Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
I have always been struck by the imagery of light that surrounds the great feasts of the Christian year, particularly Christmas. There is something about the candles lit throughout advent that brings about a sense of wonder and expectation of something great to follow. As the days become shorter and shorter in November and December, the advent candles are a sign of the power of God to overcome darkness. The Christ candle lit on Christmas day is the culmination of this and it speaks of God’s dwelling with us in the person of Jesus Christ (Immanuel). At Easter too, we use the metaphor of light to symbolize Jesus Christ’s presence in the world. This is seen in the lighting of the Easter candle at the beginning of the Easter vigil liturgy.
The passages for today use imagery of light and darkness to reveal spiritual truths about God. In the first reading, we are told that “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5). The metaphor of light and darkness is extended to us Christians. If God is light then it follows that as disciples of Christ we should walk not in darkness but in the light. Ideally nothing impure should be found in us. Yet interestingly and importantly, the author of the letter says that we lie if we say we have no sin and we do not need Christ. So it is in part by acknowledging our need for Jesus that we follow him and walk in the light (1 John 1: 8-10).
The imagery of light is continued in the gospel reading, which recounts the story of the wise men and their search for the Christ child. Their response to seeing the star shows a remarkable openness to God’s will. They are willing to travel hundreds of miles over a period of many months to seek out Jesus even though they really don’t know much about who he is, other than that he is a king. By contrast, Herod represents exactly the opposite response to that of the Magi. Herod’s reaction to learning of Jesus’ existence is to seek to destroy him. If Herod had his wish, Jesus would not exist. In the process of trying to do so Herod ends up killing many innocent children. This act displays the terrible quality of willfully turning against the love extended to human beings through Jesus Christ. Yet it is also a temptation for us Christians. How often do we do something similar when we ignore Christ’s teachings as they apply to our lives? Jesus’ demands on us often seem much more unrealistic and difficult than we would like. Yet, by minimizing or ignoring Jesus we fail to acknowledge who he is and what he has done for us and his power to transform our lives.
Today, as we continue to meditate on the meaning of Christmas for our lives in the 21st-Century let us reflect on what it means to “walk in the light as he [Christ] is in the light” (1 John 1: 7).
-Joel Schickel