La Posada & the Death of Children

 Now after [the Magi] had left,
an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt,
and remain there until I tell you;
for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night,
and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
“Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

Matthew 2:13-15

I hope all of you had a meaningful holiday season and a sense of Christ's presence in the midst of the busyness. We had plenty of time with our three grandchildren, which was a joy. They are innocent and mischievous, timid and reckless, exploring life under the shelter of family of caring adults.



8 year old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, from Guatemala, died on Christmas Eve.

I was mindful of two other children, one seven, the other eight, who died in recent days, the latter on Christmas Eve. They were both Guatemalan migrants who fled their country with their parents only to perish in the custody of the United States Border Patrol after being arrested while crossing from Mexico to the States.  

Something is terribly wrong with a security system which victimizes the vulnerable, and many Americans know it. Church leaders of many stripes have spoken out about the inhumane incarceration of those seeking asylum and Christians have gathered along the border to protest.



There was a poignant "Las Posadas" Nativity service at one section of the barrier between countries again this Christmas Eve. Traditionally in this procession two people dress up as Mary and Joseph and certain houses are designated to be an "inn" (thus the name "Posada"). The head of the procession will have a candle inside a paper lampshade. At each house, the resident responds by singing a song and Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Once the "innkeepers" let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene to pray.

At the wall this became a powerful act of protest against a government which claims to want to put Christ back into Christmas yet allows children to die at its border while celebrating a child refugee.