Although we celebrate today the Feast of the Holy Innocents, rather than focusing upon the Gospel passage, I suggest we turn to our first reading from the first letter of John which accompanies us throughout these first days of the Christmas season. It is a deeply theological letter, but also one of the most beautiful in the New Testament. As we meditate upon the words of this letter during the Christmas season, we can deepen our understanding of the nature of the God who loves us so much that he sent his only Son.

In today's passage we hear that "God is light and in him is no darkness." We needn't fear that our God has a shadow side-that he ever gets moody or temperamental, or even vengeful. That's simply not the Christian God! God, as we will discover, is by his very nature Love itself. As an expression of that Love, we hear that God is also a forgiving God. We needn't fear admitting to Him and to ourselves that we make mistakes, we fall, we mess up our lives, and sometimes even do some terrible things to ourselves and to those we love. John encourages us to turn to God especially in those moments of failure, for we will find a God who is faithful and forgiving. In this Christmas season, we pray for a deeper knowledge and intimacy with this God who reveals Himself in the child we meet in Bethlehem.