Matthew 2:1-18
We don’t know exactly when the magi arrived at the house where Mary and Joseph were staying with their child. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that an angel warned Joseph in a dream, and they did not wait. They immediately left for Egypt, refugees from their own country.
We don’t know how long Herod waited for the magi to return with the location of the child. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that he sent soldiers to Bethlehem with orders to kill all boys age two and less. They would not have asked for birth certificates as they ripped children from the mother’s arms and killed them.
We don’t know how many children were killed. The Gospel of Matthew ends this passage with “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more” (Matthew 2:18, quoting Jeremiah 31:15).
Rachel was not just one woman. Back in Genesis, Rachel was the mother of Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Abraham. Joseph is the one who became second in command in Egypt and brought his family there. Rachel represented Israelite women in general, in this case, all the weeping mothers.
According to USAFacts.org,1 “From the 2000-2001 to 2021-22 school years, there were 1,375 school shootings at public and private elementary and secondary schools, resulting in 515 deaths and 1,161 injuries.” Mothers and father weeping for their children.
1 https://usafacts.org/articles/the-latest-government-data-on-school-shootings/
