If every memorable story needs a villain, the Christmas story certainly has one. His name is Herod or, if you wish, “Herod the Great.” Sure, Herod was a great builder, but here is a snapshot of his ethical “greatness”: he had three of his sons killed; one of his wives executed, along with her mother and grandfather; and he left instructions that, when he died, there would be a mass execution of Jewish elders so as to cause great mourning upon his own passing.
That, at least, is what we know from Josephus. This first-century Jewish historian passed over one more murderous deed of Herod, either because it was unknown to him or because so “minor” a bloodbath hardly seemed to merit inclusion. We usually call it The Slaughter of the Holy Innocents or simply The Holy Innocents. The church traditionally remembers it today, December 28.
Some time after the birth of Jesus, when the star-guided magi showed up in Jerusalem asking around for the one born as “king of the Jews,” Matthew tells us that Herod was ταράσσω This Greek verb can mean “troubled, agitated, vexed, terrified, disturbed.” Herod was indeed a “disturbed” man, in both senses of the word.
He did what any other unscrupulous, power-hungry, furious and “disturbed” politician might have done: “he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under.” It’s horrific but not unusual. Rulers who are threatened get unhinged. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor writes as follows about the threat of Herod and the flight into Egypt:…
“ it would be extraordinary if Herod had not taken very seriously the prophecy of a warrior king who would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:1) …An opponent could recruit forces much more easily if he claimed to be the promised Messiah from Bethlehem. As God’s Chosen One he was guaranteed success; he could not lose. It would be extremely naive to imagine that Herod’s secret police were not all over Bethlehem just waiting for someone to step out of line.
Since Herod was prepared to execute his own sons on mere suspicion, one did not have to be a genius to realize that he would have no compunction about wiping out a whole village just to give himself peace of mind. … Given what everyone knew about Herod’s character and temperament, it would be incredible if those who were free to leave Bethlehem and seek safety outside Herod’s jurisdiction did not avail of the opportunity. Egypt was the traditional place of refuge for those in danger in Judea and it was not very far away. ...
Joseph’s skill as an artisan gave him mobility. He could find work anywhere. He was not tied to land as were the farmers and shepherds. There can be no doubt about the historicity of the flight into Egypt of Jesus and his family. In fact, I would be extremely surprised if they were the only ones to flee from Bethlehem.” (‘Jesus and Paul: Child Refugees’, in Vivian Boland OP, editor, Watchmen Raise Their Voices, Dublin 2006, pp.64-65)
So why do we need to include this dark bit of Christmas? Because Jesus doesn’t come to a nice world. And if he is one with us, he is one with us in the darkness and his presence can unsettle those with a different agenda.
Today as we remember innocents we can’t not think of Gaza and children who are no more. And Rachel who still laments over them. Micky Youngson helpfully reflected on this on Radio 4 this morning. The link to listen to it is below.
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