Let’s (not) politicize the Feast of the Holy Innocents!

Last updated on: December 27, 2018 at 10:21 am by Jane the Actuary

Let’s (not) politicize the Feast of the Holy Innocents! 2018-12-26T22:16:38-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Let’s start with the fact that I am not a fan of the near-constant drumbeat that the Holy Family was, in travelling to Bethlehem, a refugee family. They were travelling within their own homeland for purposes of being formally registered in Joseph’s hometown. And however much the Mexicans might enjoy their posedas tradition in which Mary and Joseph seek shelter and are repeatedly turned away, every Christmas authors remind us that that scripture text would be more accurately, though clumsily, rendered, to give it a greater meaning in English, “they stayed in the part of the house where the animals are kept, because someone else was already staying in the guest room.”

But, of course, there is a case that could be made for applying the label “refugee” when they fled Bethlehem for Egypt to avoid being caught up in Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents. Yes, Egypt and Judea were both a part of the Roman Empire, though of different jurisdictions. Yes, no such territories required visas or Green Cards. Yes, Joseph would have been rejected if he has applied for asylum. (“I had a dream that I needed to leave Bethlehem because Herod was going to kill all the babies there.” “You’re delusional if you think we’ll admit you because you had a dream your baby was in danger.”) And, yes, when it was safe to return, they did so (though to Nazareth in Galilee rather than Bethlehem) rather than settling permanently in Egypt.

But it is still the case that they were fleeing their hometown because their child’s life was threatened.

And I don’t think anyone rejects the importance of providing safety for those whose lives are in danger. If all of Mexico were to go kablooey, we in the United States would have the obligation to offer refuge to the hapless Mexicans — and that would be true regardless of whether the Bible stories around Jesus’s birth included the Flight Into Egypt. But the Bible doesn’t provide detailed prescriptions of migration policy. Does our obligation as a country with relative wealth and at peace extend to resettling refugees in the country? Is it sufficient for Syrian refugees, say, to have their needs met in refugee camps, with the ultimate aim of return to their homes, instead? Does our obligation to allow illegal immigrants to stay, extend from those who fear persecution due to their religion or ethnicity or social class (Yazidis or Rohingya or kulaks) to those who fear violence in high-crime areas (and claim that state is incapable or unwilling to pursue the criminals) or simply want to improve their standard of living? And, whatever our obligations as individual believing Christians may be, how do they translate into the obligations of a secular nation-state which is expected to safeguard its own citizens and prioritize their own well-being?

The Bible doesn’t say.

It’s my understanding that, in Islam, questions of this sort are answered by hadith, stories of the life of Muhammed which have been handed down. Islamic scholars consider certain collections to have greater authenticity than others. As a result, any such moral issue is solved by finding the right hadith to apply. But Christians use both scripture and general principles to reason towards the right answer. And in the same way as Mormons and some Protestants will say that church members must give 10%, but Catholics don’t prescribe a precise answer on how much to give to the church/to charity, so too, especially when it comes to questions of obligations, rather than prohibitions/thou-shalt-nots, there are not always clear-cut answers.

Now, near as I can tell, there’s no traditional deeper theology about these events; the Catholic Encyclopedia doesn’t include anything profound or symbolic. Especially with respect to the Flight into Egypt, I’m not seeing anything other than apocryphal stories of God’s providence as the Holy Family crossed the desert into Egypt. What was of greater interest to the early Church Fathers was the Massacre of the Innocents, as they addressed the question of why God would have permitted this to have happened (the answer was partly that Herod was just super-evil but also that they were martyrs and their death wasn’t in vain because they attained eternal life).

So, again, the Holy Family took refuge in Egypt. You can call them “refugees” or “internally displaced people” or whatever you like. But that does not in itself provide a template for American refugee policy.

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giotto-innocents.jpg; Giotto di Bondone [Public domain]

Uncategorized

refugees

Previous Post

December 24, 2018

Time for a Christmas Truce

Next Post

December 31, 2018 The church and risks of abuse: follow the Boy Scouts

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a time for everything under heaven.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE