Today’s first reading recalls the words of a hymn by Kathleen Thomerson: “I want to walk as child of the light. I want to follow Jesus.” It has always been striking to me that the joy of Christmas is followed so quickly in the Church calendar by the severe reminders of the price to be paid for following Christ. We recall the martyrdom of St. Stephen on December 26, the murder of the Holy Innocents today, the death of St. Thomas Becket on December 29. After walking in the light, we are suddenly plunged into “darkness”. Any of us could recount painful and even horrifying events and situations in our communities and around the world. Certainly, the stark account of Herod’s attempt to secure his position by having innocent and defenseless children killed is a prime example of the blackness into which sin can lead us. It is a darkness that can have nothing to do with Christ.
Under the Cover of Night
But there are types of darkness. The hymn goes on to say, “In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike.” We see in the Gospel that Joseph received a message in a dream during the night to flee to Egypt. We hear that “Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.” Under the cover of darkness and not wasting a moment, he did what was necessary to save the life of the Son of God. There is the darkness of evil and sin, but there is also the darkness which is the antecedent of growth, as in the seed in the soil or as in a pregnancy.
There is the darkness of anticipation and not knowing until the glorious light makes it clear. The darkness that is part of creation is as much a part of the Christ-centered mystery as anything in the daylight. Even a quick look at the marvelous photos being sent back from outer space by the Webb Telescope tells us that. And Joseph used the protection of night to take the Christ Child and his mother to safety from those who sought the child’s life. One of the early Church theologians, Saint Chromatius of Aquileia, points out that Egypt, which 1400 years earlier, had been the source of slavery and misery for the children of Israel, now became the safe haven for God’s only Son.
He Is Faithful and Just
Let us be thankful that, as St. John tells us, if we slip into the darkness of sin, “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus the Righteous One.” Let us continue to walk in the day and night that are “both alike” because they are in Christ. And let us be sure to remember to offer consolation and charity to those living in “sobbing and loud lamentation.” For we have what the weeping Rachel did not.
