A Voice Was Heard in Ramah
The story of King Herod’s rampage against the young boys of Bethlehem calls to mind comparisons with the abortion holocaust (62.5 million and counting in the U.S. alone). Christ’s vulnerability is striking, and it is also striking that His Father does not resort to a supernatural rescue. The safety of Jesus and His Mother is secured by a quiet message in a dream and the receptivity and faith of the man who has pledged his own life to protect them. The horror of the massacre in Bethlehem and the subsequent flight into Egypt continue the trajectory of Christ’s life being inserted into the terrors and tragedies, small and great, of our human existence.
We Have Fellowship with Him
St. John says, “Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all….if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:3, 7) God is the light from the beginning.
His Son Jesus makes the connection with that light for us; as John says, “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.” In another place, Jesus himself says that the Holy Spirit is the Advocate that “the Father will send in my name” (Jn. 14:26) and in still another, St. Paul tells us that the “Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” (Rom. 8:26)
Jesus acted as our Advocate when he offered himself for our sins and John is anticipating the handing over of that role to the Spirit. We participate in that fellowship when we “walk in the light,” as John says, especially when we are in fellowship with one another.
Look for the Light
Perhaps it is because of the nearness of the winter solstice, the time of the year when the days are at their darkest that the instinct to seek the light is strong. As I drive, I find myself scanning the neighborhoods hungrily looking for Christmas lights and decorations. When I see them, my heart is warmed and I have sense of seeing a beacon, a guidepost to the God who is light.
It is by entering into our own darkness and acknowledging our sins, that we experience the faithfulness and justice of Christ, that we come to the light. That brings us back to the struggles described in the Gospel, in which Christ willingly immersed Himself for our sake. May this awareness bring us closer to Him and closer to the light we all seek!
