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(1Jn.1:5-2:2;\xa0\xa0 Ps.124:2-5,7-8;\xa0\xa0 Mt.2:13-18) \xa0 \u201cThe blood of His Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.\u201d \xa0 And as martyrs of the Church, these innocent children slaughtered by Herod participate in the pouring forth of the blood of Christ. \u201cOut of Egypt I have called my son.\u201d\xa0 What does the prophet mean but that by the only Son all shall be redeemed of their sins \u2013 that out of sin all are called, all are drawn by the Lord?\xa0 \u201cBroken was the snare, and we were freed\u201d when the child was born, when He died upon the cross. And that death is begun already in the slaughter of the holy innocents, whom indeed we commemorate as martyrs this day.\xa0 In their sacrifice the cross is already known, though the Child Jesus be but a boy.\xa0 No greater evil, no greater act of sin could be than Herod\u2019s cruel decree to \u201cmassacre all the boys two years and under in Bethlehem and its environs.\u201d\xa0 And in the \u201csobbing and loud lamentation\u201d rising from the town where Jesus was born we hear presaged our own cry, our own beating of our breasts as we gaze upon the crucified body of God\u2019s Holy One. It is sin that brings the slaughter of the innocent children, and it is sin that causes Christ\u2019s crucifixion.\xa0 And we are participants in that sin, brothers and sisters.\xa0 \u201cIf we say, \u2018We have never sinned,\u2019 we make Him a liar and His word finds no place in us.\u201d\xa0 For He has come because of the sin which encompasses mankind, to redeem us from its sentence of death.\xa0 And the blessed apostle John makes clear that we are indeed all participants in sin, and if we deny this fact we make His sacrifice null for our lives and continue to walk in darkness.\xa0 We must all bewail our sins and the horrors they have wrought, and from their snare we shall be released \u2013 else the \u201craging waters\u201d will overwhelm us. The souls of the innocents slaughtered by the evil king have been preserved, for their \u201chelp is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.\u201d\xa0 Our souls, too, shall be redeemed \u201cif we acknowledge our sin,\u201d our complicity in evil.\xa0 For \u201cHe who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong\u201d if we are but able to see we are not innocent as He, or they. \xa0 Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. \xa0 Music: "My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. \xa0 ******* O LORD, take from us our weeping for our sins; make us innocent as these children.\xa0 YHWH, what horrors our sins have wrought?\xa0 Are we not complicit in the slaughter of these little ones, as indeed we are complicit in the crucifixion of your Son?\xa0 Should we say, \u201cWe are free of the guilt of sin\u201d?\xa0 Should we deceive ourselves about the darkness in which we find ourselves?\xa0 If we should, we would make void the sacrifice of Christ for the cleansing of our souls.\xa0 For what would then need to be cleansed, and why should He have died? The truth is we are surrounded by sin and it would overwhelm us without the blood shed by Jesus.\xa0 It is He alone who breaks the snare that holds us, and His martyrs share in His sacrifice.\xa0 And we are called by you, O LORD, to share in this holy offering with them. Out of Egypt you call us, LORD, far from the darkness of sin.\xa0 And if we admit our sin before you, in such light of truth we can be assured of your forgiveness.\xa0 To Jesus let us come; at the foot of His Cross let us remain, and we shall never be separated from His cleansing grace.