong, who strut around like proud peacocks thinking they can browbeat their opponents and bully their way into the Kingdom of God.

Herod sought to destroy Jesus 2,000 years ago when he killed the innocent children of Bethlehem. To those who suffer innocently at the hands of the Herods of today we can say: God personally understands your situation and in Christ has demonstrated that weakness can be your strength.