The holy innocents

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

Comments (1)

Herod was willing to kill many innocent children to eliminate the one who terrified him. Today, day after day, the US fires missiles by remote control into apartment buildings and public spaces to kill one or more certified bad guys -- indifferent to the deaths in the surrounding population. The Feast of Holy Innocents might in modern terms be called The Feast of Collateral Damage.

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