First Sunday after Christmas/ The
Holy Innocents, Martyrs
December 28, 2025
Text:
Matt. 2:13-23
Merry Christmas!
Though, our Holy Gospel doesn’t seem
very Christmassy, does it? The whole
thing is covered in blood! The blood of babies,
no less.
The little Lord Jesus is marked for
death from the very beginning. The devil
hates Him. And hates all babies because
of Him. Those held captive by the devil,
including the princes of this world, hate Him, too. And so, they hate babies because of Him. They hate Him because they know that unto
us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (Is. 9:6). They know that, in the fullness of time, “God
sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5;
ESV). They know they were robbed of a
kingdom by the Seed of the Woman, who crushes the serpent’s head (Gen.
3:15). Thus the war on babies, and
marriage, and families, and sex. And
life. And the Lord. And His Church.
And so, the baby boys of Bethlehem
shed their blood. The Holy Innocents, we
call them, cut down at such a tender age.
They are victims, but they are more than that. They are martyrs. They shed their blood for Jesus. And they are prophets. They foreshadow the blood of Another. Jesus escapes to Egypt, for now. But He will not always. This is why He has come. He was born with flesh and blood for this
very purpose. To give that flesh, and
shed that blood, for these dear boys, and for us all. To snatch us out of Satan’s claws, and
death’s dread jaws. Yes, even those
precious little boys. To live with Him
in His Kingdom. And that means
resurrection and eternal life. So… Satan
and his henchmen have been after babies, and after all of us, ever since.
It doesn’t seem very
Christmassy. But it reminds me of the
Christmas story as told by St. John.
Now, you are more familiar with Luke’s, and even Matthew’s, telling. And, true, you know John’s theology of the
Incarnation as we read it Christmas Day, that “The Word became flesh and
dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Wonderful. But I am talking about
the Christmas story as John tells it in the Book of Revelation. Do you remember? I’m sure you do. But just in case, here it is again.
A “great sign appeared in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a
crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant
and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold,
a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven
diadems. His tail swept down a third of
the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so
that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to
rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and
to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place
prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Rev.
12:1-6).
Wouldn’t that make a great Christmas
pageant? Maybe next year. Who is the woman, clothed with the sun, with
the moon as her footstool, and a crown of twelve stars? Mary, of course. Who else?
Well… God’s Old Testament people, Israel. And above all, dear Mother Church. And whether Mary, or Israel, or the Church,
understand, this glory is not inherent in her, but has been given to her. Bestowed on her, by God, by grace. The twelve stars are the twelve Apostles, the
Twelve new Patriarchs. And, of course,
we know who the Male Child is, to whom Mary, Israel, the Church gives
birth. He is our Lord Jesus. See?
Christmas.
Ah, but who is the great, red
dragon? We know that, too. The serpent.
The devil. Who else could it
be? And there he is, dressed up to look
like a mighty god. Seven heads. False wisdom.
Ten horns. Strength, but
far inferior to the strength of the one true God. On his heads, seven diadems. As though he were the rightful king. He does have a following, though,
doesn’t he? A third of the stars of
heaven, swept down and cast upon the earth.
The fallen angels. The demons.
What is he doing? This is where the account reflects our holy
Gospel. He is standing before the woman,
waiting for her to give birth, so that he can devour her Child. Now, the story moves quickly, but it is worth
pausing here, and reflecting. Is he
successful? Well, yes and no. Yes, because… what, in fact, happens
to the Child? The dragon catches Him
in his steely teeth. The serpent crushes
His heel. The cross. Right?
Okay, please grant me a little
Christmas indulgence as I detour to a story within a story within a story, but…
this is Aslan and the Stone Table in Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and
the Wardrobe, right? Do you remember
it? Have you read it? If you haven’t, what are you waiting
for? The white witch (the devil figure)
demands of Aslan (the Christ figure) the sacrifice of his life on the Stone
Table, if he is to make atonement for Edmund’s sin of betrayal. And the lion does it. He willingly gives himself as sacrifice. He submits to the ropes and taunts and swords
of the witch and her wicked hordes. They
torment him. They humiliate him. The shave him of his glorious mane. And then, with a cackle, the witch plunges
the blade in a mortal blow.
She think’s she’s won. There is great celebration among her hellish
beasts. But what happens? (Spoiler alert!) After a short and very sad time, all at once,
the children hear a great cracking, a deafening noise. It is the Stone Table, broken in half! And then, what do they see, but him! Well, they hear him first, speaking
to them. Just like us and Jesus. See, He is risen from the dead. And then, a romp. And a mighty roar! And the rescue of all Narnia, and the utter
defeat of the white witch and her minions.
The dragon thought he’d won,
devouring the Child, and now he’d make short work of the woman and her children
(believers, us). But what happened? (Spoiler alert!) A great cracking. The crushing of the serpent’s head. Death itself, broken in half. The stone rolled away from the tomb. And then, they see Him. The women.
And the Apostles. And we will,
too. Though, first, we’ll hear
Him speaking to us, as we do this day.
See, He is risen from the dead.
And ascended to the right hand of God, to rescue, and to rule. The story in Revelation sums it all up with
the words, “her child was caught up to God and to his throne” (v.
5). And as for the woman (here,
particularly, the Church)? Given a safe
place in the wilderness, prepared for her by God (v. 6). Now, it is the wilderness. That is, there is danger and suffering
and want to be endured. It is the
wilderness of life in this world, this side of the veil. But God keeps us. And nourishes us. Throughout the whole time appointed,
represented by the 1,260 days. Don’t
take that number literally, by the way.
It is only meant to teach us that the time is short, that the
days of grief are limited.
The Male Child is coming back
soon. The Day is known to God. But in the meantime, there is blood to
be shed for the Kingdom, martyrdom to be borne.
And it has everything to do with Christmas. The whole thing is covered in blood. Bethlehem’s boys are the first, and they are
prophets. But they are not the last. Their blood proclaims the death of Christ for
us, and the bloody witness of those yet to come. Stephen next takes up the task (his Feast Day
was Friday). Then James. Then the Apostles. Then countless Christians, to this very day,
shedding their blood for the Savior who shed His blood for them. We don’t know… perhaps some of us will be in
that number. God grant us, in the moment
of decision, to be ready. And
willing.
And we can be ready and
willing, because, though the dragon did, in a sense, get the Child…
he lost Him! And lost us,
in Him. It is true, the wages of sin is
death. But there is a deeper Truth…
a Truth the devil cannot comprehend. In
Christ, born of Mary, death is now the portal to Life! Jesus died, but He is risen. The dragon may kill us, but he cannot keep
us. Because we are in Christ, who lives. And rules. And romps. And roars. The eternal Gospel roars forth from
His mouth, and the mouths of His martyrs and confessors… you.
Not very Christmassy, the slaughter
of Bethlehem’s boys? Oh, quite the
contrary. The Christmas surprise is that
they live, because Jesus lives.
And so do we. Let the world and
its prince rage and hate. They can slay
our bodies, but they cannot take our Life.
And so, merry Christmas! Merry
Christmas, indeed! Jesus has come, and
we are sons of God. Rachel is
comforted. The devil be damned. The blood of the babies preaches the blood of
the Baby. He was born to die your death. He was born that you might live. Rejoice this day, dear Christian
friends. Christ, the Lord, is born for
you. In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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