Painting by Léon Cogniet.
Today the church remembers the children that King Herod had murdered to insure his authority.
He did so on a whim and the order was carried out. Sadly, we can look back at the exodus story and find that Pharoah also ordered the murder of children to stay secure. And finally the death of the first born Egyptian sons by God after many warnings and plagues.
Its all just sad, the power plays. Authority being shown in horrible ways. The loss of the Egyptian children is only softened by the fact that God is on the other side. Even then it is hard to stomach.
During these Twelve days of Christmas we are reminded of these atrocities. Just a few days after we see all the potential of a child in the Christ child, the slaughter of the holy innocents smacks us in the face.
Sometimes I am tempted to think of examples like Herod to claim human advancement. There is rarely an open coordinated attack on children two and younger. We accept the murder and attack on the young in more nuanced fashion.
Its just how life is and life is violent. Whether it’s the children slain at a school shooting or the unwanted child in the womb we all have well reasoned arguments that support the needed sacrifice. Just as the abusive parent can rationalize the abuse because the child will face a cruel world so why not prepare them now. Tyrannical governments fear and use children as pawns and as soldiers. Even the West has turned to the systematic abuse of separating parents from their children in a way that is sure to cause trauma. The government sees no value in the plight of migrants and refugee, even the children.
Parents of every situation abandon their children daily. Some even to the horrors of trafficking. I will not be exhaustive in all the scandals that children endure. All of this is soul crushing.
The survivors grow up. What’s to come of them? Will they just be ‘evil’ when they lash out in violence? Will we keep building more prisons, cages and bombs? Of course we will!
We may not throw children into the flames of
Gehenna to appease the gods but we are fully willing to let them suffer and die. If we truly faced what the ’least of these’ children of abuse and trauma have endured we would seek a way forward.
You can’t legislate love and compassion. You can’t legislate eyes that see and ears that hear.
With the value of self-care being so needed today let us not let it lapse into selfishness.
It is our call today to be aware. To advocate gently and pray that the Holy Spirit will move us to action. There are many on the front lines. We can become trauma-numb. Don’t, just don’t! Don’t judge your neighbors caught in the system that says ‘you are alone’, that may have been their experience. Where criminal, pray for conviction of heart as they were most likely stepped on as a child too.
Herod is still slaughtering the innocents. There are those raging against the darkness.
Let us pray and work for those forgotten.
Below are just two ministries that reach who society wants to judge and condemn.
One serves the trafficked and abused:
Another serves those stuck in the cycle of violence:
Christmas shows us stark reality. The Kingdom is advancing. You are a vital part of this Kingdom. All is not lost. Fight the good fight.
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