Rev’d Dr Elizabeth McWhae

Ist Sunday after Christmas: Holy Innocents – Isaiah 63 7-9, Psalm 148, Hebrews 2 10-18, Matthew 2 13-23

Introduction:

Well, did you survive Christmas day? To be honest I find this time of year tricky. There are lovely times of peace and quiet. There is a sort of kindness in the air. There are festivities. There are endless shopping opportunities. There is catching up with friends and relatives. There are beautiful church services. There are breaks from work. But there is also carpark rage. There is heartache for the breakdown of family relationships. There is sometimes too much alcohol. There are the overlooked and forgotten ones, left on their own. And there are sick and dying ones in hospitals who will not see another Christmas. And to add to this list, there are now Jewish families mourning the loss and injury of innocent loved ones. And there are 2 men, one alive and one dead, who caused mayhem at

Bondi. What does our faith have to do with any of this?

Point 1:

I believe there is a great need to put Jesus back into Christmas. The baby has mostly been thrown out with the bathwater. Instead of the birth of the Christ child at Christmas, we have been left with mas. Mass shopping events. Mass drinking. Mass eating. And a massive oversight of the fact that Jesus is the reason for the season. And now that Jesus has mostly gone from Christmas, we the struggling faithful, are left with the task of showing our secular culture, that Jesus does matter. So how do we tell those around us that this baby born from an unwed, but betrothed teenage mother, whose birth happened in a stable and whose life was cut short by crucifixion in his early 30s over 2000 years ago, was and is the most important and life changing and life affirming event for everyone in the world. Because this Christ event, starting with the birth of a baby boy in a manger, in a stable, although appearing like any other birth, was not like any other birth in history.

Point 2:

According to Matthew’s gospel, there was someone who understood the importance of this birth in particular. It was Herod. After the wise men had left the house, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him. Because Herod’s plans were thwarted, in his rage he issued a decree that all male children from birth to 2 years in and around Bethlehem, should be killed.

These are the youngest martyrs referred to as the holy innocents, hence Holy Innocents Day. Why was Herod so fearful of the Christ child? I’m sure there were many reasons, but the main one was that he was fearful of losing his grip on power, like any despotic leader. The thought of a new king terrified him.

Point 3:

In contrast to Herod”s vengeful and horrific crimes there stands another man, a much finer man, called Joseph. A brand new unmarried father who is spiritually aware and listens to God and the angel of God. He takes Mary and Jesus and they flee by night as a refugee family to Egypt. Joseph takes them all to safety. They stay in Egypt until it is safe to return to Israel, which is once Herod has died. I really wish we knew more about Joseph. From the day he got together with Mary he was in for a very unpredictable and precarious journey, which he did not shy away from.

The contrast between these 2 men could not be greater. Matthew wants us to see that this Jesus is precious and his life needed to be protected. This Jesus had a mission to fulfill and Joseph wanted to make sure he could fulfill it. At this early stage in Jesus’ life, I’m sure Joseph would not have been aware of how things would end up. But he was a father that wanted the best for his child.

Conclusion:

These verses from Matthew’s gospel relating to the holy innocents are a shocking and uncomfortable tale of what human beings are capable of. We have learned this firsthand here in Australia very recently at Bondi. But this is not the whole story. Those left behind to mourn the holy innocents and those killed at Bondi, may be forgotten by the media now that the event is old news, but they are not forgotten by their family and friends, by us and by God. They are all offered new life and hope because Jesus himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. Whether we are Christian or Jewish or  Islamic or agnostic, Jesus shares our life and death in order to bring us new life and new hope. This is what the message of the good news is all about. That this baby, born so long ago, both God and man, Immanuel, God with us, is always with us and available to us. This is the true meaning of Christmas that this season offers to all the world. This is the one gift or present we need to give to our world. And we need to ask people to unwrap it. 

Herod hoped that he could eradicate this child called Jesus. When he could not, he eradicated others. Herod is no longer with us. But this Christ child lives on and on and his story is what can transform our broken and needy world.

No one has been able to eradicate this one who is God with us, Immanuel.