The Holy Innocents

The Collect
We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
124

The Readings

Jeremiah 31:15-17     +     Revelation 21:1-7     +     Matthew 2:13-18

When the wise men had departed, 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." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.

~Matthew 2:13-15a

Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are no more. 

~Jeremiah 31:15

Even in the midst of Christmastide, the church will not allow us to descend into a fantasy of sentimentalism. In contrast to many more recent depictions of "the manger scene" on Christmas cards and even in many hymns and carols, in traditional iconography Jesus' swaddling clothes clearly resemble a winding sheet, a shroud, and the darkness of the cave stable a tomb. This is why he came among us. And on the fourth day of Christmas, just when I am ready to slip blissfully into a sugar-induced coma, along comes Holy Innocents' Day--a stark reminder of the world of terror, violence, and injustice into which our Lord was born; the world in which he is still being born among us today.

Over at the Grow Christians blog, Ryan Kuratko reflects on our need for Holy Innocents:

To be clear, the Jesus birth took place in a world that we would recognize, not a fantasy. It is a world with empire, an unwed pregnant mother and cuckolded man, poverty, and now, on Holy Innocents, murder . . .Holy Innocents arrives every Christmas to remind us to step outside of our fantasies. Real innocents die, and we owe them more than to create a fictional, self-soothing pacifier-Jesus. Our imagination is for better things than this . . . We need to imagine, envision, empathize, and dream all of the implications of Jesus’s presence among us—what it says about our compassion, our justice, our joy, our sorrow, our society, our planet, our money. Holy Innocents reminds us of all the people our fantasies would prefer to leave out.

Read the rest here.

Closing Prayer

For the sake of the Holy Innocents, slain by cruel Herod, may we never turn a blind eye to injustice, and never forget the sacred humanity of the vulnerable and the sorrows of those under tyranny and oppression. Amen. 

Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

The Collect
Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light, that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
92

The Readings
Exodus 33:18-23     +     I John 1:1-9     +     John 21:19b-24

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us . . .
~I John 1:1-2

John's Gospel is the last of the four canonical gospels, both in its place of order in the Bible and in its date of composition. The Gospel is symbolized by an eagle, reflecting the traditional view that the Fourth Gospel is the most mystical, peering into heaven, as it were. The opening verses of the Gospel, "the Prologue," contain lofty language about the eternal and divine nature of the Word (logos in Greek) of God, which "was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Its language is echoed in the first epistle of John, as well as in the hymn, Of the Father's love begotten. Written in Latin in the fourth century by the poet Aurelius Prudentius, the following translation can be found in our hymnal (Hymn 82), and speaks of the revealing of the face of the God who in former times none could see and live (Exodus 33:20).

Closing Prayer

May God who by John has revealed the mystery of the Word made flesh, open our minds to understand and our hearts to believe the Gospel of Christ. Amen.

~from Saint Augustine's Prayer Book

At Holy Apostles, we will soon again be taking part in the Good Book Club. On January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, we will begin reading John's Gospel. Our discussion group will meet Sundays between services. Subscribe for email updates, and get the daily reading schedule and other resources now at goodbookclub.org.

Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

The Collect
We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The Psalm
31

The Readings
Jeremiah 26:1-9, 12-15     +     Acts 6:8-7:2, 51-60     +     Matthew 23:34-39

Jesus said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"
~Matthew 23:37

While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.
~Acts 7:59-60

Yesterday our king put on the robe of flesh, and coming out of the court of the Virgin's womb, deigned to visit the earth. Today a soldier leaves the earthly tabernacle of his body, and goes up in triumph to heaven . . . The love that brought down Christ from heaven to earth, lifted Stephen from earth to heaven . . . Love, therefore, is the origin and source of all good things; it is a most excellent defence, the road that leads to heaven. Whoever walks in love can neither stray nor be afraid. Love guides, love protects, love leads to the end.
~from a sermon by St. Fulgentius of Ruspe (5th-6th century bishop in North Africa)

Closing Prayer  
God, make us abound evermore in the faith that Saint Stephen professed and the love that held fast in him as he prayed for those who killed him. Amen.

Saint Thomas the Apostle

The Collect
Everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Psalm
126

The Readings
Habakkuk 2:1-4     +     Hebrews 10:35-11:1     +     John 20:24-29

I will stand at my watchpost,
     and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
     and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write the vision;
     make it plain on tablets,
     so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
     it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
     it will surely come, it will not delay.
~Habakkuk 2:1-3

On St. Thomas Day, as we near the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord, we continue to keep watch, to pray, to look for the rising of the Daystar in our hearts and for the world. The world is dark, and we have our honest complaints. But there is still a vision of the Lord for the appointed time. May our faith in our Lord's resurrection be as firm and certain as our trust that our eyes will again see the sun rise.

This night, the church prays the fifth 'O Antiphon': O Oriens. 

Closing Prayer

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:

veni, et illumine sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Dayspring,

splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness:

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Amen.