Bless the children: Christmas Daybook 5
Watch: He Came Down from Speak Life
Poet and Anglican priest Malcolm Guite writes at his blog the meaning of today's remembrances in the church calendar:
The Holy Innocents (Refugee): "...today, the fourth day of Christmas, is the feast day of the Holy Innocents. It is the day the Church remembers the story, told in Matthew’s Gospel of the appalling cruelty and wickedness of Herod in ordering the massacre of innocent children, in a bid to protect his own power-base. Appalling, but only too familiar. What Herod did then, is still being done by so many present day Herods. This scarred and wounded world is the world into which Jesus was born, the world he came to save, and amongst those brought by his blood through the grave and gate of death and into the bliss of Heaven are those children of Bethlehem who died for his name without ever knowing him. But he knows them, as he knows and loves every child in Syria, and he says of them, to every Herod, ‘Whatsoever ye do unto the least of these, ye do it unto me.’
Guite shares a sonnet titled Refugee in honor of the Feast of Holy Innocents. (Please read; it's profound.) I've chosen to share a short film I discovered a few years ago and have shared before, featuring another sort of child the world too quickly abandons. In the past few years, several different friends have received the gift of a child with Down Syndrome, and I have grown in my understanding, compassion, and love for what many refer to as #theluckyfew.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents - "Childermass"
This is a day when children should have the preeminence in family life, leading the family prayers, making decisions about family activities for the day, having the place of honor at meals, and so forth. Households that do not have children might "adopt" a neighborhood family or two with their children and make a party at which the children are the guests of honor.
The story of the Holy Innocents is one of the most poignant stories in all of Scripture, "Rachel weeping for her children... because they are no more." It is a day to give thanks for the children in our lives, whether in our own families or in the larger family of the Church. And it is a good day to revive the ancient custom of parents blessing their children at the end of the day, as part of their nightly prayers.
Read: AM: Psalm 2, 26; Isaiah 49:13-23; Matthew 18:1-14
PM: Psalm 19, 126; Isaiah 54:1-13; Mark 10:13-16
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Feast of Holy Innocents
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.
Do: Bless the children.
The Blessing of Children by Parents or Friends of the Family
O God our Father, whose Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, once embraced the little children who were brought to him, saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father;"
Look now, we beseech thee, on the innocence of these children: Bless them and protect them this night and throughout their lives; (the parent makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of each child) in thy grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for thee, knowing thee, and loving thee, that they may at the last come to their destined home and behold thee face to face; through Jesus Christ, the Holy Child of Bethlehem, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Then, taking the head of each child in both hands, a parent says to each one: May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bless you and keep you both now and for evermore. Amen.
[from a guest post Brian wrote in 2013: Christmas Confessions from an Exhausted Dad]
"One family tradition is to read the Christmas story from Luke 2 while the kids bring each character of the nativity to the stable at the appropriate time.
In our twenty-seven-year-old parental wisdom we decided to keep this beloved family tradition using the hand-painted ceramic nativity set that we received for a wedding gift and that we hope is used well after Tamara and I are gone.
Four kids, ages 6, 4, 1 and 17 days, a priceless ceramic nativity, a stressed out dad
and a video camera.
Seriously. Bad idea.
I scolded, growled and snatched Baby Jesus out of the hands of an innocent child. At one point during the morning, I threatened to cancel Christmas. Yep, Christmas cancelled on account of kids being kids. I was George Bailey.
...
I was not a very good dad when my kids were young. I was selfish. I wanted to have perfect kids so people thought I was perfect. My heart was not for my children. My heart was for me.
Somehow we as parents need to imagine the kind of people that we want our kids to be and work to raise that kind of person. Easier said than done, right?
I want my kids to be human. I want them to be kind, helpful, faithful, funny,emotional, expressive and real. I don’t want them to take themselves too seriously, be afraid to fail, or be perfect.
Christmas morning 1997 was a turning point for me as a father. I did not like what I saw on the video. I still don’t.
Tamara and I began to read and pray. We talked to friends and family whom we wanted to model as parents and respectfully ignored those we didn’t.
I sought counseling and emotional healing. I confessed my sin, shame and fatherlessness to God.
When our kids were old enough, I asked them to forgive me for that Christmas and other days like it. They did."
