What Child Is This?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Dear Fellow Preacher,
All of us at The Immediate Word wish for you and all who are dear to you a joyous Christmas season.
George Murphy, our lead writer this week, comments on the two Gospel readings assigned in various lectionaries for December 28 this year, Luke 2:41-52 and Matthew 2:13-18. Both deal with children, providing the opportunity to deal with a timely and crucial theme that is not always highlighted during this season, namely, the treatment of children in our society and in other parts of the world as well. How should we as individuals and as families respond to the reality of violence against children? How can we provide a healthful environment in which our own children are nurtured? And what can our congregations and our churches do? In a real sense, such questions are appropriate when we celebrate the infancy of the one we call Lord.
As usual, we include a team response and worship resources by George Reed. And Wes Runk in his children's sermon has a suggestion about how to get youngsters involved in a practical way in helping abandoned children.
WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
Matthew 2:13-18; Luke 2:41-52
by George Murphy
Christmastime is supposed to be especially for children. The center of it is (or should be) the birth of a child, and the religious and secular celebrations centering on it have features that traditionally appeal to the young. We're glad to see happy news about children, and newspapers carry stories about poor families getting unexpected Christmas presents. Soon they'll be publishing pictures of the first baby born in the new year. And at any time of year, good news about children and young adults is encouraging for us because it gives us some sign that, with all our worries, the future may actually turn out all right. Stories about young athletes who are also scholars, or teenagers going on mission trips to the inner city, are a welcome relief from the bad news we often have to listen to.
The Gospel in the lectionary for the First Sunday after Christmas (Luke 2:41-52), the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus being found in the Temple, fits in with this theme. There is tension when Mary and Joseph realize that the boy isn't with them on the journey back home from Jerusalem, but relief when he's discovered where faithful parents would like their children to be, in church. There are themes here that all Christian parents can relate to -- worry that their child is in some kind of trouble and hope that their children will continue in the faith. Of course, the story of Jesus is unique and shouldn't be reduced to just an account of a good boy growing up, but we needn't neglect these aspects of it that are common to many families.
But there is another Gospel for 28 December, which falls on Sunday this year, namely, Matthew 2:13-18. December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents in the traditional church calendar, the commemoration of the children killed by Herod in his attempt to get rid of a threat to his power. Although many churches don't make a point of celebrating this festival, its location at this point in the church year is hardly an accident. The story is a significant part of the Christmas-Epiphany message.
Whether or not the account of the slaughter of the boys of Bethlehem is historical may be debated. The fact that Luke and Matthew present the infancy of Jesus in very different ways is well known, and we have no independent evidence for this massacre (which might, however, have involved only a few children). Even though Josephus details a number of the crimes of Herod, he says nothing about this particular incident. It is nevertheless quite consistent with Herod's character. (He had killed, among others, sons, brothers-in-law, an uncle, a wife, and a mother- in-law.) This kind of thing has also been the practice of many rulers throughout history; ruthless elimination of rivals to the throne has been fairly standard procedure.
And the massacre of the innocents resonates all too strongly with a lot of news about children today. Various kinds of abuse of children are so common that only the most prominent stories get into the national news -- charges of drowning of children by their parents (such as a recent case in Illinois) or accusations of the molestation of children by some celebrity like Michael Jackson. The recent revelation about the late Strom Thurmond's daughter reminds us that sometimes children can be seen as an encumbrance or an embarrassment by parents.
Children often become the unseen victims of policy decisions and actions by adults in government. No harm to children may be intended, but the little ones just get in the way. A recent column by Bob Herbert (Akron Beacon Journal, 21 December) notes that, even while we're told that the economy is improving, the number of homeless people in America gives another story. In New York City, he says, "More than 30,000 people -- nearly 17,000 of them children -- seek refuge in the city's shelters" (emphasis added). And there are all too many stories of children killed in war -- Afghan children killed by American bombs, Israeli children killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, Palestinian children killed by Israeli strikes. (Am I equating all of those morally? Not at all -- but whether it's inadvertent or intentional, the children are still dead.)
Wow! I'm not going out of my way to be dismal, but it certainly seems that the bad news about children in the world today outweighs the good. And I haven't even mentioned those killed in gang violence or those who suffer from malnutrition or the effects of drugs that their mothers took. If you want modern-day parallels to the slaughter of the innocents, you won't have to search too far. (Some would also want to make connections with the abortion issue here -- connections that could be made in a couple of ways. While it's right to be concerned about the unborn, do the people who are vocal on their behalf always care equally about the welfare of the born?)
These are realities we need to face up to. It may be a cliche to say that our children are our future, but it's true. There is something fundamentally wrong with a family, or a country, or a world, that can't take care of its children.
And we ought to give attention to matters like this at Christmastime, even if our focus isn't specifically on the welfare of children. "It doesn't feel much like Christmas," says the parishioner in the hospital who has just been diagnosed with cancer, and we can certainly sympathize with her. Who wants to face a problem like that when you're supposed to be celebrating?
But what is the Christmas celebration all about anyway? The Son of God wasn't born into a world that had gotten all ready for him and had the decorations up and the presents all wrapped to celebrate his birth. It was a world in which Herod was a reality -- a world indeed of the Pax Romana, but that was a pretty oppressive peace for people like the Jews in occupied lands. Jesus' family wasn't well-to-do, and there's more than a little symbolism in the fact that he was born in a stable because "there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). The fact that we observe Christmas (whether by design or not) near the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, in a time when many of us are affected to one degree or another by seasonal affective disorder, is also significant. And Christ came into this kind of world -- in fact, a world that in ways was even darker because it hadn't yet heard of Christ. It didn't feel anything at all like Christmas on the first Christmas.
As we celebrate the birth of Mary's child, and the care of Mary and Joseph for him, the Gospel readings give us an opportunity to reflect on the realities of childhood in today's world. There is the dark side, represented by Herod's crime and stories of abuse and neglect today. But there is also the reminder of what children should be and can be when given the love and respect they need. And God comes into a world where people like Herod hold sway in order to bring the kind of reality represented by a child sitting in his father's house and learning the ways of God.
How might a preacher do this? First, of course, some attention to the texts is important. The Lukan Gospel about Jesus in the Temple (which could be thought of as the story of his bar mitzvah) isn't just about a generic twelve-year-old. Luke has a more positive view of the Jerusalem Temple than do other New Testament writers. (In Acts the apostles continue to worship there even after Easter.) This Sunday's Gospel, like the story preceding it (Luke 2:22-38), can be seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy that "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1).
The boy Jesus amazes those in the Temple with his understanding of God's law, reminding us that he is the one who is the full expression of God's will. But still we are told at the end that Jesus "increased in wisdom." He is the full expression of God's will as one who is fully human and fully divine, and his genuine humanity includes the processes of growth.
We can be reminded here of the importance of education in the broadest sense for children. In the Middle Ages, Holy Innocents Day was "the official feast of students and choirboys" (Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs [New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1958], p. 132), and in modern times some churches have used the First Sunday after Christmas as a day to recognize students. (Some of them will be home from college for the holidays.) That's not a bad idea, especially if we remember that increasing in wisdom in the biblical sense means more than just learning a lot of facts or techniques. It means learning proper relationships -- with other people, with the world, and with God.
When we think of Jesus as teacher, example, and savior, we usually have in mind his ministry as an adult, culminating in his suffering, death, and resurrection. But his childhood shouldn't be neglected. Irenaeus, in the second century, with his idea of "recapitulation," emphasized that each stage of Jesus' life was significant for us:
"He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, thus sanctifying them for the Lord. So likewise He was an old man for old men, that He might be a perfect Master for all.... Then at last He came on to death itself, that He might be 'The first-born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.' "
(Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], p. 391. Irenaeus tried to support the claim that Jesus became "an old man" by appeal to John 8:57 -- somebody "not yet fifty" could be considered old back then! -- but he clearly pushed his theory too far with that.)
Mary and Joseph are, of course, very worried when they realize that Jesus is missing, and Mary rebukes him when they finally find him in the Temple. Jesus' answer in one sense is unique to his person: It is appropriate for him, of all people, to be "in my Father's house." But there is a lesson there for all parents. Our children, however well brought up and obedient and respectful of parents they are, come to a point in life where they have to do things that take them beyond their parents' control. Our daughters and sons are not given to us simply to fulfill our expectations or serve our needs. Forgetting that can lead to attempts to make our children realize unfulfilled dreams we had for our own lives, to various kinds of abuse or, in extreme cases, Herodian elimination of children when they get in our way. Remembering it can help us to let go gracefully when the time comes.
One of the lectionary options for the Sunday's First Lesson, 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, about the boy Samuel growing up in Shiloh, provides Old Testament background for the story of Jesus. (And if you wanted to, you could refer to the preceding verses, 11-17, with the heading "Eli's Wicked Sons" in the NRSV, as a reminder that just having the kids in church when they're growing up is no guarantee that they'll turn out well!)
The story of the massacre of the innocents, historical or not, points toward the fact that those who are in power in the world will finally catch up with Jesus, even though he is saved from Herod's attack this time. It is not the first time that such a thing has happened to the Jewish people, as Matthew's quotation of Jeremiah 31:15 (part of the First Lesson for Holy Innocents) reminds us. And we can hardly help but be reminded of Pharaoh's attempt to have the Hebrew boys killed and the rescue of Moses in the book of Exodus -- just one of many ways in which Matthew presents Jesus as the new and greater Moses.
It's certainly appropriate to use the story of Herod's massacre to call attention to the need to be concerned about the welfare of children. But reference to the "innocents" and all the reminders of things that are done to children shouldn't make us excessively sentimental about children or about their "innocence." Children are enmeshed in the same fundamental problem of alienation from God as adults and, while there will be differences about the extent to which young children can actually be considered "sinners" or when they become responsible for their actions, anyone who has had much to do with young children will realize that the oft-criticized doctrine of original sin has at least a certain amount of pragmatic validity.
America was shocked a few years ago by the Columbine shootings and similar incidents that followed it in schools across the country. A couple of weeks ago the CBS evening news had a story on the problem of violence in schools -- but now in kindergartens rather than high schools. Of course, this means violence to children as well as by them, and adults are still supposed to be in charge and responsible for providing safe environments for children. But these problems are a reminder of how complex the threats to childhood can be.
Though it takes us somewhat beyond the theme of children, it's worth noting that Holy Innocents is not the only commemoration of martyrs in this season. The day after Christmas is the commemoration of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, and the connection between the two festivals is one aspect of the Christmas sermon that T. S. Eliot, in his play Murder in the Cathedral, put in the mouth of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170. Some study of that sermon might be of value for those preaching at this time. (Parts of the liturgy for Holy Innocents are also used as prelude to the murder of the archbishop in the play.)
A popular Christmas hymn by William Chatterton Dix (e.g., The Hymnal 1982, 115) begins, "What child is this who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?" Our attention in the Christmas season is directed to the child Jesus. But the readings for this Sunday encourage us to ask the question of the other children of the world -- those given into our care and those who suffer and need someone to speak for them and defend them. What children are these? Do we recognize them as ours?
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: George, your integration of childhood themes from both Matthew and Luke's texts as options for the Sunday is thematically very helpful, and gives us a place from which to start, dream, and pray for a safer, better world for all children in 2004.
My only encounter with the slaughter of the innocents story anywhere but Matthew's Gospel comes from the movie King of Kings, part of which I saw one night with a youth group when I was twelve. No one in my birth family has ever accused me of having courage in the face of cinematic horror, and the slaughter of the innocents as portrayed by Hollywood in vivid Technicolor and with the "cast of thousands" was typical of the spectacle era in film. The first postnatal cry, sword laden with blood, and screaming mothers sent me running for the exit. Yet there was a scene just prior to that one (as fictional as any) in which King Herod orders the slaughter of the children, and the head soldier at court turns to the king and says, "I don't kill children." He strides from the room. The scene stays with me, because that individual serves as a stand-in for the many courageous human beings who refuse to lose all their humanity when ordered to commit atrocities. Whether the scene is the bulrushes and the baby Moses, the genocide of one people against another, or the current multiple troubled spots in our world, there are people who refuse to relinquish their humanity by denying the humanity of others. In such acts, we humans come closest to our Father/Mother in heaven, and have a glimmer of a sense of what it means to be the sister or brother of Jesus Christ.
My main point would be that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, and we -- God's other children -- come closest to being divine as well as human when we seek to live lives guided by the will and love of God as did Jesus of Nazareth. One of the commissioned lay pastor students I've been teaching this winter commented in a sermon he wrote on Jesus in the Temple, "Jesus isn't the one who's lost." He knows where he is and exactly what he is doing. The lost ones are his earthly parents, as are you and I when we seek to live our lives on our own terms and disregard the more humane and obedient life Jesus modeled by his own. In the story of Jesus in the Temple, Jesus makes it clear that his days of obedience to his earthly parents are not over, but those days will be superseded from time to time and more and more by the will of his divine parent.
George writes of Jesus maturing through the years, and I agree with that image of Jesus. He was fully human: he cried when hungry and wet as an infant, he struggled to master the skills expected of him developmentally along the way, and he had to have had hormonal urges as a teenage boy and conflicting emotions and fears as he came into his adult years. He can't be claimed as our brother and as one of us without those human features. His divinity doesn't deny his humanity. His divinity reveals God to humanity through a human being. It's no wonder Joseph and Mary ponder, treasure, and wonder what it all means. Two thousand years later we still do.
Related Illustrations
Do you hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
Ere the sorrow comes with years?
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning
* * *
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
--James Baldwin
* * *
There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're born, and it's a marvelous thing if you know the reason by then.
--Hazel Scott
* * *
You can do anything with children if you only play with them.
--attributed to Otto von Bismarck
* * *
The distinction between children and adults... is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.
--Donald Barthelme
* * *
Children are to be won to follow liberal studies by exhortations and rational motives, and on no account to be forced thereto by whipping.
--Plutarch (ca. 46-120 A.D.)
* * *
Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to "jump at de sun." We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.
--Zora Neale Hurston
Worship Resources
by George Reed
As we focus on children it might be a good time to reflect on how children are treated in our worship services. Some churches have not only a nursery for infants and toddlers but children's church, where they can learn the basics of being in worship with material more on their level. But what of those who are too old for children's church or those of us who do not have children's church? How do we make worship meaningful for them?
Most preachers know that adults listen more to the children's sermon than to the regular homily. It is tempting to skew things to the older audience. One congregation helped children in worship by always having a part of the service geared for them. It might be a children's hymn or the call to worship written in larger type and simpler words.
We don't have to give up theological integrity to reach children. We probably need to have more of it when dealing with them since they may actually be paying attention! What message do we send the children about their worth and place in the community by the way we conduct worship?
OPENING
Hymns
"What Child Is This?" Words: William C. Dix, 1865; music: 16th cent. English melody. Public domain. As found in UMH 219; Hymnal '82 115; LBOW 40; TPH 53; AAHH 220; TNNBH 86; TNCH 148; CH 162.
"Infant Holy, Infant Lowly." Words: Polish carol, trans. by Edith M. G. Reed, 1925; music: Polish carol, arr. by Edith M. G. Reed, 1926. Public domain. As found in UMH 229; LBOW 44; TPH 37; CH 163.
"Away in a Manger." Words: anon.; music: James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain. As found in UMH 217; Hymnal '82 101; LBOW 67; TPH 24, 25; AAHH 208, 209; TNNBH 96; TNCH 124; CH 147.
"O Little Town of Bethlehem." Words: Philips Brooks, ca. 1868; music: Lewis H. Redner, 1868. Public domain. As found in UMH 230; Hymnal '82 78, 79; LBOW 41; TPH 43, 44; AAHH 204; TNNBH 90; TNCH 133; CH 144.
Songs
"This Is the Day." Words: based on Psalm 118:24; adapt. by Les Garrett; music: Les Garrett. (c) 1967 Scripture in Song. As found in CCB 13.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come, children of God!
People: We come to God's house!
Leader: Praise God!
People: Glory to God!
Leader: God loves you!
People: And God loves you!
or
Leader: Praise the Lord!
People: Praise God from the heavens.
Leader: Praise God all angels.
People: Praise God all shining stars.
Leader: Praise God men and women.
People: Praise God!
Leader: Praise God young and old.
People: Praise God!
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God, who came into our lives as a baby and grew as a child: Grant us the grace to see you in all the children of the world and to love you through loving them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
Lord, you have come into our lives humbly. You were born in a stable and you grew as an obedient child. As an adult when others would have chased the children away, you called them to you, blessed them, and told us to be like them. Help us to love all your children and to work for justice and peace among all the children of the world. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns
"Our Parent, by Whose Name." Words: F. Bland Tucker, 1939, alt.; music: John David Edwards, ca. 1838. Words (c) 1940, 1943, renewed 1971 The Church Pension Fund. As found in UMH 447; Hymnal '82 587; LBOW 357.
"Happy the Home When God Is There." Words: Henry Ware Jr., 1846; music: John B. Dykes, 1866. Public domain. As found in UMH 445.
"Jesus Loves Me." Words: stanza 1, Anna B. Warner, 1860; stanzas 2-3, David Rutherford McGuire; music: William B. Bradbury, 1862. Public domain. As found in UMH 191; TPH 304; TNNBH 506; TNCH 327; CH 113.
Songs
"Behold, What Manner of Love." Words: 1 John 3:1, adapt. by Pat Van Tine; music: Pat Van Tine. (c) 1978 Maranatha! Music. As found in CCB 44.
And, of course, "Jesus Loves the Little Children." Words: Anonymous; music: American folk hymn, arr. by George F. Root. Public domain. As found in TNBH 516.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION / PARDON
Leader: Let us open our lives to God and confess who we are before our brothers and sisters.
People: You have created us all as your children, O God, and yet we have not looked upon some of our sisters and brothers with the dignity you have given them. We have pushed aside the little ones and allowed our greed and lust for power to allow them to be brutalized by war and their world destroyed by our lack of care for the earth. We worry about having enough money to buy the luxuries of life while their schools are understaffed. We want them to succeed so we look good not so they are happy. We are too busy being childish to take the time to be good parents and role models.
Forgive us, God, for our selfish living, which denies a future to our children. Give us courage to be adults and to lead by example as well as by direction. Fill us so with your Spirit that we reach out in love and concern for all the children of the world.
Leader: God came not to destroy us but to save us. God loves you and forgives you. God gives you the Spirit of Jesus to fill your life and make the world whole around you. Share that blessed Spirit with the children.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We praise your Name, O God, for you are our loving Parent. You have created us and given us life. You have provided for our physical needs and for our spirits. You are gracious and good to us, your children.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
God, we confess that we do not mirror your loving nature as a parent. Whether with our own children or with the children of the world, we have failed to love and care for them as you have loved and cared for us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we might be more like your loving presence.
We give you thanks, gracious Parent, for your loving care. We thank you for the bountiful earth, the joy of love and, most of all, for your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
Jesus reached out and touched the lives of the children, the poor, the sick, and the rejected. We know of your care for them. We lift them up to you and ask that our spirits might join with yours in reaching out to them. Help us to be your physical presence of love and care where ever we go.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All this we ask in the Name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, saying: "Our Father...."
(Hymnal and Songbook Abbreviations)
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
A Children's Sermon
by Wesley Runk
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, December 28
Matthew 2:13-18
Text: "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."
Object: margarine dishes or some small dishes that children can collect change in after the service. (This will be an ongoing program where children will collect enough change every week to assist in the support of one child through various agencies of your denomination or independent organizations that care for abandoned children in the world.)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you had a wonderful Christmas? (let them answer) Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. We welcome Jesus into our world with love. We sing our favorite hymns, have beautiful worship services, give gifts to one another, and eat wonderful food. We do all of this in the name of Jesus, who was sent to us by God. Everyone is so happy and cheerful.
Almost everybody. Of course, there are the people who still do not have a place to live or food to eat. Many of these people live in cold places and do not have warm clothing. And guess what, many of them are children. Children who are your age do not have a home or food to eat. They walk the streets with their mothers and fathers looking for a place to stay and begging for food.
And let me tell you something even worse than children who walk with their mothers and fathers looking for food. Imagine this: some of the children your age do not even have parents. What kind of a Christmas do they have? (let them answer) The worst part is that this is not just on Christmas but every day of their lives. This is really sad, isn't it?
But we can do something about this if we want to, and I would like to start doing something about it today. I brought along with me some things that you have seen before. (show them the dishes) Today, I am going to ask you to join me and stand at the doors of the church after our worship services. I want you to hold these dishes like this and ask all of the people in church if they would share their pennies, nickels, and dimes so that we can care for at least one child every week. I think we can give a great gift to our world by supporting children in the name of Jesus. And we will do this every week. Every week after the children's sermon I will give you the dishes and you will ask people for their change to support a child who needs our help. How many of you will help me do this? (let them answer) Good. We will make a difference, and for some child it will be a big difference.
Remember the baby Jesus and how he came to give his life for us. Let us remember the other babies in the world who need our care and support. In Jesus' name. Amen.
* * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 28, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
All of us at The Immediate Word wish for you and all who are dear to you a joyous Christmas season.
George Murphy, our lead writer this week, comments on the two Gospel readings assigned in various lectionaries for December 28 this year, Luke 2:41-52 and Matthew 2:13-18. Both deal with children, providing the opportunity to deal with a timely and crucial theme that is not always highlighted during this season, namely, the treatment of children in our society and in other parts of the world as well. How should we as individuals and as families respond to the reality of violence against children? How can we provide a healthful environment in which our own children are nurtured? And what can our congregations and our churches do? In a real sense, such questions are appropriate when we celebrate the infancy of the one we call Lord.
As usual, we include a team response and worship resources by George Reed. And Wes Runk in his children's sermon has a suggestion about how to get youngsters involved in a practical way in helping abandoned children.
WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
Matthew 2:13-18; Luke 2:41-52
by George Murphy
Christmastime is supposed to be especially for children. The center of it is (or should be) the birth of a child, and the religious and secular celebrations centering on it have features that traditionally appeal to the young. We're glad to see happy news about children, and newspapers carry stories about poor families getting unexpected Christmas presents. Soon they'll be publishing pictures of the first baby born in the new year. And at any time of year, good news about children and young adults is encouraging for us because it gives us some sign that, with all our worries, the future may actually turn out all right. Stories about young athletes who are also scholars, or teenagers going on mission trips to the inner city, are a welcome relief from the bad news we often have to listen to.
The Gospel in the lectionary for the First Sunday after Christmas (Luke 2:41-52), the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus being found in the Temple, fits in with this theme. There is tension when Mary and Joseph realize that the boy isn't with them on the journey back home from Jerusalem, but relief when he's discovered where faithful parents would like their children to be, in church. There are themes here that all Christian parents can relate to -- worry that their child is in some kind of trouble and hope that their children will continue in the faith. Of course, the story of Jesus is unique and shouldn't be reduced to just an account of a good boy growing up, but we needn't neglect these aspects of it that are common to many families.
But there is another Gospel for 28 December, which falls on Sunday this year, namely, Matthew 2:13-18. December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents in the traditional church calendar, the commemoration of the children killed by Herod in his attempt to get rid of a threat to his power. Although many churches don't make a point of celebrating this festival, its location at this point in the church year is hardly an accident. The story is a significant part of the Christmas-Epiphany message.
Whether or not the account of the slaughter of the boys of Bethlehem is historical may be debated. The fact that Luke and Matthew present the infancy of Jesus in very different ways is well known, and we have no independent evidence for this massacre (which might, however, have involved only a few children). Even though Josephus details a number of the crimes of Herod, he says nothing about this particular incident. It is nevertheless quite consistent with Herod's character. (He had killed, among others, sons, brothers-in-law, an uncle, a wife, and a mother- in-law.) This kind of thing has also been the practice of many rulers throughout history; ruthless elimination of rivals to the throne has been fairly standard procedure.
And the massacre of the innocents resonates all too strongly with a lot of news about children today. Various kinds of abuse of children are so common that only the most prominent stories get into the national news -- charges of drowning of children by their parents (such as a recent case in Illinois) or accusations of the molestation of children by some celebrity like Michael Jackson. The recent revelation about the late Strom Thurmond's daughter reminds us that sometimes children can be seen as an encumbrance or an embarrassment by parents.
Children often become the unseen victims of policy decisions and actions by adults in government. No harm to children may be intended, but the little ones just get in the way. A recent column by Bob Herbert (Akron Beacon Journal, 21 December) notes that, even while we're told that the economy is improving, the number of homeless people in America gives another story. In New York City, he says, "More than 30,000 people -- nearly 17,000 of them children -- seek refuge in the city's shelters" (emphasis added). And there are all too many stories of children killed in war -- Afghan children killed by American bombs, Israeli children killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, Palestinian children killed by Israeli strikes. (Am I equating all of those morally? Not at all -- but whether it's inadvertent or intentional, the children are still dead.)
Wow! I'm not going out of my way to be dismal, but it certainly seems that the bad news about children in the world today outweighs the good. And I haven't even mentioned those killed in gang violence or those who suffer from malnutrition or the effects of drugs that their mothers took. If you want modern-day parallels to the slaughter of the innocents, you won't have to search too far. (Some would also want to make connections with the abortion issue here -- connections that could be made in a couple of ways. While it's right to be concerned about the unborn, do the people who are vocal on their behalf always care equally about the welfare of the born?)
These are realities we need to face up to. It may be a cliche to say that our children are our future, but it's true. There is something fundamentally wrong with a family, or a country, or a world, that can't take care of its children.
And we ought to give attention to matters like this at Christmastime, even if our focus isn't specifically on the welfare of children. "It doesn't feel much like Christmas," says the parishioner in the hospital who has just been diagnosed with cancer, and we can certainly sympathize with her. Who wants to face a problem like that when you're supposed to be celebrating?
But what is the Christmas celebration all about anyway? The Son of God wasn't born into a world that had gotten all ready for him and had the decorations up and the presents all wrapped to celebrate his birth. It was a world in which Herod was a reality -- a world indeed of the Pax Romana, but that was a pretty oppressive peace for people like the Jews in occupied lands. Jesus' family wasn't well-to-do, and there's more than a little symbolism in the fact that he was born in a stable because "there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). The fact that we observe Christmas (whether by design or not) near the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, in a time when many of us are affected to one degree or another by seasonal affective disorder, is also significant. And Christ came into this kind of world -- in fact, a world that in ways was even darker because it hadn't yet heard of Christ. It didn't feel anything at all like Christmas on the first Christmas.
As we celebrate the birth of Mary's child, and the care of Mary and Joseph for him, the Gospel readings give us an opportunity to reflect on the realities of childhood in today's world. There is the dark side, represented by Herod's crime and stories of abuse and neglect today. But there is also the reminder of what children should be and can be when given the love and respect they need. And God comes into a world where people like Herod hold sway in order to bring the kind of reality represented by a child sitting in his father's house and learning the ways of God.
How might a preacher do this? First, of course, some attention to the texts is important. The Lukan Gospel about Jesus in the Temple (which could be thought of as the story of his bar mitzvah) isn't just about a generic twelve-year-old. Luke has a more positive view of the Jerusalem Temple than do other New Testament writers. (In Acts the apostles continue to worship there even after Easter.) This Sunday's Gospel, like the story preceding it (Luke 2:22-38), can be seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy that "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1).
The boy Jesus amazes those in the Temple with his understanding of God's law, reminding us that he is the one who is the full expression of God's will. But still we are told at the end that Jesus "increased in wisdom." He is the full expression of God's will as one who is fully human and fully divine, and his genuine humanity includes the processes of growth.
We can be reminded here of the importance of education in the broadest sense for children. In the Middle Ages, Holy Innocents Day was "the official feast of students and choirboys" (Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs [New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1958], p. 132), and in modern times some churches have used the First Sunday after Christmas as a day to recognize students. (Some of them will be home from college for the holidays.) That's not a bad idea, especially if we remember that increasing in wisdom in the biblical sense means more than just learning a lot of facts or techniques. It means learning proper relationships -- with other people, with the world, and with God.
When we think of Jesus as teacher, example, and savior, we usually have in mind his ministry as an adult, culminating in his suffering, death, and resurrection. But his childhood shouldn't be neglected. Irenaeus, in the second century, with his idea of "recapitulation," emphasized that each stage of Jesus' life was significant for us:
"He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, thus sanctifying them for the Lord. So likewise He was an old man for old men, that He might be a perfect Master for all.... Then at last He came on to death itself, that He might be 'The first-born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.' "
(Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], p. 391. Irenaeus tried to support the claim that Jesus became "an old man" by appeal to John 8:57 -- somebody "not yet fifty" could be considered old back then! -- but he clearly pushed his theory too far with that.)
Mary and Joseph are, of course, very worried when they realize that Jesus is missing, and Mary rebukes him when they finally find him in the Temple. Jesus' answer in one sense is unique to his person: It is appropriate for him, of all people, to be "in my Father's house." But there is a lesson there for all parents. Our children, however well brought up and obedient and respectful of parents they are, come to a point in life where they have to do things that take them beyond their parents' control. Our daughters and sons are not given to us simply to fulfill our expectations or serve our needs. Forgetting that can lead to attempts to make our children realize unfulfilled dreams we had for our own lives, to various kinds of abuse or, in extreme cases, Herodian elimination of children when they get in our way. Remembering it can help us to let go gracefully when the time comes.
One of the lectionary options for the Sunday's First Lesson, 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, about the boy Samuel growing up in Shiloh, provides Old Testament background for the story of Jesus. (And if you wanted to, you could refer to the preceding verses, 11-17, with the heading "Eli's Wicked Sons" in the NRSV, as a reminder that just having the kids in church when they're growing up is no guarantee that they'll turn out well!)
The story of the massacre of the innocents, historical or not, points toward the fact that those who are in power in the world will finally catch up with Jesus, even though he is saved from Herod's attack this time. It is not the first time that such a thing has happened to the Jewish people, as Matthew's quotation of Jeremiah 31:15 (part of the First Lesson for Holy Innocents) reminds us. And we can hardly help but be reminded of Pharaoh's attempt to have the Hebrew boys killed and the rescue of Moses in the book of Exodus -- just one of many ways in which Matthew presents Jesus as the new and greater Moses.
It's certainly appropriate to use the story of Herod's massacre to call attention to the need to be concerned about the welfare of children. But reference to the "innocents" and all the reminders of things that are done to children shouldn't make us excessively sentimental about children or about their "innocence." Children are enmeshed in the same fundamental problem of alienation from God as adults and, while there will be differences about the extent to which young children can actually be considered "sinners" or when they become responsible for their actions, anyone who has had much to do with young children will realize that the oft-criticized doctrine of original sin has at least a certain amount of pragmatic validity.
America was shocked a few years ago by the Columbine shootings and similar incidents that followed it in schools across the country. A couple of weeks ago the CBS evening news had a story on the problem of violence in schools -- but now in kindergartens rather than high schools. Of course, this means violence to children as well as by them, and adults are still supposed to be in charge and responsible for providing safe environments for children. But these problems are a reminder of how complex the threats to childhood can be.
Though it takes us somewhat beyond the theme of children, it's worth noting that Holy Innocents is not the only commemoration of martyrs in this season. The day after Christmas is the commemoration of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, and the connection between the two festivals is one aspect of the Christmas sermon that T. S. Eliot, in his play Murder in the Cathedral, put in the mouth of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170. Some study of that sermon might be of value for those preaching at this time. (Parts of the liturgy for Holy Innocents are also used as prelude to the murder of the archbishop in the play.)
A popular Christmas hymn by William Chatterton Dix (e.g., The Hymnal 1982, 115) begins, "What child is this who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?" Our attention in the Christmas season is directed to the child Jesus. But the readings for this Sunday encourage us to ask the question of the other children of the world -- those given into our care and those who suffer and need someone to speak for them and defend them. What children are these? Do we recognize them as ours?
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: George, your integration of childhood themes from both Matthew and Luke's texts as options for the Sunday is thematically very helpful, and gives us a place from which to start, dream, and pray for a safer, better world for all children in 2004.
My only encounter with the slaughter of the innocents story anywhere but Matthew's Gospel comes from the movie King of Kings, part of which I saw one night with a youth group when I was twelve. No one in my birth family has ever accused me of having courage in the face of cinematic horror, and the slaughter of the innocents as portrayed by Hollywood in vivid Technicolor and with the "cast of thousands" was typical of the spectacle era in film. The first postnatal cry, sword laden with blood, and screaming mothers sent me running for the exit. Yet there was a scene just prior to that one (as fictional as any) in which King Herod orders the slaughter of the children, and the head soldier at court turns to the king and says, "I don't kill children." He strides from the room. The scene stays with me, because that individual serves as a stand-in for the many courageous human beings who refuse to lose all their humanity when ordered to commit atrocities. Whether the scene is the bulrushes and the baby Moses, the genocide of one people against another, or the current multiple troubled spots in our world, there are people who refuse to relinquish their humanity by denying the humanity of others. In such acts, we humans come closest to our Father/Mother in heaven, and have a glimmer of a sense of what it means to be the sister or brother of Jesus Christ.
My main point would be that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, and we -- God's other children -- come closest to being divine as well as human when we seek to live lives guided by the will and love of God as did Jesus of Nazareth. One of the commissioned lay pastor students I've been teaching this winter commented in a sermon he wrote on Jesus in the Temple, "Jesus isn't the one who's lost." He knows where he is and exactly what he is doing. The lost ones are his earthly parents, as are you and I when we seek to live our lives on our own terms and disregard the more humane and obedient life Jesus modeled by his own. In the story of Jesus in the Temple, Jesus makes it clear that his days of obedience to his earthly parents are not over, but those days will be superseded from time to time and more and more by the will of his divine parent.
George writes of Jesus maturing through the years, and I agree with that image of Jesus. He was fully human: he cried when hungry and wet as an infant, he struggled to master the skills expected of him developmentally along the way, and he had to have had hormonal urges as a teenage boy and conflicting emotions and fears as he came into his adult years. He can't be claimed as our brother and as one of us without those human features. His divinity doesn't deny his humanity. His divinity reveals God to humanity through a human being. It's no wonder Joseph and Mary ponder, treasure, and wonder what it all means. Two thousand years later we still do.
Related Illustrations
Do you hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
Ere the sorrow comes with years?
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning
* * *
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
--James Baldwin
* * *
There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're born, and it's a marvelous thing if you know the reason by then.
--Hazel Scott
* * *
You can do anything with children if you only play with them.
--attributed to Otto von Bismarck
* * *
The distinction between children and adults... is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.
--Donald Barthelme
* * *
Children are to be won to follow liberal studies by exhortations and rational motives, and on no account to be forced thereto by whipping.
--Plutarch (ca. 46-120 A.D.)
* * *
Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to "jump at de sun." We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.
--Zora Neale Hurston
Worship Resources
by George Reed
As we focus on children it might be a good time to reflect on how children are treated in our worship services. Some churches have not only a nursery for infants and toddlers but children's church, where they can learn the basics of being in worship with material more on their level. But what of those who are too old for children's church or those of us who do not have children's church? How do we make worship meaningful for them?
Most preachers know that adults listen more to the children's sermon than to the regular homily. It is tempting to skew things to the older audience. One congregation helped children in worship by always having a part of the service geared for them. It might be a children's hymn or the call to worship written in larger type and simpler words.
We don't have to give up theological integrity to reach children. We probably need to have more of it when dealing with them since they may actually be paying attention! What message do we send the children about their worth and place in the community by the way we conduct worship?
OPENING
Hymns
"What Child Is This?" Words: William C. Dix, 1865; music: 16th cent. English melody. Public domain. As found in UMH 219; Hymnal '82 115; LBOW 40; TPH 53; AAHH 220; TNNBH 86; TNCH 148; CH 162.
"Infant Holy, Infant Lowly." Words: Polish carol, trans. by Edith M. G. Reed, 1925; music: Polish carol, arr. by Edith M. G. Reed, 1926. Public domain. As found in UMH 229; LBOW 44; TPH 37; CH 163.
"Away in a Manger." Words: anon.; music: James R. Murray, 1887. Public domain. As found in UMH 217; Hymnal '82 101; LBOW 67; TPH 24, 25; AAHH 208, 209; TNNBH 96; TNCH 124; CH 147.
"O Little Town of Bethlehem." Words: Philips Brooks, ca. 1868; music: Lewis H. Redner, 1868. Public domain. As found in UMH 230; Hymnal '82 78, 79; LBOW 41; TPH 43, 44; AAHH 204; TNNBH 90; TNCH 133; CH 144.
Songs
"This Is the Day." Words: based on Psalm 118:24; adapt. by Les Garrett; music: Les Garrett. (c) 1967 Scripture in Song. As found in CCB 13.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come, children of God!
People: We come to God's house!
Leader: Praise God!
People: Glory to God!
Leader: God loves you!
People: And God loves you!
or
Leader: Praise the Lord!
People: Praise God from the heavens.
Leader: Praise God all angels.
People: Praise God all shining stars.
Leader: Praise God men and women.
People: Praise God!
Leader: Praise God young and old.
People: Praise God!
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God, who came into our lives as a baby and grew as a child: Grant us the grace to see you in all the children of the world and to love you through loving them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
Lord, you have come into our lives humbly. You were born in a stable and you grew as an obedient child. As an adult when others would have chased the children away, you called them to you, blessed them, and told us to be like them. Help us to love all your children and to work for justice and peace among all the children of the world. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns
"Our Parent, by Whose Name." Words: F. Bland Tucker, 1939, alt.; music: John David Edwards, ca. 1838. Words (c) 1940, 1943, renewed 1971 The Church Pension Fund. As found in UMH 447; Hymnal '82 587; LBOW 357.
"Happy the Home When God Is There." Words: Henry Ware Jr., 1846; music: John B. Dykes, 1866. Public domain. As found in UMH 445.
"Jesus Loves Me." Words: stanza 1, Anna B. Warner, 1860; stanzas 2-3, David Rutherford McGuire; music: William B. Bradbury, 1862. Public domain. As found in UMH 191; TPH 304; TNNBH 506; TNCH 327; CH 113.
Songs
"Behold, What Manner of Love." Words: 1 John 3:1, adapt. by Pat Van Tine; music: Pat Van Tine. (c) 1978 Maranatha! Music. As found in CCB 44.
And, of course, "Jesus Loves the Little Children." Words: Anonymous; music: American folk hymn, arr. by George F. Root. Public domain. As found in TNBH 516.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION / PARDON
Leader: Let us open our lives to God and confess who we are before our brothers and sisters.
People: You have created us all as your children, O God, and yet we have not looked upon some of our sisters and brothers with the dignity you have given them. We have pushed aside the little ones and allowed our greed and lust for power to allow them to be brutalized by war and their world destroyed by our lack of care for the earth. We worry about having enough money to buy the luxuries of life while their schools are understaffed. We want them to succeed so we look good not so they are happy. We are too busy being childish to take the time to be good parents and role models.
Forgive us, God, for our selfish living, which denies a future to our children. Give us courage to be adults and to lead by example as well as by direction. Fill us so with your Spirit that we reach out in love and concern for all the children of the world.
Leader: God came not to destroy us but to save us. God loves you and forgives you. God gives you the Spirit of Jesus to fill your life and make the world whole around you. Share that blessed Spirit with the children.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We praise your Name, O God, for you are our loving Parent. You have created us and given us life. You have provided for our physical needs and for our spirits. You are gracious and good to us, your children.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
God, we confess that we do not mirror your loving nature as a parent. Whether with our own children or with the children of the world, we have failed to love and care for them as you have loved and cared for us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we might be more like your loving presence.
We give you thanks, gracious Parent, for your loving care. We thank you for the bountiful earth, the joy of love and, most of all, for your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
Jesus reached out and touched the lives of the children, the poor, the sick, and the rejected. We know of your care for them. We lift them up to you and ask that our spirits might join with yours in reaching out to them. Help us to be your physical presence of love and care where ever we go.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All this we ask in the Name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, saying: "Our Father...."
(Hymnal and Songbook Abbreviations)
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
A Children's Sermon
by Wesley Runk
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, December 28
Matthew 2:13-18
Text: "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."
Object: margarine dishes or some small dishes that children can collect change in after the service. (This will be an ongoing program where children will collect enough change every week to assist in the support of one child through various agencies of your denomination or independent organizations that care for abandoned children in the world.)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you had a wonderful Christmas? (let them answer) Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. We welcome Jesus into our world with love. We sing our favorite hymns, have beautiful worship services, give gifts to one another, and eat wonderful food. We do all of this in the name of Jesus, who was sent to us by God. Everyone is so happy and cheerful.
Almost everybody. Of course, there are the people who still do not have a place to live or food to eat. Many of these people live in cold places and do not have warm clothing. And guess what, many of them are children. Children who are your age do not have a home or food to eat. They walk the streets with their mothers and fathers looking for a place to stay and begging for food.
And let me tell you something even worse than children who walk with their mothers and fathers looking for food. Imagine this: some of the children your age do not even have parents. What kind of a Christmas do they have? (let them answer) The worst part is that this is not just on Christmas but every day of their lives. This is really sad, isn't it?
But we can do something about this if we want to, and I would like to start doing something about it today. I brought along with me some things that you have seen before. (show them the dishes) Today, I am going to ask you to join me and stand at the doors of the church after our worship services. I want you to hold these dishes like this and ask all of the people in church if they would share their pennies, nickels, and dimes so that we can care for at least one child every week. I think we can give a great gift to our world by supporting children in the name of Jesus. And we will do this every week. Every week after the children's sermon I will give you the dishes and you will ask people for their change to support a child who needs our help. How many of you will help me do this? (let them answer) Good. We will make a difference, and for some child it will be a big difference.
Remember the baby Jesus and how he came to give his life for us. Let us remember the other babies in the world who need our care and support. In Jesus' name. Amen.
* * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 28, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
