“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
(Matthew 2:18, Jer. 31:15)
This week the church remembers the The Massacre of the Innocents with “Holy Innocents’ Day.” Here we remember the fallen children murdered by Herod.
Most of you have heard the story. Some wise men show up in Herod’s court and tell him they saw a star that says a king is born. Herod Freaks out and orders the execution of all young male children in the village of Bethlehem.
This is the Dark side of Christmas. As we continue to celebrate Christmas we must not forget the blood that has been shed over the centuries. Let’s also be reminded of the reality of power. The Kingdom of God confronts the powers, and the strongholds in our own lives. The message of Christmas is not tinsel and Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but a King for a Kingdom that we are called to serve. It’s a real hope, but with it comes a real risk, and neither are domesticated.
Today Let us Join in the weeping of those throughout history for weak and defenseless who suffer. May they never be forgotten or ignored.
I weep and my eyes dissolve in tears, since the comforter who could revive me is far away. My sons are in despair, the enemy has proved too strong. – Lamentations 1:16
My eyes wasted away with weeping, my entrails shuddered, as children, mere infants, fainted in the squares of the Citadel. -Lamentations 2:11
Stop your weeping, dry your eyes, your hardships will be redressed. There is hope for your descendants, says the Lord. -Jeremiah 31:16,17
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