Dear Gabriel,

Is this slaughter of all the firstborn in Bethlehem and surrounding districts to be believed?

After all, even tyranny depends to a certain extent on logic and the consent of the governed.

Could such a bloodbath and wanton act actually have been carried out?

But does it even matter now?

Even if only one innocent baby had been killed, that would provide the juxtaposition between the hope of the Nativity and the brutality of the other act.

As in so much of the Christian story, a seemingly difficult story to believe reveals a greater truth.

These babies could and did not chose their martyrdom. They are forerunners of all those others who did not chose either.

Yours,

Thomas