Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

Kaleidoscopic Dawn

 Lectionary: 698

This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 
If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

The images of Christmas are often enhanced by a chiaroscuro effect; that is, by the contrast of brilliant light in deep darkness. Saint John suggested as much when he said, "The light shone in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it." Often the light appears to shine from the Infant's face in the middle of the painting and the faces of the Virgin, Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Magi are illuminated by His light. The backs of their heads are darkened, as are the walls and other objects. As we reflect on these images the message is clear enough. He is the Light of the World. 

But an irony appears to me as we approach today's feast, which anticipates Calvary. The cross, is it darkness or light? Do we see the cross as an image of horror or grace? Certainly, the Lord is humiliated by crucifixion and I regard humiliation with dread. 

Even today, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, we remember God's humiliation as Joseph spirited the helpless Infant and his Mother out of Bethlehem in the middle of the night. There could be no brilliant light around the trio; they needed the blessed cover of darkness. Is there some kind of glory in retreat?

 

And yet Saint John insists, "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all." 

When I was a child, the black and white television programs still mimicked the old westerns, and the bad guys wore black hats. You could tell the good guys like Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger by their white hats. That polarized vision of life still dominates much of our thinking. Some politicians paint their opponents in the darkest possible hues; they insist that anyone who votes for their opponents is committing evil. Some Catholic priests and bishops have honored that foolishness, declaring that voting for Democrat or Republican candidates is sinful. Perhaps mortally sinful! Many Catholics feel acute embarrassment at such poor leadership while others suffer confusion and distress. 

We look to the Cross for wisdom, guidance, and light. We peer through shades of grief, disappointment, and despair. Often these overpowering emotions reflect, as in a mirror darkly, our passionate love for one another, our Church, and our God. 

Today's feast recalls many of the bleakest moments in human history, even as the news media reminds us that the killing of innocents is neither rare nor unusual. It is a common practice when soldiers invade a foreign land, when rebels foment a civil war, or when comfortable societies fear the inconvenience of newborn babies. Can we see light in these horrible stories? Is there reason to hope? 

Our religious faith calls this day the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The murdered boys of Bethlehem are martyred saints; they shed their blood in persona Christi. Their mothers grieved as the Virgin Mary would grieve her son not many years later. 

This feast dares us to hope in the face of innumerable horror stories. Most are remote to us; we hear of them only through the news of distant events. But many are close and personal as we suffer from plagues of drug abuse, mass shootings, and suicide. Like the people of Europe during the World Wars, few American families have not been staggered by the unexpected death of loved ones. Marriages have foundered on grief; suicides have triggered other fragile persons to take their own life. 

And yet we hope. The Spirit of God moves in our hearts; our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus arouses our hope; our love reaches out to the suffering even as it accepts the consoling companionship of others. 

But this I will call to mind;

therefore I will hope:

The LORD’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,

his compassion is not spent;

They are renewed each morning—

great is your faithfulness!

The LORD is my portion, I tell myself,

therefore I will hope in him.

The LORD is good to those who trust in him,

to the one that seeks him;

It is good to hope in silence

for the LORD’s deliverance. Lamentations 3: 21-26