Mark 6:14-29
*DISCLAIMER* Today’s
text is not a pleasant one. It is the death of John the Baptist and it deals
with some gruesome topics and while I have tried to be sensitive to them I am
allowing everyone this opportunity to decide for themselves or their children whether
they want to hear these words today.
Read Scripture
Today’s scripture seems
prepackaged for a Hollywood movie. In fact it has been turned into movies, into
operas, into gruesome works of religious art, into a cultural reference. There
is something about it that sparks the imagination, for better or worse. It’s
almost like watching a particularly twisted reality show that no matter how
hard you try you can’t bear to turn the station.
First it is important
to note that this king Herod is not the same king Herod that was ruling when
Jesus was born. This is the son of that man, who no longer really holds the
official title of king but is called that none the less.
The scripture begins when
Herod hears news of Jesus’ disciples traveling around casting out demons and
healing the sick. He is reminded of another man who had caused quite a stir in
his world, John the Baptizer. Herod is convinced that the person holding these
powers must be none other than the reincarnated John the Baptist.
For most of us here
that would be quite a leap to take. But none of us have on our conscience what
Herod holds on his.
Mark enters into a
flashback wherein Herod recalls the time he spent with John and the events that
led to John’s death. The drama enters the story here: the birthday banquet, the
dancing of his daughter, the promise of up to half his non-existent kingdom,
and the request for John’s death.
Mark has this unbelievable
ability to tell a story in a compelling and yet stark way. There are very few
actual details, but the story is rich and captures the imagination. Throughout
this Gospel “extreme and even grotesque characters will suddenly appear out of
nowhere, revealing a reality that is mysteriously cloaked yet very real. Hidden
in plain sight is a world that is demon infested, and evil coexists with normal
day-to-day existence, inflicting pain and chaos. No one is immune from this
power.”[1]
In this story we are
given two extreme characters, Herod and John, evil and good, powerful and
outcast. We are forced to deal with the realities of the power of the world and
its challenge to the righteous. We are forced to see the very real struggle
between the word of God and the way of the world.
That power struggle is something
we are well aware of in our current society. There are so many stories of the
weak being trodden on by those with power. There are accounts of abuse, harm
and hatred so often now that it seems to take extreme cases to even catch our
attention. Or worse, sensationalized stories that keep us from looking at the
real injustices and issues facing our world.
When we focus exclusively
on these things we for get to look for the moments where God is at work in this
world, where grace is offered, where hope is shown. We can get caught up to the
point where we miss the good news.
So what is the good
news in this passage? Where is it that grace is shown, where is it that God is
glorified?
The quote on the front
of your bulletin is from Flannery O’Connor’s book Mystery and Manners. “There
is a moment in every story in which the presence of grace can be felt as it
waits to be accepted or rejected even though the reader may not recognize this
moment.”
I’ll tell you friends
that I have read this account of the beheading of John the Baptist many many
times and not recognized any moment of grace. I have seen it as nothing more
than a sign that those in power have the opportunity to crush those under their
control; that absolute power corrupts absolutely; that saving face means more
than saving lives.
But there is a moment
of grace offered here, buried in the sensationalism. It lies in the
relationship between John and Herod.
Yes, Herod had John
arrested for daring to speak publicly about the ill-advised marriage to his brother’s
wife Herodias. That preaching had driven a wedge in Herod’s personal life, Herodias
wanted John dead, but Herod couldn’t bring himself to kill him.
Verses 20 and 21 tell
us that Herod feared John, knowing him to be righteous and holy and so he
protected him. When he heard John, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked
to listen to him.
The king and the
prophet had developed a strange relationship, similar to the one between Joseph
and those who kept him enslaved in Egypt. There was something there that kept
Herod interested in keeping him alive. Herod, even though he was a total Hellenist,
was intrigued by John’s words, perhaps even to a point of believing them himself.
The truth of God was
worming its way into his heart one word at a time. And there is nothing that threatens
evil more than the truth of God.
Here Herod stood,
building a relationship with a prisoner that might have the power to change the
course of history and those around him could not wait to put that potential
fire out before it spread to the rest of the world. The birthday party was an
opportunity Mark says, a chance to make sure that the prophet John was no
longer whispering in Herod’s ear.
Herod was on display as
a man of great wealth and power, even if it was only “borrowed” from Rome. He
was trying to navigate his way through the relationships he held with his
family, with those in his court. In this attempt to pacify everyone, he fails
to uphold his own personal standards.
He is grieved verse 26
tells us yet, out of respect for the guests, read in order to save face, he
follows his wife’s request voiced by her daughter.
It’s easy to pass
judgement on this man who rejected the opportunity to share and experience
grace. But isn’t it normal for us to want to please those around us, even if
doing so keeps us from following the grace we know and have accepted as real?
“For a harried mother
of a toddler, there is the question of how best to love and parent a child in the
face of a defiant “No!” and a full-fledged temper tantrum in isle 6 of the
grocery store at the end of a long day.
For the father of three
there is the struggle to explain the importance of rearranging travel plans for
a work trip so he can attend a Little League playoff game.
A corporate executive
wonders how her announcement of a long-awaited pregnancy will affect her
employees’ perceptions of her as an effective boss.
A stay-at-home Dad
wrestles with the whispers of former colleges that he just couldn’t handle the
pressures of work.
Teenagers experience the
angst of competing for acceptance in desirable social cliques, of serial broken
hearts in the complex world of adolescent dating, of family tensions over privileges
and responsibilities.”
[2] Adults struggling with end of life issues wonder how to
live authentic lives while keeping a legacy for those that come behind them.
It’s easier for us to
see Herod’s choice as a bad one. After all, we know the rest of the story. We
know about Jesus who has come into the world to overcome the powers and
oppression Herod seeks to maintain. We know the freedom that comes only from
Christ’s own arrest, persecution, death and resurrection.
Our challenge is to
look at our own decisions in light of that same reality, and ask ourselves
whether the choices we make are self-protective or a part of God’s redemption of
the world.
Our challenge is to
accept the grace offered to us in these moments, and to share that grace with
others in need.
Our challenge is to
live lives that reflect the reality of the resurrection, of all things being
made new by Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our challenge is to say
no to saving face and say yes to saving lives.
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