“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east . . . they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,until it stopped over the place where the child was

“Now after the Magi had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him’ . . . When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” Matthew 2:1-2, 9, 13, 16

Mary and Joseph left Bethlehem in haste, fleeing the rage of Herod, after the Magi’s visit. They found safety, becoming refugees in Egypt. Back in Bethlehem though, heart wrenching wails of mothers filled the air, as soldiers killed every male infant and toddler they found . . . Innocent victims of Herod’s cruelty.

It is difficult to avoid the reality of Herold’s slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, without comparing that heartache to deaths of Gaza’s little children.

Tears flow in Gaza today, where babies are dying. Babies died when power supplies were cut in NICU’s, or premature infants, unable to survive forced evacuations of hospitals, were abandoned. Babies are dying in bombings, from diseases of malnutrition and from starvation. Today, newborns, are dying from the cold.

Yesterday’s cruelty in Bethlehem is played out daily in Gaza. Protests, petitions and the judgement of the International community, all have failed to stop the onslaught of suffering, bring about a Cease Fire or end the  Israel-Hamas war.

The Gospel writer, Matthew wrote of Bethlehem’s suffering mothers:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” Matthew 2:18

The Magi, warned in a dream, return home in another way, avoiding Herod’s cynicism and deception, while hoping to protect Jesus.

May it be that we too, like the Magi, return from Christmas in another way. One that protects little children from bombs, starvation and bitter cold. One that raises our voices in protest . . . One that works for a lasting and just peace, in the land we call Holy.

The full story of the Magi’s visit is found here, in Matthew 2:1-23