Dec 27, 2021
December 28 (or in our case, the Sunday closest to it) has
traditionally marked the observance of Childermas. Also
called the Feast of the Holy Innocents, this is a day of
remembrance and mourning for the children of Bethlehem
murdered by the order of King Herod. Along with Stephen, whose
feast day (December 26) is also observed during
the week after Christmas, these “infant martyr flowers” are
considered the first to be martyred on behalf of Christ.
Isn’t it appropriate that right in the midst of the celebration of
Christmas, we would turn our focus to such a terrible
scene of violence? Jesus was born to deal with hearts like
Herod’s—and ours. This Holiest Innocent came so that the
foe greater than any Herod, Death itself, would be overthrown.
—Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Herod, Tricked, Furious, Killed,
Fulfilled, Weeping, Lamentation
Keystone Verse: Thus was fulfilled what was spoken
by the prophet Jeremiah. (Matthew 2:17)
Matthew 2:13-18
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you, for Herod is
about to search for the Child, to destroy Him.” 14 And
he rose and took the child and His mother by
night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until
the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the
Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by
the wise men, became furious, and he sent and
killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region
who were two years old or under,
according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken
by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah weeping and
loud in lamentation, Rachel
weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they
are no more.”