“Walk in the Light, Do Not Lie” by Beth DeCristofaro

Massacre of the Holy Innocents, Leon Cogniet

“Walk in the Light, Do Not Lie” by Beth DeCristofaro

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all. If we say, "We have fellowship with him," while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

… the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." … He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled since they were no more.  (Matthew 2:13, 16-18)

Piety

I want to walk as a child of the light I want to follow Jesus…

I want to see the brightness of God

I want to look at Jesus

Clear sun of righteousness, shine on my path

And show me the way to the Father

In Him, there is no darkness at all

The night and the day are both alike

The Lamb is the light of the city of God

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus

(Lyrics by Kathleen Thomerson)

Study

Rachel weeping for her children: Rohingyas, Yazidis, Children of Sandy Hook, Worshipers of Emanuel AME Church, Bosnians, Cambodians, Jews, Copts, Christians of Iraq, Catholic Martyrs of Acteal, and she would not be consoled since they were no more. Within days of singing the Gloria’s of the Nativity, we are confronted with an ugly, unjustifiable act of violence. Herod’s murder of the Innocents is repeated again and again down the bloody halls of history even as the Christ Child grew in stature and wisdom, preached, loved, died and rose to redeem all of us. The weeping continues.

Herod acted out of a greedy need for control, power or perhaps fear. In the USA today, we experience multitudes of greed, control grabbing, and fear. Jesus taught love not self-preservation. He definitely spoke out against protection of any status-quo. We have become inured to violence, especially gun violence, in the name of self-defense. Jesus invites us to count on him as shield such as the fortification he granted Stephen in a vision of his divine majesty at the moment of earthly death. Jesus offers us eternal, unflinching, unflappable, lavishly excessive love. Why do we choose – if only through complicit agreement – spiritual meanness?  

Action

… while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. In this Octave of Christmas, the Church reminds us that we are not yet there. In the building of the Kingdom, we have a long and arduous, sometimes lethal journey ahead. But the babe in the cradle has become our King and his Kingdom has begun. In what ways can I stop violence today – perhaps by not gossiping or refraining from uttering non-helpful criticism to a colleague or child, allowing someone in front of me at the cashier or on the beltway, turning in a gun that is truly not needed, or speaking a word of kindness to someone strange appearing.