Collateral Damage

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
January 6th 2008
Epiphany Sunday / Communion Sunday
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Collateral Damage”
Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Matthew 2:1-16

Growing up we had a neighbor who left their Christmas tree up for a full year. As you might image they were quite the talk of the neighborhood. But to the children, they were heroes. To us it looked like they were celebrating Christmas everyday. It was a vast difference from most of our experiences. By New Year’s Day or the day after, every one of our parents was ready to put Christmas behind them.
From the look of the sanctuary today you might think that I am trying to live out my childhood fantasies. By now the greens are a little past their prime and the use of some Christmas tunes may seem a bit forced. But do not worry, I promise that we are not going to celebrate Christmas all year. Unlike the consumer holiday christmas, the Christian celebration of Christmas actually ends with Epiphany. Today we celebrate Epiphany which reminds us of the visitation of the Magi to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
With everything that happens in our celebration of Christmas it is easy to miss all the events surrounding Jesus’ entry into the world. Nowhere is this more obvious than our depictions of mangers scenes and Christmas cards. We gladly include the “wise men” but simply ignore the tragic events surrounding their visit. Missing from most of our celebrations, Christmas cards, and even nativity scenes is King Herod. There is good reason, after all Herod is the one responsible for the death of unnamed children. It is an unwelcome intrusion into the season of joy and thanksgiving. But before we get there let us go back to the beginning of the story.
It all begins with these Magi, or wise men, looking at the starts and interpreting the future. We usually call those folks astrologers. In fact, these strange characters from the east were not thought of very highly. They were interpreters of dreams and readers of the stars, not particularly religious people. But despite this, they know something important has happened and they come to worship, and to pledge their allegiance to the new born king. And, that is where all the trouble starts.
I have often wondered while these Magi are referred to as wise since they go to the current King to ask where his replacement might be found. When the Magi visit the king asking where the new king can be found King Herod is filled with a great fear that reverberates throughout all of Jerusalem. The threat level has been moved to code orange. So the king summons all of his advisors, which happens to include the religious leadership of Jerusalem. It turns out that the wise religious leaders have missed what these strange star readers have seen. After regaining their composure the Kings religious advisors can only provide the name of a city, nothing more. And with a name, the Magi set out, commissioned by Herod to find this new king.
When the Magi finally find Jesus, they provide gifts, and worship him. As they prepare to return, God speaks to them in a dream and tells them not to share with Herod what they have learned. Since they are attuned to listen to their dreams, they go home without telling Herod. This sends Herod into a rage that leaves all of the male children under two in Bethlehem dead. It is a massacre which Jesus escapes because Joseph too is adept at listening to his dreams. So the birth of Jesus is not all joy and light but is clouding with the blood of young children.
It is a tragic story which is unfortunately not new. In the time of Moses, Pharaoh ordered that all male babies be executed at birth. Both the actions of Pharaoh and Herod were intended to keep the peace and security of their various societies. In Egypt the Hebrews were becoming too numerous and there were fears of rebellion. In Herod’s little piece of the Roman Empire; talk of a new King was causing instability of the social order. As a result, blood had to be spilled. In each case, it was the blood of innocent children. The reasoning behind both actions was simple; it was necessary for the order of the empire.
We might take some comfort in knowing that historians tell us there is no record of such atrocities occurring in Bethlehem at the time of Herod. The reasoning follows that if such a tragedy occurred that certainly there would be a record of the act. Personally, I have come to believe this is simply faulty logic. How often to the politically expendable of the world end up being sacrificed on the altar of security, or order? In recent times, we have found that the atrocities against the poor, needy, and the weak seldom make headlines and are not often recorded for posterity. It is possible that the massacre of the children was something that the peaceful empire of Rome would want to keep secret. After all, if word of such actions were to get out we might actually find out that the peace of Rome was not peaceful for everyone.
While the death of each one of those children is tragic, I think the greatest tragedies of this encounter is the role of the religious community. I believe what they did and did not do should serve as a reminder and a warning to the faithful in all ages. When Herod summons the religious leaders, they appear to be at his beck and call. They offer their insight and knowledge. There is nothing wrong with this sort of support. However, what is wrong is what happens following the massacre in Bethlehem. Following the death of all these children they are silent. Not a word is spoken. It appears that they are too beholden, to connected, to fond of the perks of being an advisor to the king, to speak out against his great sin.
But if the religious community remains silent the word of God is quite clear. The words of the Psalmist, which we read this morning, speak volumes to God’s thinking about these sorts of things. It turns out that the blood of the poor, needy and the weak is precious to God. In other words, collateral damage is not acceptable in the sight of God.
The trouble facing the religious community today is not a modern version of King Herod deliberately killing babies for the peace and security of the Empire. However, there are many nameless, faceless casualties in our ongoing war on terror. In the modern era we often refer to non-combatant loss and death as collateral damage. I am convinced that the effect of such language reduces the sanctity of all human life. On top of this we no longer take any official count of anyone deaths but our own. So, it turns out that all the deaths of those on the other side, including woman and children, simply does not matter anymore. They are all simply collateral damage. Instead of clinging to the words of the psalmist or remember our own faith stories, there has been a general uneasy silence from much of the religious community. This can no longer be accepted.
As Christians, we must speak up about the importance of all human life, even the children of those whom we call enemy. Because we are a people who follow Jesus, we cannot be comfortable with anyone being labeled collateral damage, or accept that the death of anyone go uncounted. The ongoing sacrifice of the young upon the altar of peace and security can no never sit easy with those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Wherever Rachel weeps for her children, we cannot act like the religious leadership of Jesus’ day and have nothing to say. We must, in whatever way we are able stand up and say no to whoever is acting the part of King Herod. Amen.