A sermon preached at St. George’s Anglican Church Calgary, by the Rev. Clara King, July 15, 2018.
Proper 15 – Year B
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
In our Gospel reading this morning, John the Baptist’s death proves to us several things. First, that John was indeed as great a prophet as the prophets of old. Second, that “the powers that be” in Jesus’ time were as dangerous to prophets as they had ever been. And third, that when Jesus warns the disciples that they will suffer, he’s not exaggerating.
Our story today is a story inside a story inside a story. The passage opens, “when Herod heard of it…” – the “it” is Jesus’ extraordinary preaching and healing ministry in Galilee, and the ministry of the 12, who have just been sent out. This new ministry is spreading like wildfire, and word gets to Herod. People are wondering who Jesus is that he has power to do all the miraculous things he’s doing. Some say a prophet, others say he is Elijah risen, as promised, returned to life – and others say he is John the Baptist, risen from the dead.
For Herod himself, the worst situation would be John the Baptist risen from the dead – and the reason why Herod is so frightened about this possibility is explained to us in a sort of flashback, in the middle of the story. It is a story within a story, totally interrupting the fast flow of Mark’s narrative.
And nestled within this flashback, like a secret little Babushka doll is the story of how John the Baptist came to be so dangerous that he had to be killed in the first place: “John had been telling Herod, ‘it is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife (Herodias).’ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him.”
You see, Herod had taken his brother’s wife, even though his brother was still alive. And Herodias was thoroughly enjoying her increase in power and wealth and status, and didn’t at all enjoy John’s efforts to send her back to Philip. And so Herodias begins plotting how to kill him.
This story, of a wealthy, powerful king and queen being challenged by a prophet for their bad behaviour is an old story in the Jewish tradition. In fact, it was the central battle of Elijah’s life: his struggle with King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, who used their power to oppress the people and shrug off the consequences of their behaviour.
Again and again the great prophets battled against how the rich rulers used their money and power against the poor and the oppressed. Again and again they brought the word from God that their actions had consequences. And again and again the rulers sought to silence the prophets, and carry on with their sinful ways.
Herodias is built in this exact model of an evil queen; proving John the Baptist to be as great as one of the great prophets of old. But Herod is a softer man. He doesn’t know exactly what John is on about, but he likes the sound of it. And so, we’re not quite certain how it came to pass, that Herod had John arrested (or perhaps that was Herodias’ doing), and they kept him in their palace at Tiberias on the sea.
There in prison, John waited to see if Herodias’ schemes to have him killed would be fulfilled, or whether Herod would indeed protect him. And he was there for some time – weeks? months? perhaps a year or more? Imagine what it was like for John to be waiting in that prison; waiting to see what would happen.
Imagine the temptation John faced, to “come around” to Herodias’ way of thinking, that really, her marriage wasn’t such a problem after all. All it would take was for John to soften just a little, and doubtless, Herod could have been brought to see reason.
And yet John never broke. His faithfulness as a prophet didn’t waver. Even in prison he continued to speak truth to power, even while Herodias was plotting his death; even knowing that Herod’s protection was keeping him alive – he stayed faithful to God’s call in his life, and kept calling them to repentance, like the greatest prophets of old.
And we know how Herodias’ plot against him finally succeeded, though the details are ironic in the extreme. For this scene of how John came to be killed exemplifies all of Herod’s weakness of character and the power of Herodias’ determination not to be held to account for her actions. In this story, selfish, self-serving wickedness triumphs and weak wills allow it to triumph.
And so it becomes very obvious why it would make Herod very nervous, the idea that John the Baptist was raised from the dead. Imagine, how angry and disappointed John would be at Herod’s actions! That would be the last thing Herod would want.
But what might not be all that obvious is why Mark tells this story, in flashback form, right in the middle of his story, interrupting the galloping pace of his narrative.
The 12 disciples have been commissioned and sent out to heal the sick and cast out demons; and they’ve come back, filled with the pride of their success, and amazed at the wonders they’ve done – like little children, skipping with excitement at something wonderful they’ve done. They don’t see the storm clouds gathering. But Jesus does; and Mark wants us readers to see them too: that all this good work among the poor and the sick and the afflicted is rippling outward in the community, and the ripples are lapping upon the shores of the rich and the powerful. And there’s likely to be consequences.
But there’s another reason Mark reminds us of this story of John. It is to remind us that following the Lord faithfully does not often lead to worldly success. Jesus is not heading for an earthly throne – those are inhabited by power hungry, greedy, weak-willed people, Mark reminds us, not the servants of God.
While everything has seemed to go Jesus’ way – why even the demons respect his authority! – and while he relieves the sufferings of others, it is unlikely that his reward will be health and wealth and long life on earth. That certainly wasn’t John’s reward; and it wasn’t Elijah’s reward either. And it won’t be the reward for Peter’s faithfulness – he will be martyred on a cross, like Jesus. And James will be put to death with the sword. And Stephen, the first Deacon, would be killed with rocks – indeed, for most of that first generation of disciples, their reward would be to suffer and die, glorifying God with their last breath.
The story of John the Baptist speaks powerfully to us today. Unlike Herodias, we should try to live decent, right lives; we should acknowledge our wrong-doing when we’re faced with it, and not seek endlessly to escape the consequences of our actions.
And unlike Herod, we shouldn’t stand by passively while people around us act wickedly. We shouldn’t allow wickedness to flourish while we watch, and we shouldn’t ignore the consequences of our passivity.
But most of all, we should learn the lesson of John: that being faithful to God does not guarantee us a life free of suffering. Being faithful to God doesn’t mean that God will grant us long life and good health and abundant wealth. Sometimes, suffering just is – like it was for Paul, who lived with that thorn in his side for most of his life, and prayed God would heal him of it – doubtless prayed awfully hard; and yet, his story of faith carried on and God walked alongside him.
Sometimes suffering just is; and sometimes suffering is a consequence of being faithful – when our faith calls us to speak truth to power, and push back against wickedness, and bear the consequences that almost surely will come.
So God doesn’t promise us a life of ease and enjoyment if only we would be faithful enough, if only we’d pray hard enough. God has a vision, for us and for the whole of creation, in which God’s love is enough for all. And God calls us to that vision, and calls us to take our place in working alongside God to make it visible, just a tiny glimmer at a time. And that, friends, is a vision worth struggling for. It is a vision worth praying for – the end, not only to my personal sufferings, but an end to hunger; an end to war; an end to violence; an end to poverty; an end to injustice – and liberty for all, in the kingdom of God.
That is what Elijah was fighting for, and struggling for.
That is what John was fighting for, for which he died.
That is what all the Disciples pressed for, for which many were martyred.
And that is what Jesus lived; and that is why Jesus died, and it is for that that Jesus was risen from the dead.
So we face sufferings in our lives; and God is with us in the midst of them, encouraging us and supporting us, and being present to us in the hands and hearts of those around us. And even in the midst, God holds fast to that vision; and God encourages us to believe, and to press on.
Friends, whatever you face this day, may God strengthen you, and bear you up, and remind you of the dream God has for you, and for all. Amen.