5th Day of Christmas: Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:15-17 (NRSV)

Thus says the LORD:

A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are no more.

Thus says the LORD:

Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears;

for there is a reward for your work,

says the LORD:

they shall come back from the land of the enemy;

there is hope for your future,

says the LORD:

your children shall come back to their own country.

Psalm 124 (BCP., p.781).


Revelation 21:1-7 (NRSV)
 

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Matthew 2:13-17 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

If you are reading this blog post today, and you are someone who has ever wondered what in the world is so great about this Christianity thing; this Feast is just for you.

If you feel like you have been a good believer in God, and you just do not understand why there is still so much violence, anger, hate and oppression in the world; this Feast day is for you.

If you are someone who had an experience during the Christmas holiday in which your heart was smashed by someone or some thing that happened; this is your day.

If you have been looking for a day on the calendar of the Church, in which political maneuvering happened by a powerful leader, and it seemed like God did nothing to stop it; The Feast of the Holy Innocents is just what you need.

If the Feast of St. Stephen was the spoiler to Christmas Day, then today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents is the double spoiler.

The reality of Jesus' birth, was that He was born into our world of political maneuvering, horror, injustice and brutality that affects us all.  Such a concept is so difficult for us to digest.  We want a Savior who will put an end to all of those things.   All of those prophesies of the coming of a Savior who would be like a mighty warrior and finally bring the kind of justice we are looking for; they just do not appear to be true.

As difficult as it can be for us to grasp, Jesus did not come to end all human suffering.  Jesus came as God's perfect revelation of God's Self to walk with us through all the suffering, so that we would know that we do not deal with it alone.  Jesus came so that we would know that whatever evil may occur in our own lives, communities, nation and world; God is there weeping with us and seeks to console us, so that we may become a healing and transforming people.

At the same time, Christians can and have provoked similar acts of violence with the absurd notion that God condones it.  This Feast Day is transferred from December 28th, which is also the date of the Wounded Knee Massacre.   On that horrible day, Americans guided by a so called Christian ideal that "not all people are created equal in God's eye " committed our own version of the Holy Innocents. We also have in our history the ongoing violence to individuals of different races, genders, gender identities/expressions, sexual orientations, languages, immigration statuses, disabilities, behaviors and more.  We continue to justify things such as taking away funding for food stamps, unemployment insurance, reproductive health care choices for women and worker's rights.  We want people to "rely on God and not the government" in a Nation that boasts of a government "of the people, for the people and by the people."  Yet, a majority of "people" want the ability to decide on the well being and prosperity of people who are wealthy and powerful, over the weak, the lonely, the destitute and the marginalized.   How, then, are we really different from Herod?

On this Feast of the Holy Innocents, may we reflect on the goodness of God to each one of us.  But, let us also ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may do our part to affect change for the good all of God's children.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for The Holy Innocents, The Book of Common Prayer., p.238).

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the First Sunday after Christmas.  The Book of Common Prayer., p. 213).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for Social Justice. The Book of Common Prayer., p.260).

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents and the Wounded Knee Massacre

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

I often wish I did not know about this Holy Day in our Church calendar.  I want the night before Christmas back with the beauty of the expected coming of the Christ Child, the music, the singing, the sermon about Emmanuel, God with us.

I do not get to chose what is in the history of the Christian Church. I know.  I know. I am free to do whatever I want with my religion.  Except that if I do that and pass up what the Holy Innocents is about, I am not being true to who I am as a gay Episcopalian and a Benedictine.

We remember today with great horror and"why, O God" that King Herod slaughtered every male child up to two years old, because he was afraid that the new born King was going to supplant him.  This is one scene that Franco Zeffirelli brought home in the Anglo/Italian mini series Jesus of Nazareth depicted with drama that almost makes me sick to my stomach.   The screaming amidst the brutality of Herod's warriors putting these babies to the sword and the weeping mothers as the streets are literally filled with blood is heart wrenching. 

As in past years, I write today about this Holy Day, and the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 123 years ago today.  A date that is oddly the same as remembering the Holy Innocents.  Native Americans were slaughtered during the Wounded Knee Massacre with the same kind of brutality that killed the Holy Innocence back in Bethlehem.  The Wounded Knee Massacre is as much a Holy Innocence killing as it is an example of the lack of hospitality that actually destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.   It wasn't homosexuality, as some still insist.

Both of these horrible massacres are the result of political maneuvering for the purpose of safe guarding a sense of insecurity on the part of a King and a government that just cannot allow something that they cannot understand, to roam freely and complete the purpose for which they exist.

When we read about incidents like these, our first question naturally is "where was God?"  If God is so Divine and Omni-present and Almighty, why didn't God intervene here?

I cannot answer that question in a way that would make sense. The violence we recall on a day like this, just does not make sense.

What also does not make sense is how so-called "pro-life" people make use of the horrible events we remember today to shame women about abortion.  It is a terrible abuse of pastoral and religious authority to use this day on women who are so often victimized by men in cases of rape and sexual assault. Women who are experiencing complications with their reproductive organs and need to make a decision about the fetus and the consequences she will face socially if she decides to abort, don't need reminders of how painful such a decision is.  Yet, many "pro-lifers" insist on using this day to pile on the guilt.

Days like this can also be a reminder of how Christianists and others who still use the Bible to condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; particularly youth.  LGBT and questioning youth who are trying to understand who they are and why they are so different from others who don't have these feelings in side of them that they are so afraid of.  They hear messages about how "As a Christian, I believe with all my heart that homosexuality is wrong." (See the movie For the Bible Tells Me So for the quote).  The innocence of a pure heart that wants to love herself/himself the way they are and know there is a place for them and God in this world, gets violated as Christianist Pastors invade their sacred spaces.  This too is it's own form of a massacre.

How can the Christ Child of Bethlehem heal our broken relationships on a day like this?

I think we have to begin by allowing the Christ Child to help us understand what is in our own hearts.  All of us have those things that we think give us a sense of self security.  We all have that someone that we want out of our way so we can do as we please.  There is someone some where that scares our sense of self sufficiency to the point where we just have to do our political maneuvering.  If we are not careful, those feelings can drive us to an emotional violence towards someone whom we just hate so much, that we just cannot let them be who they are.

Jesus comes in the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth to help us know that the Light of God shines into those dark places within our hearts and souls.  That Light comes with love and grace to deliver us from our own sense of feeling like the hate that is in our hearts for someone else just cannot be changed or healed. God tells us that it is okay to let go. God tells us that it is okay that we let that individual who is between God and our personal salvation go and be who they are.  We don't have to change them.  We don't have to like them.  We don't even have to be their new best friend.  We also do not have to harbor that prejudice and hurt that harms ourselves on their account.  The Christ Child says; It's okay to let go.

Today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents teaches us that though we may not feel or see God in the midst of the horrible things that happen; we can be part of the solution if we are willing to let Jesus change our hearts and lives.  We can allow LGBT people, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and so forth seek to live their lives in peace with all of us.  In that peace there there is no need for political maneuvering.  Because God in Christ takes these horrible events and uses them to change communities and all humankind if only we will let God's Light shine through the darkness.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know
you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend
us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that
we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of
any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, page 815).

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:15-17 (NRSV)

Thus says the LORD:

A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are no more.

Thus says the LORD:

Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears;

for there is a reward for your work,

says the LORD:

they shall come back from the land of the enemy;

there is hope for your future,

says the LORD:

your children shall come back to their own country.

Psalm 124 (BCP., p.781)


Revelation 21:1-7 (NRSV)

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

I really do not think it is a coincidence that we commemorate the Holy Innocents exactly two weeks to the day since the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.   Indeed, two weeks ago, America witnessed a massacre of innocence.   Or, should we say that we were made aware of the mass murder of twenty innocent children along with 8 adults?   How many other such incidents happen that we just do not know about?

In the past on this Holy Day in our Church calendar I have written about the dangers of political maneuvering.  The slaughter of all of the male children in and around Bethlehem was an act of political maneuvering on the part of Herod.   He was so fearful of being supplanted, that the idea of an infant who was a new born king, was something he just could not leave alone. 

I have also written about the fact that this date of December 28th also falls one day before the anniversary of another massacre that many of us hear very little about.  One hundred and twenty seven years ago, a horrific number of Native Americans were slaughtered in the Wounded Knee Massacre.  A Nation said to be about with liberty and justice for all, turned out to be another set of words that meant everything to some, and nothing to others.  A Nation of liberty so long as one was white, male, of European origin and Christian.  A Nation of oppression and injustice if you were so unfortunate to be a Native American. 

We still live in a time of political maneuvering.  At present we have a looming date for going over the fiscal cliff with the middle class and the poorest among us who have the most to lose.  Every political maneuvering imaginable is being done to be sure that one political party or individual is the one(s) to blame.  But, even if we do go over the fiscal cliff, they have very little to lose.  They will still  have their enormous salaries.  Their homes.  Businesses.  Their high priced places to stay in Washington, D.C.  Those who will really feel the impact of losing their unemployment benefits, and experience the greatest loses, well, they would just be out of luck.  Yet, in an effort to arrive some where, who's benefits are placed as a bargaining chip?  The elderly, retired and disabled.   Is this not another political maneuvering by which innocent people remain at risk?

We were horrified beyond belief two weeks ago.  What we read about in our Gospel today, terrifies us, and for good reason.  But, why are we not so terrified about the thousands of children who are dying every day by drone missiles being fired in Pakistan?   Why are we so apathetic about the many immigrant children who face deportation or being put in prison along with their parents over their "papers"?   Why are we turning a deaf ear to the number of suicides every year of LGBT youth due to bullying?    Why are we not equally concerned about a woman who gives birth to a child, because of all the laws made to make abortion services harder to get, but we have no charity to provide her with funding for housing, child care, education, job training and health care services?

Our Gospel today gives us a glimpse into how much Jesus shares in our human nature.  The child Jesus, his mother and father, were refugees in Egypt.  The Son of God identifies with those who must flee from their homeland to escape oppression and death.  How much are we concerned with the LGBT citizens in a place like Uganda who may have to flee their homes to escape the looming death if the "Kill the gays" bill is passed?

As we continue to celebrate the coming of Christ among us on Christmas, I think we would do well to pray about what role we might play in the ending of injustice and oppression.  It is quite obvious that Jesus did not come to end those things.  Even if the words of O Holy Night says: "in his Name all oppression shall cease."  It is apparent, that oppression is still with us.  Jesus comes to let us know that God suffers right along with us when it comes to injustice and oppression.  God hurts as humans hurt through so much suffering and death. 

God also promises to be with us when we are ready to become proactive in doing something about it.  God knows that there is the Cross involved with doing something about the injustices in this world.  We could very well lose our popularity, prestige or even our lives for doing so.   Whether losing our lives means giving of our time, talent and treasure away from those things we want most, or literally our lives.  God promises to walk with us through those things and to suffer along with us, but also help us to achieve things that only we can do.  But, it all begins when we say yes to God.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, p. 238).

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents: Let Go of Political Manuevering

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

I often wish I did not know about this Holy Day in our Church calendar.  I want the night before Christmas back with the beauty of the expected coming of the Christ Child, the music, the singing, the sermon about Emmanuel, God with us. 

I do not get to chose what is in the history of the Christian Church. I know.  I know. I am free to do whatever I want with my religion.  Except that if I do that and pass up what the Holy Innocents is about, I am not being true to who I am as a gay Episcopalian. 

We remember today with great horror and"why, O God" that King Herod slaughtered every male child up to two years old, because he was afraid that the new born King was going to supplant him.  This is one scene that Franco Zeffirelli brought home in the Anglo/Italian mini series Jesus of Nazareth depicted with drama that almost makes me sick to my stomach.   The screaming amidst the brutality of Herod's warriors putting these babies to the sword and the weeping mothers as the streets are literally filled with blood is heart wrenching.  

Last year when I wrote about this Holy Day, I also wrote about the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 121 years ago today.  A date that is oddly the same as remembering the Holy Innocents.  Native Americans were slaughtered during the Wounded Knee Massacre with the same kind of brutality that killed the Holy Innocence back in Bethlehem.  The Wounded Knee Massacre is as much a Holy Innocence killing as it is an example of the lack of hospitality that destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Both of these horrible massacres are the result of political maneuvering for the purpose of safe guarding a sense of insecurity on the part of a King and a government that just cannot allow something that they cannot understand, to roam freely and complete the purpose for which they exist.

When we read about incidents like these, our first question naturally is "where was God?"  If God is so Divine and Omni-present and Almighty, why didn't God intervene here?

I cannot answer that question in a way that would make sense. The violence we recall on a day like this, just does not make sense.

What also does not make sense is how so-called "pro-life" people make use of the horrible events we remember today to shame women about abortion.  It is a terrible abuse of pastoral and religious authority to use this day on women who are so often victimized by men in cases of rape and sexual assault. Women who are experiencing complications with their reproductive organs and need to make a decision about the fetus and the consequences she will face socially if she decides to abort, don't need reminders of how painful such a decision is.  Yet, many "pro-lifers" insist on using this day to pile on the guilt. 

Days like this can also be a reminder of how Christianists and others who still use the Bible to condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; particularly youth.  LGBT and questioning youth who are trying to understand who they are and why they are so different from others who don't have these feelings in side of them that they are so afraid of.  They hear messages about how "As a Christian, I believe with all my heart that homosexuality is wrong." (See the movie For the Bible Tells Me So for the quote).  The innocence of a pure heart that wants to love herself/himself the way they are and know there is a place for them and God in t his world, gets violated as Christianist Pastors invade their sacred spaces.  This too is it's own form of a massacre.

How can the Christ Child of Bethlehem heal our broken relationships on a day like this?

I think we have to begin by allowing the Christ Child to help us understand what is in our own hearts.  All of us have those things that we think give us a sense of self security.  We all have that someone that we want out of our way so we can do as we please.  There is someone some where that scares our sense of self sufficiency to the point where we just have to do our political maneuvering.  If we are not careful, those feelings can drive us to an emotional violence towards someone whom we just hate so much, that we just cannot let them be who they are.

Jesus comes in the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth to help us know that the Light of God shines into those dark places within our hearts and souls.  That Light comes with love and grace to deliver us from our own sense of feeling like the hate that is in our hearts for someone else just cannot be changed or healed. God tells us that it is okay to let go. God tells us that it is okay that we let that individual who is between God and our personal salvation go and be who they are.  We don't have to change them.  We don't have to like them.  We don't even have to be their new best friend.  We also do not have to harbor that prejudice and hurt that harms ourselves on their account.  The Christ Child says; It's okay to let go.

Today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents teaches us that though we may not feel or see God in the midst of the horrible things that happen; we can be part of the solution if we are willing to let Jesus change our hearts and lives.  We can allow LGBT people, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and so forth seek to live their lives in peace with all of us.  In that peace there there is no need for political maneuvering.  Because God in Christ takes these horrible events and uses them to change communities and all humankind if only we will let God's Light shine through the darkness.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know
you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend
us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that
we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of
any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, page 815). 

 

 

 

 

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: The Healer of Broken Relationships

Today's Scripture Readings

Luke 2: 1-20  (NRSV)

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

John 1: 1-14 (NRSV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

Blog Reflection

At the end of her Christmas message, The Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church writes:

Jesus comes among us to remind us of a world living together in peace, to reclaim and make real that vision of creation for all humanity and all God’s creatures. That world is put right as relationships between God and humanity are set right. The relationship between God and human being cannot be set right without equal healing of relationships between us mortals.  See, your salvation comes!  Will we welcome that healing?

 If there is one time of the year in which many relationships are definitely not healed; it is Christmas.  Many families and their relatives face the Christmas holiday with anger and deep pain as they approach each other (or chose not to).  The distance between the coming of Jesus in the Manger at Bethlehem and broken hearts for some is too much.  The desire to mend those broken relationships may be there, but when it comes to actually interacting with them face to face; hearts are just too hard.  Emotions just seem to never stop colliding.

The magic of that Christmas night with the stars and the shepherds, all the glorious music and lofty Scripture readings.  Where does it all go when we see or we don't see the person we are in conflict with?

Sometimes I think many of the Christmas Gospel stories are misleading.  They talk of something mysteriously wonderful happening.  But, consider the manner in which Jesus was born.  It was anything but majestic in the Anglican ceremonial sense.  Everything that happened around the birth of Jesus was disorganized.  Nothing was totally right in order.  It was down right messy.

Did it really get better after Christmas?  After the Magi left, Herod had every son up to two years old slaughtered with the sword because they did not know that Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to Egypt at the suggestion of the Magi.  Rachel cried in agony only a few days after Jesus was born (see Matthew 2: 16-18).  Did the world really get better?

The joy in the message of Christmas is that God came in the midst of our mess, our violence, our broken relationships and all that was and still is not right about anything.   Jesus came to bring God's perfect revelation to what was and still is so imperfect.  God comes into hearts and relationships that are all bent out of shape.

God comes; not as the mighty warrior with swords and machine guns raised to kill and slaughter.

God comes to be among us; not to force God's way in.

God comes and overthrows the mighty from their thrones; not by political maneuvering and corporate cash to overthrow the liberals of his time; to raise up an arch-conservative monarchy to kick the poor out of their homes without health care or the basic necessities of life 

God's perfect revelation of Self comes to us; not as some family council or National Organization for Marriage to tell LGBTQ people that they cannot be married to the person they love or serve openly in the Military.

God does not come in the voice of the Archbishop of San Francisco to kick out the gay friendly speakers in the middle of Christmas Liturgies while attempting a church membership drive called "Come Home."

God does not come in the voice of Archbishop Francis Cardinal George comparing the Gay Pride parades in the middle of Chicago to the Klu Klux Klan. 

In her outstanding article; United Church of Christ Pastor Emily C. Heath writes:

What they fail to understand is that culture didn't remove Christ from Christmas. We Christians did. We accepted the transformation of Advent, the period from late November until December 24th, from a time of holy watching and waiting to one of hyper-consumerism and cultural observances. So much so that when we go to a big box store and don't hear "Merry Christmas" we see it as an attack on our faith instead of the rightful separation of the commercial from the spiritual.

But there are still those who believe Christmas is under attack. I think they're right. But I don't think stores who have "holiday sales" are the attackers. I don't think it's towns that remove Nativity scenes from parks. I don't believe it's public schools that insist that Jewish and Muslim and Buddhist kids not be asked to sing songs affirming a faith different from their own.

I believe the greatest attack on Christmas has come from within. It has come from those of us who claim our greatest hope comes from the fact that God became a person of goodness, kindness, justice, and love. And who then act nothing like that person did.

And so here is my suggestion to Christians about how to keep Christ in Christmas: this season, worry less about the holiday policies of non-religious institutions, and worry more about whether we are actually listening to, and then doing, what Christ told us to do. In short, keep Christ in Christmas by acting like Christians.


I've always found the Beatitudes a good place to start. When Jesus called his followers up to a hill and preached to them, he told them who the "blessed" were; the ones whom God has looked with favor upon and will grant joy. The ones Christ calls blessed are often the same ones we as a culture are the quickest to condemn or criticize. We blame them for their own situation, and we refuse to help them. We somehow forget that when God became incarnate and preached a sermon about who was most blessed by God, these are the ones who were named: the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the peacemakers, the merciful, the mourners, the pure in heart, the gentle. If Christmas is about the incarnation of God, and this is what God incarnate saw fit to tell us, then this is the ultimate Christmas message.

But over the last year, how many examples have there been of Christians who could care less who God has called blessed? How many times has a Christian told a hungry man to get a job? How many times has one told a poor woman that she just needs to work harder? How many times has a Christian ridiculed the gentle or the merciful? Called the ethical naive? Mocked the peacemaker or the one who calls for justice?

How many times have we told God by our actions that we could care less what Christmas means? Because if we don't take seriously the words of the man that that baby born on Christmas came to be, we have no idea what it means to keep Christ in Christmas.

Humankind cannot see God's desire to heal our broken relationships by miraculous deeds alone. Jesus is born today to show us that Jesus can be born again in us today and everyday to heal broken relationships by living as one of us. To know our experiences as one like us. Learning to cry when the pain hurts to much.  God comes and laughs at our jokes.  God comes to celebrate the momentous event of people coming together to love one another and make a difference in the world around us.

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9, NRSV).

One of the greatest tragedies of this Holiday Season is when families cannot come together peacefully over the issue of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression because of religion.  Individuals who are LGBTQ of all ages experience a deep rejection this time of the year from their families. They face the possibility of some Bible thumper in the family giving them the drill of: "Well, some day God will cure you of your gayness."  Honestly, facing that kind of thing in the middle of Christmas Dinner with family is like giving an LGBTQ person sugar in one dish and vinegar in the next.  All the LGBTQ person is likely to remember about that holiday meal is the bitter sourness of the vinegar.

This Christmas Season let's all go to the Christ Child in the Manger and ask God Incarnate to lead us once again through this next year to heal those relationships that are so broken.  The risk of further injury and even being crucified will be there this year just like they have always been.  There is also the very real probability of resurrection by which we can all have newly healed relationships in spite of our broken and wounded humanity.  That healing comes when we accept ourselves for who we are, live openly and honestly with God, others and ourselves.   That healing is made even more real when those who have rejected us in the past come around to a better understanding and begin to love us and our same-sex partner(s) as we are.

In her blog post: Holy Family Values, Rev. Susan Russell wrote:

The Christ Child made the Holy Family holy – what made them a family were the values that bound them together as an icon of God’s love for the whole human family. And those values have absolutely nothing to do with either the gender or the genetics of those who make up a family and everything to do with the inclusive love of the God whose deepest desire is for this human race – created in God’s image – to become the human family it was meant to be.

Sadly, one of the things that has WAY too often gotten in the way of proclaiming that love to all people is the very thing that was created to proclaim that love to all people – and that thing would be The Church. Yet maybe it’s my own lived experience of reconfiguring a family on the other side of a marriage that gives me the hope we can also reconfigure our churches on the other side of bias and bigotry against God’s LGBT beloved.

O Come, Emmanuel, O Come All Ye Faithful and heal our broken relationships.  Amen.


Prayers

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth
of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully
receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence
behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the
brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known
the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him
perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to
take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure
virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made
your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed
by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collects for Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, pages 212-213).

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday after Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, page 213).   

The Holy Innocents: Remembering How Political Maneuvering Kills

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Today is one of those commemorations that I wish we did not have to remember.  After celebrating the birth of Jesus with such beauty and splendor, why must we pause today to remember that King Herod slaughtered all the male children up to two years old, just because Herod was jealous or afraid of his rule being taken from him by the Christ Child?   Because the Gospel story of the Holy Innocents is a reminder that the world in which Jesus was born into is the world we live in, even today.  It is not a world where we recognize individual people for who they are, or respect others who are different from ourselves.  We are reminded today that despite our best intentions, all of us want to maneuver our way around someone else getting ahead of us.  We all have a thirst for power, greed and selfishness that leads to destructive behavior.

Not only is today the commemoration of the Holy Innocents, but it is also the 120th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

The Sand Creek Massacre and the Washita Massacre both led to the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Sand Creek Massacre brought the realization that "the soldiers were destroying everything Cheyenne - the land, the buffalo, and the people themselves," and the Washita Massacre added even more genocidal evidence to those facts. The Sand Creek Massacre caused the Cheyenne to put away their old grievances with the Sioux and join them in defending their lives against the U.S. extermination policy. The Washita Massacre did that even more so. After putting the Wounded Knee Massacre briefly into historical perspective, we’ll focus solely on the Wounded Knee Massacre itself for the 120th Anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Also recorded in the Native American Netroots Diary

Black Kettle, his wife, and more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho had just been exterminated, and Custer’s 7th was burning the lodges and all their contents, thus stripping them of all survival means. Sheridan would wait until all their dogs had been eaten before "allowing" them into subjugation, then Custer would rape the women hostages in captivity.

As we recall not only one, but two tragedies in human history, we are brought face to face with our own human frailty and need of God's redemptive graces.  As we have seen time and again where there is ignorance, there is also fear.  Where there is fear that goes uneducated it becomes violence.  Violence of any kind is never the will of Almighty God.  Not due to religious differences, political diversity or any other reason.  God makes very good use of the suffering brought about by violence to bring healing and restoration, but the violence itself is never the will of God.

We would like to believe that there no longer exists the political corruption and maneuvering that killed the Holy Innocents and gave rise to the Wounded Knee Massacre.  However a look across the ocean in the Country of Uganda where a bill has been written that if passed will make it the law to imprison or put to death individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning.  One of the most dangerous parts of ths bill is it will require teachers, parents, counselor's and pastors/bishops etc to report within 24 hours anyone they know who is a known homosexual or they could face prison time.  This too is a nation wide, and religious based bigotry with violence at it's root and goal.  The same ignorance that has given rise to the hatred of Indigenous Peoples, is the same bigotry against individuals due to their sexual and gender diversity.  Political maneuvering that results in such violence, destroys communities and peoples in ways that are beyond explanation.

The Christian Faith rose out of an age of religious and political violence to share the good news of the salvation of humankind in Jesus Christ.  Christianity does not hold a monopoly on the truth. Christianity believes in Jesus Christ who is God's truth, but then again, all truth including a respect for all individuals regardless of their religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression etc, etc, etc is God's truth.   There is no person, religion, sexual or gender diversity, culture that exists without God's knowledge or creative activity.  In the end, God is the one who will save all human souls.  Not Christians.  The more we try to hang on to our rule, our domain, the more we will lose.

The Episcopal Church though far from sinless in our history, has been for quite sometime attempting to make peace and to include the Indigenous Community.  It is not without amazement that the Episcopal Church has been working on making peace with racial, sexual and gender diversity as well.   The work of inclusion is far from finished. It has most likely just begun.  Unfortunately, there remain even within our Anglican Communion those who do not wish to make room for diversity.  Praying for an open heart and mind is easier than allowing God to actually open them on God's timing. 

The birth of Jesus was about God doing a new thing in time.  It was about God opening up the closed minds and hearts of those who had already decided how God should act and be.  God was not finished with humankind.  In Jesus, God sought to teach us new things by the Holy Spirit's power working in Christ.  We need to pray for that same openness to the movement of God's Spirit in today's Church and society.  So that we may see what is in our hearts and minds and allow God to help and heal us of our own biases and ignorant attitudes and behaviors.  May our minds always be open to learning about the beauty of all of the colors of God's beautiful garden in humankind. 

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, page 826).


Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, page 816).