The above image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups compiled and written by Ned Bustard. The image is called “The Massacre of the Innocents” and was done by Edward Knippers.
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
Matthew 2:16-18
Dear God, as I am sitting with this story this morning, it occurs to me that there are a lot more people involved in it that I have always thought. Sure, there are Herod, the soldiers, the mothers, and the children, but that’s not the extent of it. Everyone is in this story.
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are in this story. I wonder what Mary’s and Joseph’s reaction was when they first heard the news. Did they weep? Did they pray? Did they feel survivors guilt? Did they become more determined? Did they despair? Did they thank you for warning Joseph to leave? And how old was Jesus when he first heard about this? How old was he when he realized that it was meant for him. How did he internalize that information and respond to it?
I’m going to ignore Herod because he was just unhinged, jealous and fearful. He had made an idol out of his power and was willing to kill his own children, much less the children of others, to keep his position (okay, so I guess I didn’t ignore him). But the soldiers. Strangers in a foreign land. Likely racist. Resentful. Disrespectful. Vengeful. I wonder if there is any part of me that is like them. Do I hold things inside and then take advantage when I have an opportunity to let my anger spew out?
In terms of the parents, I can’t even imagine their helplessness. I mean, really, I’ve never had to feel that helpless. I remember hearing stories 25 years ago about Syrian refugee camps and what was happening to families there. Raiders were coming in and taking children, raping women, etc. I remember thinking about the men and how helpless they must feel to protect their children and wives. Themselves. No help was coming from the government either. No police. No military. Just helpless. I guess there are times when I’ve felt helpless to protect or provide for my children. Frankly, I feel pretty helpless now.
There are the older siblings of the children who died. A lot of the murdered children had older siblings who were traumatized by this. Did they ask how a loving God could let this happen? Did it make them long for Rome’s destruction and Israel’s restoration even more? When Jesus came along when they were in their mid- to late-30s, did they think back on this as one of the reasons they wanted him to me a conqueror and not a forgiver? Do I allow the pain from my past and traumas in my life influence my anger and sense of vengeance now?
There was the community, both locally and throughout the nation. No one was untouched by this. It’s a little like 9/11. If you were in New York or D.C., you probably knew someone or were related to someone affected by it. If you lived in the rest of the U.S., you at a minimum felt attacked and vulnerable. I know I did. That’s why we watched the news and sat in front of our televisions so shocked and dismayed. This killing of the children in Israel 2,000 years ago, was a national tragedy, and I’m sure it influenced their feelings about Rome and the need to make Israel great again.
Father, then there was you. There was “Rachel, weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted.” There was all of heaven weeping and hell celebrating (although the opportunity was missed to kill Jesus when they could, but they probably knew this plan wouldn’t work anyway). There was the spiritual realm that we humans cannot see. But this was another move in this way the earth is playing out. This didn’t happen so that the prophecy could be fulfilled. The prophecy existed because this would one day happen. But you had a plan to redeem all of this. As Jesus grew and matured, he understood that this event did not need to be avenged. It needed to be forgiven. He understood that each of the people I mentioned above, including his own parents, needed to be reconciled to you completely. Help me, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. Help me to live in that wisdom today as I worship you, forgive others, and love my neighbor as myself.
I pray all of this under your Holy Authority and in you Name,
Amen
Emails to God 