A cold, cloudy day. At the horizon, patches of blue. Across the field, patches of grass stick up through the thin layer of snow.
In many traditions we are still in the midst of the Christmas Season, even as we look towards Easter. For Christians, both times are, as are Hanukkah and Passover for Jews, seasons of hope, seasons looking forward to renewal and a time free of tyranny.
Usually I blog about Holy Innocents Day (December 28th) but did not this year for some reason. The day commemorates Herod’s murder of all Jewish boys under the age of two. Maybe the topic just felt too close.
Yesterday I received an e-mail from a friend reminding me that Herod is about, madly killing anything that might offer the possibility of renewal. He who would be king is always afraid of that which might replace him, which makes him dangerous indeed.
This week I am also reminded of the deportation of millions of Jews, Gypsies, Gays, persons with disabilities, and opponents carried out by the Nazis. Fortunately, it was also a week individuals and groups, many faith based, around the world stood up to challenge tyrants.
I imagine most people have forgotten that the teachings of the Historical Jesus became lost when Christianity was integrated into the Roman world via Constantine the Great’s conversion. Quickly Jesus’s teachings of empathy, kindness, and peace became secondary to an ideology of war, expansion, and violence. The Christianity of the early Christians became unrecognizable when used to justify the Crusades and Colonialism. It is no coincidence that the Holy Roman Empire and much of the contemporary Western world seem so very similar.
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