No sooner had the angels returned to heaven, and the
shepherds returned to their flocks and fields, Joseph and Mary plan to return
home from Bethlehem. Their plans are altered. An angel warns Joseph to take the
mother and child and flee to Egypt. Hard on Joseph’s heels come Herod’s
soldiers, killing every male child two years and under, both in Bethlehem, and
in all the territory surrounding it.
This is not a good way to introduce an infant into the
realities of a new world. But this is the kind of world our Savior would enter.
The circumstances of His birth will indicate His death.
Those baby boys who were slaughtered in and around Bethlehem
2,000 years ago have a hope for the future. They shall come back to their own
country. In the company of the Savior. For whose sake they were killed.
The
Holy Innocents have a sure hope in Christ. Far exceeding their loss. And their
hope is also yours.
Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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