Fourth Day of Christmas : The Holy Innocents

Coventry Carol

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay.

O sisters too, How may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling,
For whom we do sing,
By by, lully lullay? 

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay.

Herod, the King, In his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might,
In his own sight,
All young children to slay. 

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay, thou little tiny child,
By by, lully lullay.

That woe is me, Poor child for thee!
And ever morn and day,
For thy parting
Nor say nor sing
By by, lully lullay!

Today it seems  life returns to "normal" after public holidays and there seems  to be little to do but wait for the festivities of the New Year. However on this day the Church recalls the feast of the Holy Innocents. In popular and religious culture this feast is often" lost" in the religious glitz of Christmas.

In the Coventry Carol. a text dating from the 16th century a mother laments the the fate of her child according to the massacre of the first born in the second chapter of Matthew's Gospel.

Today we remember that the context of the Christmas story is one of the exploitation of the vulnerable by State power. We have changed little from the bystanders of Herod's massacre as we watch reports from Afghanistan where on November 6 2011:

 "Six children were among seven civilians killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Thursday. The deaths occurred on Wednesday in the Zhare district of Kandahar Province, an area described by coalition forces as largely pacified in recent months, and two insurgents were also killed, the Afghan officials said."

I chose the Joan Baez version of the Coventry Carol rather than a Church Choir as a reminder of the call to public protest against war and the exploitation of the poor on this day. Children are still the most deeply affected by wars around the globe - 65% of Afghans are under the age of 18. 90% of those killed in wars are children. On this day I hold in sacred memory and social solidarity  the young Sudanese men who have come among us from the horrific experience of being the Lost Boys of Sudan. These young men lost their childhood in military exploitation..

 I stand in solidarity with the Feast of the Holy Innocents Peace Procession in Melbourne.
More Readings and Reflections for this day.