Jesus Loves the Little Children
AM: Psalm 2, 26 • Isaiah 49:13-23 • Matthew 18:1-14
PM: Psalm 19, 126 • Isaiah 54:1-13 • Mark 10:13-16
We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Collect for The Holy Innocents, p. 238, BCP
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, commemorating the event in Matthew Chapter 2 which tells of King Herod’s slaughter, after the visit of the Magi, of all male children of Bethlehem under two years of age. This part of the birth narrative, which is not repeated in the other gospels nor by other Jewish historians, is thought by some Biblical scholars to have been added to parallel the story of Pharaoh, who tried to kill all male Hebrew children in the time of Moses because he had been warned that a Hebrew boy born that year would be his doom. But the story does ring true to the character of the historical King Herod. Out of his fear of being overthrown by anyone, not just the Messiah foretold by the prophets, Herod had many people killed, including several of his own wives and sons whom he suspected of plotting to dethrone him. If Herod did have all the male children under age two in Bethlehem killed, more likely twenty or thirty rather than the hundreds of later legend, Jesus would have grown up hearing the story and would have known he was the reason behind Herod’s horrendous act.
When the disciples ask Jesus in today’s reading from Matthew 18 who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus beckons a child to him. We can almost hear his voice, “Come here, little one. Don’t be afraid.” The child stands in the midst of the crowd, perhaps with his head down. Jesus surprises the disciples by answering, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In other words, quit worrying about who’s the greatest. Get over it, and get on with it, folks.
Jesus had a special love for children, perhaps remembering the children who had died for him in Bethlehem. One of his harshest condemnations comes in this passage, when he says that anyone who harms a child would be better off to have a millstone fastened around his neck and be thrown into the sea. He then softens to tell the parallel of the loving shepherd who leaves his ninety-nine sheep to go looking for the single lost one. This is my favorite parable because it says that God doesn’t give up on anyone. We are all God’s children, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, politics, and are equally precious, and God does not quit until every last one of his creations is safely in the kingdom.
Let us pray today for victims of evil tyrants everywhere. Let us pray for ourselves, that we not, through carelessness or selfishness, bring harm to any of God’s children but bring justice, love, and peace instead.
Written by Kay Duval
In the new year, Kay prays, in the words of the prophet Amos, that justice may “roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” so that all may know God’s love and peace. Amen.