I Don’t Want to Write This One. . .

Matthew 2:16-18

When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.  This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,

    weeping and much grieving.

        Rachel weeping for her children,

            and she did not want to be comforted,

                because they were no more

This is one of the most horrific passages in scripture – the intentional murder of untold numbers of children because of one man’s obsession to hold on to his power.  I don’t even like to read this passage, much less offer some reflections on it.  It is my experience, however, that when I want to avoid dealing with a particular passage, there is almost always something I need to hear. That something usually is at the heart of reason I am so uncomfortable with the content.  Indeed, this is the case with this passage.

It is painful for me to imagine this passage playing out in front of me – soldiers breaking through the front door and summarily executing any babies they find.  The horror of just imagining such a scene is bad enough; I have no way to imagine the trauma of it happening in my house.  And then, to imagine the collective trauma of it happening in hundreds of homes throughout Bethlehem and the surrounding areas is just too much to bear. 

However, as I force myself to think through it, I realize that this grotesque scene is not limited to ancient Bethlehem.  It has played out all too many times since.  The specific circumstances may be different, but human beings continue to do unthinkable things to each other for reasons that are impossible to understand.   In our own day, human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and brutal atrocities committed in the name of war have become commonplace in a 30-minute news show. 

I try to put such unpleasantness out of my mind, for if I can do that, I can pretend that it isn’t actually happening.  Of course, I know better but I am really quite good at this head-in-the-sand technique.  I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.  It is passages like the one above and the media that I mentioned earlier that tear down barriers I have built to shelter me from these dreadful realities.  Hence, my desperate avoidance techniques.

But to the extent that I (and so many others) pretend like these evils don’t exist, they are allowed and even encouraged to grow and proliferate.  Ignoring evil does not make it go away.  On the contrary, ignored evil is emboldened.  I don’t know how to do something about human trafficking, and I know I can’t stop a war, but at the very least I can force myself to see it and pray against the darkness.  On perhaps my prayer will be answered by God guiding me and others to appropriate action.  And when enough people do that, it can make a difference. 

Question:  What are the ways that you try to shield yourself from awareness about the evils of the world?

Prayer:  Good and gracious God, the evil of this world sometimes seems impossible to confront.  Help us trust that your victory over all of it has already been won.  May that guide our prayers and our responses to the injustice and violence we know is happening right now.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for victims of human trafficking today.

Song:  Run, Devil Run – Crowder