Friday 28 December

Feast of the Holy Innocents

1 John 1:5-2:2; Psalm 123 (124):2-5, 7-8; Matthew 2:13-18

Biblical faith

Fear and death loom when Herod sought the new-born Jesus. The family of Jesus is forced to ‘escape.’ This verb is repeated in 2:12, 13, 14, and again, when, after returning from Egypt, the family ‘escape’ to Galilee (v.22). Emmanuel, ‘God with us,’ becomes a refugee who is displaced twice over. Like his ancestor Moses, paradoxically and very troubling, the life of the young Jesus was spared while all children under two years near Bethlehem were slaughtered. To live with ambiguity, mystery and uncertainty is at the heart of biblical faith. Pray for faith to live without knowing.