Who Weeps For Our Children?

[juslikagrzly]

This Christmas message was written by my husband, a Presbyterian Minister.

Reflections on Christmas 2004

“Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more”
Matthew 2: 18

If one quietly pauses amidst the cackle of the Christian Right and Fox News’ complaints about how Christ has been taken out of Christmas and how the secular liberal establishment has refused to allow crèches on school grounds, one may hear the weeping for the children. Or one may not. The sad truth is that no one is listening for the children anymore. They are too busy worrying about symbolic representations of the birth of Jesus and how the ungodly Left, in the interest of political correctness, unhinges the moral fabric of the country. It is the depressing fate of moral Christian values in our country to be relegated to concerns about whether the manger scene with baby Jesus is presented on the county courthouse lawn. It is tragic because no one weeps for the children anymore, least of all the Right in their manger mania.

It is ironic that those who claim to take the bible literally have so sentimentalized the manger that it has become a consumer driven symbol of Christmas rather than the radical critique of power it truly represents. The common myth of the manger scene encompassing baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Magi, shepherds and various cute animals has become most people’s image of Christmas. Yet the gospels portray quite a different picture of the birth of Jesus. Mark and John do not give details of Jesus birth while Luke has the shepherds and Mathew has the wise men. Somehow they have become combined into one quaint panorama to be purchased at Wal Mart for $19.95. The Biblical literalists with their confused concern for the symbol have emptied it of any real meaning: for the birth of Jesus is really an image for those who would weep for the children who are victims of those in power.

Luke begins with Mary’s song where God has pulled down the princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly and has filled the starving with good things and sent the rich away empty. He tells of how Joseph and Mary, nine months pregnant, forced by the whims of those in power to travel to be registered for the census -- victims of a bureaucracy intended to keep track of an unruly populace yearning for freedom. And the angels announce this birth not to those in power, not to the religious authorities in their mega churches, nor to the wealthy in the comfort of their mansions and governmental seats, but to lowly shepherds unsheltered in their fields. Luke wants us to understand that the birth of Jesus is intended for the homeless, the hungry, and the poor. It is the powerless asking who is weeping for their children?

Matthew paints a picture of the birth of Jesus where an innocent, helpless baby becomes a threat to the power elite; such a threat that Herod, the king, orders the killing of all the children two years old or less in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Better for those in power to feel safe than worry over such a thing as the death of innocents. Matthew evokes the image of Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted. One must ask today of all days who weeps for the children?

Who weeps for the children? Who weeps for the children maimed and killed in far off wars so that some may feel safer from terrorism; for the children of soldiers who spend this Christmas without a parent because of the decisions of the powerful; and for the children who make up a significant portion of our population living below the poverty line. Who weeps for them? Not the media with their news entertainment and talking points. Not those in power who seem more concerned with their tax breaks and protection of their own wealth. Not the Christian Right and their commodified crèches and worries over culture wars. No, they do not weep for the children. The story of Christmas is supposed to remind us of one thing. It is God who is weeping for the children. And the hard question is whether anyone is listening?

Rev. P. Alex Thornburg

edited to add paragraphs

[Solly Mack]

1. Amen

[madrchsod]

2. well said

funny how you never hear the great right wing ministers and their mouth pieces in the media ever quote or even refer to what exactly christ said about how we should lead our lives.what is more telling of our country leadership is that lauri bush couldn`t find any words of christ to put on the whitehouse christmas card. could it be that nothing that christ said justifies what our nation is doing to our children and the children of iraq.i`m getting so old i don`t know if i should get mad or just cry.

[China_cat]

3. Who weeps for the children?

The atheist who gives money and goods to the food bank all through the year to feed those who have more month than money. The agnostic who works to rehabilitate old houses so the homeless can have shelter. The 'bleeding heart liberal traitor' who protests this government's rush to kill off our best and brightest in unjust wars. The union organizer who tries to make sure that the children's parents have decent wages, working conditions and health care for them.

Who weeps for the children? We do. And for it we are demonized and reviled, called traitors and terrorists and told we need to 'come to god'.

Who weeps for the children? Maybe the better question would be who even acknowledges that there are children to weep for?

[patdem]

4. Very Powerfull, I bet there will not be one dry eye in the church on

Christmas day! Thanks for posting that,as tears stream down my face! :hug: Happy Christmas and Merry Holidays!

[Kablooie]

5. I'm not religious but this was very moving.

It brings to mind that the extreme religious right is not about upholding the positive messages that are held in the stories of Jesus. They are simply about gaining power. They use Jesus as a rallying point to gain more power for themselves over others.

It seems to me that religion should be a set of inspirations on how you should live your own life. Not a set of rules used to force others to live the way you want them to.

True Christian should rebel against those that use Christianity to gain power over others. But this doesn't seem to be happening. I guess there just aren't enough true Christians left in the country to make a difference.

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Awesome analogies

A poignant and magnificent sermon. Thank your husband for posting this!

[juslikagrzly]

7. I'm blessed to be married to him! eom