On the 4th day of Christmas.... - The dark side - We shouldn't avoid it

The Nativity - Gerard van Hondhorst

I said in a previous post that the Nativity story is a story of hardship and heartache from beginning to end. That might have surprised you if you read it.

I wrote that as I was thinking about the Holy Family themselves. It began with the embarrassment and shame of Joseph and Mary at their situation when they found that Mary was pregnant. And even getting through that they had to make an arduous journey to Bethlehem to satisfy the census, only to find nowhere fitting to stay, so they had to bunk down in a cave or shed. If they thought things were tough then, they were going to get tougher, and frightening with it.

We read in St. Matthew's gospel of three Magi journeying to find Jesus. The portents had told them the baby would be a king. In trying to locate Jesus' whereabouts it seemed sensible to them to stop off in Jerusalem to ask the current king, Herod the Great if he knew where the new king would be born? Herod summoned his priests and scribes and asked them if they knew. 'Bethlehem is what the scriptures say', said the priests and scribes. So Herod sent the Magi off with instructions to return and let him know where they find the new king so that he can make a visit.

 Flight into Egypt - Gentile da Fabriano

After finding and visiting Jesus, the Bible tells us that, in a dream, the Magi are warned off telling Herod. So they go home a different way. Joseph is also visited in a dream by an angel telling him to take Mary and the baby off to Egypt until further notice because Herod is going to come for Jesus to kill him.

Hardship, heartache and now fear are visited upon Mary and Joseph. But if it was bad for them, it was even worse for the residents of Bethlehem because they had to suffer what I think would be described these days as 'collateral damage' to the event of the holy birth. Because a power crazed Herod decides he won't put up with the competition and orders the killing of all the children under 2 years of age in Bethlehem. So the chilling conclusion to the nativity story is summed up at the end in St. Matthew's gospel thus:

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."

The Massacre of the Innocents - Leon Cogniet

Today, 28th December, the 4th day of Christmas each year, is dedicated to all those children killed in Bethlehem - the Holy Innocents, as tradition refers to them.

For many people, by this time, Christmas is over; they've had a lovely time and all it means now is a return to every day life. For some people, Christmas will have been a time of bereavement either just before, or on the day or in these early days following. And the saddest bereavement of all will be for those who've lost a child no matter what the circumstances.

Today especially, we might remember and hold before God all those children who are dying because of conflict in their homes or as refugees or because of conflict and violence between nations, throughout the world;  those who suffer and die innocent of the situations in which they are caught up.

Yes, for all its joy and peace, right from the beginning, Christmas has had a darker side; a darker side we can't avoid. And we can't avoid all those impossible-to-answer questions that go along with it. It was a darker side in which Jesus himself was caught up right from his birth. For him it would come to a conclusion about 30 years later when he was put to death, still the child of Mary his mother, who wept for him as, in the prophecy, Rachel wept for her children.