Holy Innocents (28 Dec)
by the Revd Dr Robert Wilson PhD (Cantab), Old Roman Apostolate UK
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents. St. Matthew’s Gospel recounts that after the visitation of the Saviour by the Magi (which we will celebrate at Epiphany) “an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee. For it shall come to pass that Herod shall seek the child to destroy him.” Joseph therefore arose and took the child and his mother into Egypt, and remained there until after the death of Herod. “Then Herod, perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry, and sending, killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.” This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, “A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning: Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
Herod’s massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem reflects his paranoia, as he came to the end of his life, of any potential rival to his power. He had shown considerable political skill in reigning as King of the Jews for several decades, but he had no real ethics or firm principles other than an obsession with remaining in power at all costs. His success was all the more remarkable because his family was of Idumean rather than Jewish origin. After the Hasmonean kingdom had been finally defeated and absorbed by the expanding Roman empire, Herod’s father, Antipater, had emerged as the most significant power broker in the region. He was a highly effective political operator who had managed to be on good terms with both the Hasmoneans and then with the Romans. He was rewarded by being appointed “procurator” of Judea, as well as winning privileges for the Jews throughout the Roman empire, namely freedom of worship and exemption from military service. He was eventually murdered, and his son Herod had to fight to regain power for the dynasty. This he finally achieved and he was recognised as King of Judea by the Romans. Even in what was a very harsh age he was noted for his extreme ruthlessness against all opposition. He killed three of his own sons, whom he perceived as a threat, as well as his wife. Though he owed his power to his pro-Roman policy and indulged in vanity projects such as building a palace for himself in Jerusalem, he was in some ways a benefactor of the Jews, completely rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem on a far grander scale than before. He appears to have modelled himself on King Solomon, the first builder of the temple, under whom the kingdom of Israel had reached its greatest height.
However, he never really won over his subjects, who rightly perceived that his support for the Jewish religion was essentially opportunistic and did not come from any real commitment, especially given that he was also a benefactor of pagan temples. This meant that he could never really feel secure, as is so often the case with those who rule by fear. He did not mellow with age, but became even more paranoid. The massacre of the innocents is not attested elsewhere, but fits perfectly with everything that is known about Herod’s personality. He saw himself as the rightful King of the Jews, who had defeated his opponents and rebuilt the temple, and even weak and helpless children who had committed no crime, but were potentially in the future rivals to him, must be ruthlessly murdered. For him, as for so many other would be strong leaders in human history, it was the case of all power corrupts and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
Joseph and Mary wisely left his kingdom and stayed in Egypt until after his death. Though the Israelites had historically descended from those who had escaped slavery in Egypt, after the final defeat of the Jewish kingdom by the Babylonians, a substantial Jewish community had emerged in Egypt. The prophet Jeremiah, who had warned the dying nation that the situation was so far gone that it now had no option but to surrender to the Babylonians, himself had ended his days in exile in Egypt. At the time of the fall of the nation he spoke of how a voice was heard in Rama, one of lamentation and great mourning, Rachel bewailing her children and would not be comforted because they are not. For St. Matthew these words seemed a foreshadowing of Herod’s massacre of the innocents many centuries later.
The reign of Herod was a classic example of the self styled strong leader, a type familiar enough throughout human history. He had some success for a time, but, since his power was based on fear rather than love, never achieved any lasting stability. As is so often the case outward aggression is a mask for a deeper internal insecurity. By contrast to the self styled king living in a palace, the true King of the Jews, though indeed of Davidic descent, was born in humble surroundings. He was a child refugee who had narrowly escaped the death that was meted out on the infants in Bethlehem who were left behind. His kingdom would not be based on brute force, but on self sacrificial love. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He taught a way of non-violence, of turning the other cheek and going the second mile, until the time came when he no longer taught, but acted and suffered. In his life, death and resurrection he inaugurated his kingdom. Instead of ruthlessly eliminating his opponents and physically rebuilding the temple on a grander scale like Herod, he took the whole weight of the world’s evil upon himself and somehow subsumed it into good. He would be the true builder of the temple, but he spake about the temple of his body.
Two thousand years later the world still craves strong leaders who rule by force and violence. Only by so doing, it is said, can the civil peace be upheld. There is some truth in this, but the peace that the self styled strong man gives is not a lasting peace. By contrast, the Kingdom of Christ gives a peace such as this world cannot give. It alone provides lasting security in the face of all the trials and tribulations of this life. Despite everything that seems to render them triumphant in the short term, the forces of evil always end up self destructing in the end, for all they that draw the sword shall die by the sword. Evil cannot be overcome by evil but only by good, of power made perfect in weakness.
Let us therefore not allow the rejoicing of this season to lead us to neglect the innocents who are facing persecution in our own age, but also not despair like those who have no hope. Let us remain faithful to him who brought that true peace such as this world cannot give.
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