Canon Rob's Reflections

Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents when we remember how King Herod felt so threatened by the birth of Jesus, as told to him by the Three Kings, that he ordered the death of all the children in and around Bethlehem, born within the last two years. [Matthew’s Gospel 2.1-18, especially verses 16-18.] It was a terrible act of cruelty as is the murder of any child. I was surprised then to see that one of my commentaries on the psalms has the heading for Psalm 128, “Happy families.” However, on reading today’s psalm more carefully, this is what it is about. In just six verses it celebrates the happy family life which is the gift of God to those who “fear the Lord and walk in his ways.” [Verse 1.] They are truly blessed. Perhaps those who chose today’s psalm for this sad feast day, wanted us to compare the real joy which many families have with those whose experience is the exact opposite. It is certainly a huge contrast with the reading from St Matthew’s Gospel referred to above. Other psalms mention children. Psalm 127 says they “are a heritage from the Lord…” [127.4] Psalm 113: “He gives the barren woman a place in the house and makes her a joyful mother of children.” [113.8]. Today, though, we remember how the gift of children was snatched away and far too often we hear the news of children, who are killed or who commit suicide. They too are snatched away from their parents.

Yet psalm 128 is a celebration of children and family life. Those who fear the Lord shall enjoy the fruit of their labours as we read in verse 2. “You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.” An even greater blessing though is in verse 3: “Your wife within your house shall be like a fruitful vine; your children round your table, like fresh olive branches.” The next verse repeats the sentiment of verse 1 and as I said in a recent Reflection, in the Bible to be blessed is to be really happy or, better in English, filled with joy. That joy, through peace and prosperity, is what is requested for Jerusalem in verse 5: “The Lord from out of Zion bless you, that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity all the days of your life.” Today, along with members of the Jewish community, we Christians pray for peace in Jerusalem. As Walter Brueggemann says in his book, “Praying the Psalms”, “….we cannot run away from Jerusalem, for it embodies the meanings and the hopes, the fears and yearnings of our faith tradition.” Many who read today’s psalm may think the author is being optimistic writing about Jerusalem in this way. It had seen terrible suffering many times during it’s history. However, here is a person of faith who truly believes that if we fear, or love, the Lord, then we – and the places in which we live – will be happy and prosperous. Are these not the things we hope and pray for, for our families and our own country? For just as in Jerusalem during the time when this psalm was written, so today for that Holy City, our country and indeed the whole world, the welfare of a city and nation are bound up with a happy and godly family life. As I type this I recall something which a member of a congregation in a parish in which I once worked told me, “A family which prays together stays together.” That is probably rather simplistic but the author of Psalm 128 would certainly agree with the sentiment believing, as he did, that children are a gift from God and they should be brought up to be devoted to God. Get that relationship right and the rest follows. Today, the definition of a family is very different to what it was. Social media is having a huge impact and parents and children alike know and experience many pressures unlike those of a few years ago. Hopefully though we still know that there is real joy, and there are real blessings, in loving human relationships, and it is these things for which we should pray and strive.