12-29-14<\/p>\n
One of the most beautiful lullabies anyone has heard or sung is known as the Coventry Carol. A mother\u2019s song to her child, its lyrics from the late Medieval era remind us of Olde English, when the presence of French still sweetened the tongue: \u201cBy by, lully, lullay,\u201d its comforting choruses end. <\/p>\n
It is soothing but eerily compelling, and even mysterious. Certainly, melancholia is a part of its appeal. Why? A lullaby (note the common roots with the comforting words of the chorus), identified with Christmas? Sad? Its tune, especially its oddly modern harmonies and dissonance, seems to transcend the ages.<\/p>\n
In truth, no matter how re-purposed by contemporary performers or loving mothers at children\u2019s bedtimes, the Coventry Carol is indeed melancholy: it was meant to solemnly memorialize an event full of sorrow, dread, and grief. The song imagines the lament of a mother protecting her child about to be slaughtered by soldiers of King Herod. As recorded in the Book of Matthew, the Roman-appointed ruler of Palestine was aware of the Wise Men\u2019s prophecy that the King of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem\u2026 and that they had warned Joseph to hide the Child of Mary as a precaution against a cruel ruler\u2019s deadly intentions. All this fulfilled Old Testament prophecies (Jesus\u2019 parents fled with Him to Egypt).<\/p>\n
In Herod\u2019s bloodlust, and in fear that another king of the Jews would be his rival, he decreed that male babies under the age of one in Judea should be killed. Precise history or legend, this became known as the Slaughter of the Innocents or the Massacre, or Martyrdom, of the Holy Innocents.<\/p>\n
In annual Christmas programs during the Middle Ages, Nativity plays akin to Passion plays of another time in the church calendar were performed in many chapels and towns. In Coventry, England, the Guild of Shearmen and Tailors between the late 1300s and the late 1500s traditionally staged Nativity plays. One Robert Croo is tentatively ascribed as the author; the tune\u2019s origins are unknown. It became a day of observance, an event in the church calendar, of profound significance, a call to introspection \u2013 and is similar to many other spiritually momentous holidays (holy days) that our contemporary world scarcely recognizes any more.<\/p>\n
But here we are: the \u201cInnocents\u2019 Day,\u201d sometimes called Childermass \u2013 following Christmass \u2013 was celebrated around this time. December 27 for many of the ancient churches in the Middle East, the ancient rites of the Syriacs, Chaldeans, Maronites, Syrians. December 28 is the traditional observance date of the Roman Catholic church, the Lutheran and Evangelic churches, and the Church of England. Eastern rites, most of the Orthodox churches, celebrate the day on December 29. In a German tradition of that time, youngsters exchanged roles with adult clergy and teachers on Childermass; sometimes students for the priesthood presided over worship services, with clergy in the pews. <\/p>\n
My purpose today, however, is not to open our eyes to obscure or neglected history, despite its fascinating features or appealing music (please click the link, below, to a haunting performance). It is to have a look around us, not just back in time.<\/p>\n
We are reminded that all the aspects of Christ\u2019s Birth were not unalloyed joy. The birth pangs of Mary were prophesied in Scripture, even from the Garden\u2026 but the purport was not solely one mother\u2019s labor. We have the grief of Judean mothers. The Bible addressed the difficulties attendant to the coming Messiah\u2019s birth\u2026 and, indeed, His life, ministry, rejection, betrayal, and death. Yes, the Resurrection was foretold, but His life would not be one without pain and suffering, clearly. The same is foretold of believers like you and me: a startling prediction, but also a challenging warning.<\/p>\n
Jesus, centuries before His Birth, was identified as a Man of Sorrows.<\/p>\n
And many of the sorrows occurred around Him, and because of Him \u2013 such as the Slaughter of the Innocents \u2013 are a sorrowful side of this King\u2019s incarnation. This truth, infrequently recognized in today\u2019s churches where clapping, hopping, smiling, and colorful banners predominate\u2026 is still truth. Joy is ours, and we rejoice at the reality of God-with-us, and the peace that is to come; but we need to remember that there is much that is serious about Christianity. <\/p>\n
To be a Christ-follower \u2013 to go where He leads today \u2013 sometimes obliges us to be grim. Holy, but grim. The stakes are high. His church, our civilization, the heritage we share, our families and children, the well-being of fellow Christians around the world, are in serious jeopardy. I am not being pessimistic; I am being realistic. I read my Bible.<\/p>\n
The Slaughter of the Innocents continues today \u2013 the evil world\u2019s gift that keeps on taking, to coin a phrase. Yes, we can look to adults who are being persecuted and martyred for their faith, and we can see them as Children of God, which they are. But let us here remember the children. We start (but sadly do not end) with the slaughter that is abortion. Some children can at least protest or cry out, but millions and millions of the innocent unborn are massacred in routine fashion.<\/p>\n
The young girls in Nigeria who were kidnapped and violated because they were Christian\u2026 schoolchildren who were massacred by Muslims for not following Mohammed\u2026 the children in East Asia who are imprisoned or executed when they refuse to renounce Christ. I could detail places and dates, but you see the headlines. Please read the stories, not just the headlines; and pray. May God forgive us as a nation for not condemning our government \u2013 our selves \u2013 for condoning such atrocities.<\/p>\n
Permit me to list a few more latter-day slaughters of innocents in our own land: youngsters reared in a society that virtually outlaws Christian expressions of belief and faith\u2026 children no longer allowed publicly to pray or have Bibles in schools\u2026 classrooms that discuss bizarre sex and secular scientific theories but ban Christian viewpoints\u2026 the bombardment of worldly, even deviant, lifestyles from every corner of the \u201centertainment\u201d media\u2026 the apostasy and heresies of many churches themselves, who ought to be children\u2019s first responders\u2026<\/p>\n
I could go on. We all know it. Our children\u2019s minds and souls are threatened with hideous slaughter. And sometimes, for the cause of their consciences and the Kingdom of Christ, they also are physically massacred. In the Year of Our Lord 2014.<\/p>\n
Can we sing with the mothers of the Coventry Carol: \u201cLully lullay, thou little tiny child, By by lully lullay. That woe is me, poor child, for thee; And ever mourn and pray, For thy parting, neither say nor sing, By by lully lullay.\u201d Can we identify? Can we do more, beyond singing and praying?<\/p>\n
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A performance of the ancient carol in the ancient chapel of King\u2019s College, Cambridge, England, by a youth choir. <\/p>\n