Tag: Matthew

Advent 4: Mary & Joseph

Advent 4 – Year A
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

I am struggling to believe that it is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It has gone by way too quickly. My well-intentioned plans for a reflective and attentive Advent have largely fallen by the wayside. Roll on Christmas.

The Gospel readings for Fourth Sunday always revolve around Mary as she completes the picture of our Advent journey. I looked back over the lectionary (as I did for John the Baptist) to see which stories of Mary are used on this particular Sunday. Year B has set Luke 1 which is the Annunciation; when Mary was visited by Gabriel who brings her the good news that she will bear a son. Year C has also set Luke 1; the Magnificat in which Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord who has looked with favour on her lowly self.

But every third year in Year A, the Gospel reading switches primary focus to Joseph with Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. Matthew seems to focus his attention on Joseph much more than on Mary. You might not have noticed this but Joseph never speaks.

We never hear his voice in any of the accounts. Mary speaks and there is great focus and attention on her. In comparison, we know very little about Joseph and there can be a temptation to push him to the side-lines. I want to take the opportunity to look a little closer at Joseph. Without him the whole Christmas story would have faltered.

In many dramatisations of the nativity, Joseph is portrayed as a responsible but passionate younger man who was deeply in love with Mary. When Mary returns from visiting her cousin Elizabeth with a very obvious baby bump, Joseph is devastated, angry, grief-stricken, embarrassed. As viewers, we were confronted with a range of emotions and conversations between Mary and Joseph that were likely experienced but are not mentioned in the biblical story.

In Matthew’s account, Joseph is told about Mary’s baby and in a breath decides to quietly divorce her and save her from public disgrace. Here we see the loyalty and dignity, the faithfulness of Joseph.

It is not until the angel appears to Joseph in a dream to explain the whole situation that he believes Mary’s story when he wakes up.

We would make a mistake to sanitise Joseph’s consent as being an easy decision to come to. We diminish his humanity by overlooking his humiliation and doubt. In a culture and religion that was bound by rules, Joseph would have been in a lot of pain.

We so often want to separate ourselves from the pain of other people, we can feel so helpless in the face of it. In Joseph, we see that God’s favour is not always a shiny, happy thing. Whatever thoughts Joseph had about his family’s future were upended. His ideas of fairness, justice, goodness and purity are shattered. Being chosen by God is not always so attractive.

Joseph’s story is one that can give us hope. Many of us will know what it is to struggle to do what has been asked of us. Sometimes the decisions are difficult and the choices are limited. Joseph struggled. He was prepared to do the honourable, arguably easier thing but that was not what was asked.

So he struggled more and came to the decision that was far harder but the right one. He woke up and did what the angel commanded him. Little wonder that the angel’s opening line was do not be afraid. Joseph was needed as it is through him that Jesus’ connection to the House of David is made. If you read through the opening verses of Matthew chapter one, it is a cabaret of characters who did some interesting things.

Debie Thomas wrote, ‘Interestingly, in the verses that immediately precede our Gospel reading, Matthew gives us a genealogy of Jesus’s ancestors. He mentions Abraham — the patriarch who abandoned his son, Ishmael, and twice endangered his wife’s safety in order to save his own skin. He mentions Jacob, the trickster usurper who humiliated his older brother. He mentions David, who slept with another man’s wife and then ordered that man’s murder to protect his own reputation. He mentions Tamar, who pretended to be a sex worker, and Rahab, who was one. These are just a few representative samples.

Notice anything? Anything like messiness? Complication? Scandal? Sin? How interesting that God, who could have chosen any genealogy for his Son, chose a long line of brokenness, imperfection, dishonour, and scandal. The perfect backdrop, I suppose, for his beautiful works of restoration, healing, hope, and second chances.’

Not only was Jesus born into a messy world, but a messy family. Joseph helps to remind us that what God asks of us is often messy and unexpected. We should however expect to have our own ideas upended and challenged. Yet do not be afraid. I hope as we come fully into this Christmas season and new year that we are not afraid to love more deeply, pay more attention to what God is doing or asking of us. It might be messy.

Do not be afraid of the mess. It is in the mess that Jesus our Saviour was born.

Gaudete!

14/12/25

Isaiah 35:1-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

It is my favourite Sunday! Rose day! Gaudete! Gaudete in Latin means ‘rejoice’. The name comes from the opening of the Mass for that day: Gaudete in Domine Semper, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’.

Gaudete Sunday is also a reminder that Advent is quickly passing; the Lord’s coming is near. The focus is turning more to the second coming than the first and there is a heightened sense of intense joy, gladness and expectation in our readings. The Gospel reading set for Gaudete Sunday always features John the Baptist. John’s ministry is centred on the announcement that the Lord’s coming is near and is much nearer than you think.

I looked back over the lectionary to see which stories of John the Baptist are used on this particular Sunday. Year B is John giving his testimony to the priests and Levites sent by the Jews to check him out. Year C is Luke chapter three where John chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees, brands them a ‘brood of vipers’ and calls for them to repent. Year A, is Matthew’s account of John in prison awaiting his fate.

None of these events provide obvious reasons to rejoice!

As a refresher, John was sent to jail by King Herod. John had been attacking Herod over marrying his brother’s ex-wife which was less than appropriate. John had also been announcing that the Kingdom of God, the true kingdom was coming. Herod was not the real king and God would replace him. John was likely not experiencing intense joy or gladness as his expectations of getting out alive may have been low.

The four prison walls closing in must surely have limited his vision. So much so that John sent his disciples to Jesus with the question ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’

Some thoughts about why John asked that question…

One suggestion is that John was disappointed. Maybe he was expecting Jesus to be a man of fire who would sweep through Israel as Elijah did and right all the wrongs. Maybe Jesus was supposed to confront Herod, topple him from his throne, become king in his palace, get John out of prison and give him a place of honour. Or at least let him live.

Jesus is not doing this. He is healing the blind and deaf, cleansing the lepers, befriending the sinners, the tax collectors, ordinary men and women and teaching them about the things of God. Maybe not doing what John wanted him to do. So maybe John is thinking ‘was I wrong?!’

The other suggestion for John’s question is that he wants to know if it is safe for him to give up, to hand the mission on. John was the one to herald the coming of God’s Messiah. How could he do that from a prison cell? Maybe he couldn’t relax until he knew whether or not he had done his job.

John’s ministry only lasted about a year. Maybe John thought he would have more time, that his purpose would take longer to be fulfilled. John is waiting to see if what he has done in the past was right. Now he is waiting in the present to see if Jesus is the one or if there is another yet to come.

In his waiting and hoping John gets an answer back; and it probably was not what he was expecting! What Jesus sent back could not be more different from the message that John preached.

John shouted for repentance in the face of the wrath of God: he spoke of axes cutting down dead trees and unquenchable fires. Jesus speaks of mercy, healing and rejoicing. Jesus lists the great signs of the coming of the Messiah which had all been prophesied in the past.

Jesus answers John by quoting Isaiah 35 which John would have known. It is a message all about John. The wilderness, which was John’s home, will rejoice and bloom, the fearful of heart are to be comforted. John is in prison, awaiting certain death with a fearful heart.

I think that John knew that Jesus was the Messiah. John was the baby that leapt in his mother Elizabeth’s womb when her cousin Mary and her baby (Jesus) came to visit. John the Baptizer knew Jesus the Messiah the moment he saw him at the Jordan River. John knew in his head who Jesus really was.

But time and circumstance can dull the image of our faith perception and leave us feeling not sure what we believe.

John’s question had more to do with his heart than his head. John had heard about the miracles and healings Jesus was doing for others and perhaps his faith was shaken.

He certainly could have used a miracle for himself as he did not appear to be getting one. And sitting in that prison cell John might have been having a little trouble knowing it with his heart. Sometimes our faith gets shaken by what we do not get or what God has not done for us personally.

I spoke to an older lady a while ago. She was very honest about where she was at with faith. She told me that after her husband had died after a long period of illness; she came to the conclusion that ‘if there was a God – why did her husband suffer the way he did?’ She couldn’t believe in a God like that. Neither can I.

There is not an easy answer for that question. There are theological or doctrinal answers that are pastorally unhelpful in these situations. Equally there are pastoral answers that deny the theological problems these situations raise.

Ann Garrido – ‘Today the Church is garbed in pink – that colour of hope in the midst of darkness. We are reminded that even though daylight is difficult to come by and waiting is hard, we are not to cave in to despair but to be open to and sustained by those signs already present in the world around us that let us know that God is at work. While we have not seen the kingdom of God yet in its fullness, there are ways in which that future is breaking into our own time even now – bursts of illumination and freedom, connection and healing. Our faith does not hinge on promises still unfulfilled but on promises in the process of being fulfilled this very day.’

Either way, many of us have endured long stretches of suffering, waiting, longing and hoping for God to come through for us. Maybe in those times we have seen or heard of wondrous works He was doing elsewhere. And it hurts! It is painful! The doubts that these types of situations create are probably not coming from our heads but our hearts, our feelings, our hurts.

John was not like ‘a reed swayed by the wind’ – he was a man of conviction. He was a man of little personal vanity and a huge commitment to God’s kingdom. If he can have a doubt or two then it is safe to have some of our own doubts.

Gaudete in the face of suffering and uncertainty. It won’t last forever. The Lord is near. I will end this sermon with a poem.

Gaudete by Brad Reynolds

Because Christmas is almost here
Because dancing fits so well with music
Because inside baby clothes are miracles.
Gaudete
Because some people love you
Because of chocolate
Because pain does not last forever
Because Santa Claus is coming.
Gaudete
Because of laughter
Because there really are angels
Because your fingers fit your hands
Because forgiveness is yours for the asking
Because of children
Because of parents.
Gaudete
Because the blind see.
And the lame walk.
Gaudete
Because lepers are clean
And the deaf hear.
Gaudete
Because the dead will live again
And there is good news for the poor.
Gaudete
Because of Christmas
Because of Jesus
You rejoice.

Ash Wednesday: Conditions of the Heart

Ash Wednesday
3/5/25

Psalm 51
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Ash Wednesday can and should be a point of reflection; a time to step aside and ask ourselves deeper questions about life and faith. Where might we want to start? The entire season of Lent could be a time set aside for examination (if we never have) or the re-examination (if we already do regularly) of our hearts. Our hearts need to be guarded for they are the well-spring of life, everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

You might already be asking yourself: how does the heart have anything to do with Ash Wednesday? If you noticed in the special liturgy this morning – there is a lot of mention of the heart. We are to take heart, we have already asked for new and contrite hearts, we will soon confess for not loving God with our whole heart and we are to avoid hardness of heart.

The Heart, biblically speaking, is a metaphor for the inner life; it is the seat of our physical, spiritual and mental life. It is the place where we store wisdom.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 15 that what comes out of the heart makes us unclean – evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. He is very concerned with the condition of our hearts. They need to be clean and free of the rubbish that builds up because everything we do flows out of it.

This is why I brought my stethoscope this morning/evening. This was the first big purchase I made when I started my nurses’ training. We all had to have one. I worked on a ward that required us to use them daily; they weren’t just accessories. A stethoscope is used to check the heart sounds and blood pressure along with other bodily noises.

One of the difficulties with the heart is that it is (or should be) always moving. I am going to relate the physical heart to the spiritual heart. Your heart beats constantly; has been beating since before you were born. For some of you that is a very long time! The heart needs to be beat within certain parameters to ensure that it is working correctly: a certain number of beats/minute and in a particular rhythm.

Sometimes the heart moves too quickly: this is tachycardia. The heart muscles work too fast and blood is not circulated in an efficient way. People with tachycardia feel terrible; they get anxious as they don’t get enough oxygen. They can also have a feeling of impending doom – again from not getting enough oxygen to their lungs and brain. The heart can’t maintain a fast pace indefinitely.

Sometimes the heart beats too slowly: this is bradycardia. The heart becomes sluggish, blood backs up into the rest of the body. People become puffy, they feel sleepy and exhausted. They don’t get enough oxygen and it makes them lethargic as the heart is not working efficiently.

The ideal state of the heart is to function normally; this is called sinus rhythm. This is regular, even beats of 60-100 per minute. The heart muscles work at their most efficient in this range neither too fast nor too slow.

Ash Wednesday and Lent can be used as a time to find our sinus rhythm again if our hearts have been too fast or too slow. Our lives, like our hearts, don’t stop. We need them to force ourselves to step aside, have a look and listen to what is going on. In the slings and arrows of everyday living and in the dust and ashes of Lent; there are our hearts.

This is what Matthew means about practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them. To rend our hearts is to tear up the interior, identify those things that need to be removed.

Return to God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing – we are told again to return to God, take the pieces of our hearts to him. He is the only one that can put our hearts back together. God is the ultimate jigsaw expert! He can put it back together however many pieces there are. He will do it graciously, mercifully and with abounding love.
Why do we need to do all this?

Because there is the final heart condition – this is called asystole. The absence of a heartbeat. On all the medical TV shows it is known as a ‘flat line’.

With no beating heart there is no way for blood to deliver glucose and oxygen to your brain and organs. Life stops at this point. This will happen to all of us one day physically – our final physical state will be asystole. This stethoscope has been used many times to confirm asystole.

We can also have spiritual asystole. That is when we don’t return to God, we choose to walk our own ways, do things that cause ourselves and others weeping and mourning. This is the result of keeping our hearts to ourselves.

We are to quite rightly guard our hearts. This does not mean that we stop anything and everything for entering your heart. A heart that doesn’t move – has no life in it! Asystole!

We are to watch and monitor what goes into our hearts – stop the things that will damage the condition of our hearts or interrupt its beats. This can be all manner of things – what we eat or drink, watch or listen to (this can be people around us, tv, internet). At times we need to take a break to see what the effect on us is. That is what the fasting of Lent is for. In their absence we are to turn to God in prayer. Especially when the absence is noticeable! We are not to wrestle in misery or denial. Instead turn or return to God.

If you decide to come forward for ashes this morning, you are in good company. We all fall short of the glory of God – but this isn’t a fatal condition unless we choose to ignore what has been picked up here, in our hearts and decide not to return them to God.

The sign of the ashes is admitting that we have work to do, we have a heart that needs some repair. By admitting this corporately we know that: 1) We are not alone 2) As brothers and sisters in Christ we can support each other in prayer through Lent knowing that we are all working through our heart conditions and 3) We are in good company – none of us are perfect!

This isn’t false piety if we come to rail ready to receive and then go ‘to our rooms’ to meet with God. It is in these places where we can begin to store up our treasure in heaven – the place where it will be safe. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Amen.

Epiphany: The Arrival


Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

O God, we give you thanks because,
in the carnation of the Word,
a new light has dawned upon the world,
that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness
to see the radiance of your glory. Amen.

Despite our Gospel reading this morning, the Christmas season is about to come to an end as Epiphany begins. This new season begins with the arrival of the Wise Men which may be decidedly Christmas in our heads. Over the next couple of weeks we will see epiphany moments and stories in the baptism of Jesus, the wedding in Cana and as Jesus begins his public ministry.

This morning I thought we should have a slow-read through the first Epiphany story. It is only Matthew who includes the visitation of the Wise Men or Magi from the East.

What does Epiphany mean? It is ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ I am not sure if you have had an epiphany moment but they are quite extraordinary! Those moments when some new idea, knowledge or thought blows through your mind and you suddenly and sometimes drastically see the world, people, and a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life.

Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment when you know that something has changed in your mind or in your heart.

I grew up in the church: Sunday School every week, my parents were very involved in the church, I sang (badly) in the choir, and was in various youth groups. I knew about Jesus but I did not know Jesus.

A major epiphany moment occurred as I was eating lunch in a dry field on a very hot July day at Ephesus, in Turkey. A few hours before this I was struck by the understanding that St Paul had been at Ephesus and had written the letter to the Ephesians. I was where the Bible was. I had always seen it as a book, a story; but to be where the Bible took place blew me away! I began to think that if the Bible happened in a real place then maybe God and Jesus were more real than I thought they were.

By lunchtime, with all these thoughts rolling around my head, I had this sudden wave of peace and a sense of relief from all the grief and anger that I had been carrying around from the previous year and a half. I walked out of Ephesus that day totally different from how I walked in. I have never been the same since.

Matthew begins the Epiphany story ‘in the time of King Herod.’ If you are a fan of the soaps like Corrie or East Enders, you will love The Herod’s. This family played an important part in the political setting of Jesus’ ministry. Several of them are mentioned in the Gospels along with a group known as the Herodians.

The Herodians were from a region that was forcibly converted to Judaism about 127 BCE. The male Herod’s were a talented bunch; they were political power-players who won favour with the Romans. They were also gifted at military strategy; Herod’s father held the post equivalent to Chancellor of the Exchequer.

This Herod became the military governor of Galilee when he was 25, his skills and talents made him friends with the likes of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Caesar Augustus.

These relationships brought him more land and his kingdom grew. Herod’s reign (for part of it) was a time of stability, prosperity and splendour. He founded cities, buildings and most notably rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem.

When we meet Herod in Matthew chapter two, he is about 70 years old and roughly two years away from his death. Herod is in a state of emotional and psychological deterioration as he became increasingly paranoid and mistrusting; so much so that he had 3 of his 15 children executed. These 15 children came from the 10 wives he had. Herod is said to have died a painful death from kidney disease and gangrene.

This is the Herod that the wise men from the East met when they arrived in Jerusalem. Where did they come from? Persia, Babylon or maybe Arabia. Not sure. They are presumed to be Gentiles (so not Jewish) and come to represent the best wisdom of the Gentile world; they are the spiritual elites.

Herod is frightened by the arrival of the Wise Men. The news of a new ‘King of the Jews’ has rocked his world. Herod had had this inscribed on his coins and to claim this title was treason. The title ‘King of the Jews’ was also on the cross of Jesus at the crucifixion. Herod had the title on his money; Jesus on the cross.

Who do you think the real king is here? This is Herod’s epiphany moment; he is not the real King of the Jews! Herod sends the Wise Men to Bethlehem with his made-up story that he wants to pay homage too. Herod is making an attempt to destroy Israel’s true king by employing foreign magi (oh foreign workers forever causing problems!) but they only bring honour to the king’s rival – Jesus.

The Wise Men were obedient. This was a new thought to me. They followed the star even though they did not know where it would take them or what it meant but they followed it anyway. It made me think about what and who I follow.

Am I fully obedient to what God is calling me to do? Even if I am not sure where it will lead? How far out of my way do I go to meet Jesus? Would I follow a star?

We know that the star that went before the Wise Men and came to rest over the place where Jesus was born was not an ordinary star. Sometimes you need some imagination to help picture these things. This star does not stay still but moves as a guide.

Finally, the epiphany moment comes, notice it starts to happen before they even lay eyes on Jesus. Simply the promise of him seems to be enough. It is when the star stops moving, Matthew tells us the Wise Men ‘were overwhelmed with joy.’ When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy?

Does the thought of Jesus bring you joy? If not – why not? What is missing? Maybe at the start of this new year it is time to ask for your own epiphany?

The Wise Men entered the house, overwhelmed by joy and knelt down before Jesus. They opened their treasure-chests and offered him gifts.

Gold – to show He was a king.
Frankincense – to show He deserved to be worshipped.
Myrrh – this is a strange gift to give a baby. Myrrh was used at the time when someone died. Jesus was the baby who would grow up and rescue us by dying in our place.

These were gifts of substantial financial value and the Wise Men expected to find what they were looking for at a royal court. Perhaps win favour there, but they were not disappointed with what they received.

What do we bring to God this morning? The Wise Men brought the best of what they had. Do we present our best? The best of our time, the first of our money, the greatest of our love, the first of our thanks? This is not to point out any deficiencies as I often get the order wrong myself.

The whole of the Christmas story from Mary & Joseph, the birth of Jesus, the message of the angels to the shepherds and their arrival at the stable to King Herod and the Wise Men – is a story of Epiphany. Great moments of realisation that do not leave us the same.

When we present ourselves to God, remember this is the most valuable thing we have and this is the only thing that He wants. You are more precious to Him to gold, frankincense and myrrh. When we encounter God we are never the same again. Thank God for that!

Amen.

Christmas 1: Holy Innocents

29/12/24
Christmas 1 – Year C
Jeremiah 31:15-17
Matthew 2:13-18

It is still Christmas! Don’t put away the tree just yet. As a religious professional, I am grateful that there is a season to Christmas past the one day. I get a chance to enjoy and celebrate too – once the work is done. Many of my clergy friends, when asked, claim that for them Christmas starts on Boxing Day. Some people will keep Christmas going until Epiphany, celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas. Some may even go all the way to Candlemas on February 2nd.

As the Christmas season continues Matthew gives us a bigger vision of the reality into which Jesus was born. A world that was dangerous, violent, people were oppressed by a tyrannical government and an unstable leader. Little wonder we stop telling the Christmas story at the nativity!

Fleecy lambs, singing angels and the tiny baby Jesus in the manger are far more preferable Christmas card scenes than dead babies. The account that we read this morning is shocking, it is gross, and it still happens today in some corners of the world where war still ravages. The baby Jesus, like many babies today, was born into fear and prejudice; deprivation and injustice.

There is very little information in the Gospels about Jesus’ baby/childhood. There is only this passage in Matthew and Luke’s account of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem around 12 years of age. We might not know much about Jesus as a child but we can learn something from the adults that are around him.
The first adult is Joseph. The whole of the Christmas story hangs on Joseph’s attitude to Mary and her baby. Without him the whole story could have faltered and failed.

I came across an amusing story while I was writing an Advent sermon a couple of years ago.

A little boy had once been cast as the innkeeper in the school nativity play, but he’d desperately wanted to be Joseph. He brooded about it for weeks. The day of the performance came. Joseph and Mary came in and knocked at the door of the inn. The innkeeper opened the door a fraction. ‘Can we come in?’ said Joseph, ‘My wife’s pregnant.’ The innkeeper hadn’t brooded for weeks for nothing.

He flung open the door, beamed at Joseph and Mary and said, ‘Of course you can come in; we’ve plenty of space; you can have the best room in the hotel.’

There was a pause.

Joseph showed his true quality. He said to Mary, ‘Hold on Mary, I’ll have a look around first.’ He peered past the innkeeper, shook his head and said firmly, ‘I couldn’t take my wife into a place like that. Come on, Mary, we’ll sleep in the stable round the back.’ The story was back on course! (John Pritchard, Living the Gospel Stories Today)

What we learn from Joseph is the risk of acceptance. He could have so easily rejected Mary and the child for the shame they brought on him. But he didn’t.

Part of the risk of acceptance includes having to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from Herod and his murderous rampage on small children. Joseph acted immediately; we could assume this dream came to him at night. This little family was evidently poor so not a lot of packing time was needed.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus became refugees. If you know the Old Testament, Egypt was a place of asylum (for good and bad) for the Jewish people for thousands of years. Joseph fled from his home, his safety, his convenience (he was a carpenter) for the sake of his family.

I know that many of you as parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts & uncles, godparents would go to great lengths to protect the children that you love. We are fortunate to live in parts of the world where having to flee for the safety of your children is far removed.

We must protect our children from the dangers of the First World: excessive screen time, allergies, bullies, creeps on the internet and becoming over-entitled, indulged little monsters. We need to protect their innocence for as long as we can. We may not have to flee the country but we have our own challenges to face.

The second adult this morning is the baddie in this story, King Herod the Great. However he was not great. Herod had three of his own sons killed, the sons and grandsons that succeeded him were just as evil as he was. Herod the Tetrarch ordered the beheading of John the Baptist and was present at Jesus’ trial. Herod King Agrippa murdered James (Jesus’ brother) and tried to murder Peter. The other King Agrippa bantered with Paul while he was in prison.

Herod the Great had been declared ‘King of the Jews’ decades before Jesus was born. He believed that he was the one true king. It was the magi, the wisemen who alerted Herod to the birth of the new king of the Jews when they came to him to find the baby. He was suspicious and insecure enough as it was before the news that the new king had been born.

In an attempt to shore up his own power, he ordered the killing of the babies and toddlers of Bethlehem. It is estimated, as Bethlehem was a small town, that around 20 children were killed. Herod sensed a threat to his power and took brutal action against it.

The story of the Holy Innocents is not an easy piece of the Bible to read and reflect on. Nor should it be. Christmas might not be over but the sentimentality is! We need to protect the innocence of children who do not belong to us. There are still families all over the world who are fleeing war and persecution. Parents taking their children and seeking a better life. As Christians, God is pretty clear on how we are to treat actual refugees.

On this day of Holy Innocents, there are two positions to take. That of Joseph – risking life, limb and convenience for the sake and protection of his child. Or that of Herod; maintaining power and control at any cost with the sacrificing of children.

A priest friend Alison ended her Holy Innocents sermon with this:

Christmas time is when Christians celebrate the birth of the Christ child, as Emmanuel, that translates as God with Us; there would have been no point in Christ arriving in comfort when the whole world is in misery; no point in having an easy life when the world suffers violence and injustice, where right from the very beginning of his earthly life, Jesus shares in our sorrows as well as our joys.
The birth of Christ signals the very moment of heaven coming to earth; that moment when God becomes a human being, sharing flesh and blood and suffering with his people.

And it presents us with a pivotal moment to reflect on where pain and suffering may be in our own and other people’s lives. This same scarred and wounded world is the world into which Jesus was born, the world he came to save.