The Massacre of the Innocents is the biblical narrative of infanticide by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.
Since all the evidence that such an event occurred is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, New Testament scholars have said that the accuracy of such an event is an open question that probably can never be definitively decided. The number of infants killed is not stated; the Holy Innocents, although Jewish, have been claimed as martyrs for Christianity and their deaths observed on the 28th day of December.
In Matthew's account, magi from the east go to Judea in search of the newborn king of the Jews, having "seen his star in the east". Herod the Great, directs them to Bethlehem, and asks them to let him know who this king is when they find him. After they find the Christ Child and leave their gifts an angel tells them not to alert Herod, and they return home by another way.
Scholars argue that the story may have its origins in Herod's murder of his sons, an act which made a deep impression at the time. They allow that the episode contains nothing that is historically impossible. Matthew's purpose here is to present Jesus as the Messiah, and the Massacre of the Innocents as the fulfillment of passages in the Hebrew Scriptures.
This story may be patterned on the Exodus account of the birth of Moses which involved the killing of all firstborns by Pharaoh. It assumed an important place in later Christian tradition.
How many infants were slain? Byzantine liturgy estimated 14,000 Holy Innocents while an early Syrian list of saints stated the number at 64,000. Coptic Christian sources raise the number to 144,000. However, New Testament scholars argue that, based on Bethlehem's estimated population of 1,000 at the time, the largest number of infants that could have been killed would have been about twenty. One would have been too many.
Christmas celebrates, among other things, the vulnerability of God who took the full risk to be born as a fragile infant and to assume whatever else being a mortal implied. For God to take that risk rather than coming among us as a thundering avenger is the strange and wondrous paradox of Christmas.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us of the indescribable preciousness of children, for at times our world does little to value or protect them. The lives of our children are also a paradox, for despite all the emphasis we as a culture put on family, one out of four children is born into poverty in the United States.
Every day we hear about children who are casualties of war, casualties of the preventable horrors of starvation and lack of clean water. The slow, grinding force of poverty around the world takes the life of 22,000 children every day.
Daily we see the tortured faces of children in Gaza. That number of 22,000 has increased exponentially in that part of the world.
There are children abused by pornographers, victims of violence inflicted by those who should love and cherish them, children who are targets of bullying that has led to far too many self-inflicted deaths.
We have a neglected educational system in the midst of an intelligent culture and an appalling rate of infant mortality in a country of economic and medical advantage. There is a huge lack of mental and behavioral services available for our kids. The innocents of our day still have plenty of “Herods” to fear.
In the midst of the festivities of our Christmas celebrations, we come upon a day to consider our calling to protect and nurture children; a day that shows us God as a vulnerable, fragile, refugee, who hungers for justice.
Today we pray for children, that those who have been entrusted with their care will act lovingly and conscientiously on their behalf, realizing the precious gift they have been given. We pray for parents, that God will give them wisdom and patience.
And, most of all, we pray for those innocents who are still “slaughtered” metaphorically by being denied their rightful place as beloved children of God.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us of the indefinable preciousness of children, for at times our world does little to value or protect them. We may look back at Herod and wonder how such a heartbreaking event could ever happen. Sadly, we don’t have to wonder too much. We know. We have seen it.
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