Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
bye, bye, lully lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
for to preserve this day,
this poor youngling for whom
we sing,
bye, bye lully lullay.
Herod the king in his raging,
charged he hath this day,
his men of might, in his own sight,
all young children to slay.
Then woe is me, poor child, for thee!
And every morn and day,
for thy parting not say nor sing
bye, bye, lully lullay.
1
T
he air was filled with the incon-
solable wailing and lamentation of
mothers who watched helplessly as their
babies were killed. More than 2,000
years ago, Herod ordered the deaths of
all children under two years of age who
lived in and around Bethlehem (Matt.
2:16–18). The event could have been
taken from one of today's news stories; as
recently as last November, online footage
emerged showing the mass execution of
what appear to be 200 Syrian youths by
Islamic State militants.
2
In every century, in every country,
the slaughtering of innocents has con-
tinued. "The violent entice their neigh-
bors, and lead them in a way that is not
good" (Prov. 16:29). In this bleak mid-
winter we are assaulted with weekly
reports of domestic violence, mass
shootings and targeted air strikes. The
poisons of hate and fear—mixed with
the taint of intolerance, ignorance and
greed—turn thoughts toward malice and
actions toward violence. Hate speech
sprays vitriol, an acidic haze of hateful,
hurtful verbiage that can wound and scar
as deeply as blade or bullet. "Our con-
science has fallen asleep, and we have
sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves
as if it were normal we continue to sow
destruction, pain, death."
3
Will we ever
be able to end the violence?
Jesus says yes. Jesus, our Prince of
Peace, showed us through his words and
actions how to stand up to the violent
forces around us. When we teach our
children to face bullying with calm
courage; when we show them by exam-
ple kindness in the face of hostility; when
we don't volley angry words and actions
back to those who lobbed them at
us—we let the peace of Christ flow
through us. I don't mean to sound like
a Pollyanna. It's hard to see how these
small acts can make a difference; but
we all know that doesn't excuse us
from doing what's right. If we—the
hands and feet of Christ—offer gentle-
ness rather than hostility, then the
peace of Christ can embrace our world.
"Life is consequential," said theolo-
gian and pacifist William Sloane
Coffin. "Consequential for us as indi-
viduals, [it] is even more so for the
nations . . . . Hadn't we better learn to
be merciful when we live at each other's
mercy?"
4
It's up to individuals—a world
of individuals—and we don't dare wait
for someone else to take the first step
toward nonviolence.
Cecilia Amorocho Hickerson is a mother,
spouse, church musician, artist and
writer living in Louisville, Kentucky.
Notes
1. As a fifteenth-century hymn, "Coventry Carol"
has many variations on reported lyrics; these are the
ones most familiar to the author.
2. Corky Siemaszko, "Anti-ISIS group posts video
that allegedly shows militants murdering 200 Syrian
children," New York Daily News, November 9,
2015; www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ video-
allegedly-shows-isis-murdering-200-syrian-children-
article-1.2428322.
3. Pope Francis, "Vigil of Prayer for Peace," ©
2013, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, https://w2.vati-
can.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2013/docu-
ments/papa-francesco_20130907_veglia-pace.html.
4. William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Louisville, KY:
Westminster John Knox, 2004), 97.
The Peace of Christ
BY CECILIA AMOROCHO HICKERSON
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Art Journal Page, Jaimie Rivale