The Fourth Day of Christmas

The Fourth Day of Christmas

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

1 John 1:5-2:2; Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8; Matthew 2:13-18

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8 Psalter

Merry Fourth Day of Christmas!  Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents; those children killed when Herod was searching to kill Jesus.  The Church regards them as martyrs.  We reflected on martyrdom the other day with the feast of St. Stephen.  Again, it seems odd to have such a tragic event in the Octave of Christmas.  How should we consider today’s feast?

Herod, jealous and enraged- truly a madman- demanded the death of every infant son two years old and under.  Joseph, divinely warned by God, rescues the Holy Family, taking them to Egypt to hide until the death of Herod.  God’s faithful protection and provision are seen here.  But what of all those who died?  Where was God for them?  This naturally leads to the age-old question of why does God allow evil?  We cannot know the mind or the purpose of the Almighty.  But we can be confident of His wisdom and goodness even in the midst of such evil. 

We celebrate this day as a feast.  Why?  Because we view the Holy Innocents as martyrs and, as such, we believe they are in heaven rejoicing in the presence of Him for whom their lives were sacrificed.  The tragedy of that day pales in comparison with the eternal glories prepared for them.

It is with this in mind that we recall the words of the Psalter: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”  As Christians we are not shielded from the trials and tragedies that befall others.  We can be the victims of evil.  Our Lord’s protection does not mean we will not experience these things.  Rather, it means our eternal safekeeping.  Our souls are kept safe even while our bodies are subject to suffering.  The perspective of heaven changes everything.

Jesus came into this world at Christmas to right such wrongs.  However, He did not do so by force of arms.  Rather, He has chosen to take captive our hearts by love.  In the end, He will be the judge of the living and the dead and justice will be done for eternity.  Until then, we wait patiently in faith, entrusting ourselves into His loving arms.

Christmas is intended to rearrange our perspective.  Our Lord comes as the conquering King.  But He does so in the innocence and weakness of a baby.  These are the ways of God.  They are not like our ways.  They are not filled with power and grandeur… yet.  We are called to walk by faith, not by sight.

In this year, and in this season, many of us have faced our own trials and tragedies.  Perhaps we have been tempted to ask, “Where is God in this?”  Today’s feast hopefully puts it into a proper perspective.  It isn’t that the pain of our times is not real, or that God is unheeding of our plight.  But it shows that there is more than we can see or know.  So we must simply trust Him.

The Holy Innocents beckon to us today: do not faint.  Do not give up.  The glories that await you are truly worth it.

Dear friends, take all your tears and offer them in sacrifice to God.  He treasures them up.  He will provide grace for help in time of need.  He will turn our mourning into dancing.  He will turn trial and tragedy into triumph.  There will be a feast… and it will never end.

Merry Christmas!