Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, we reflect on the beheading of John the Baptist. The scriptural footnotes on the USCCB website offer an enlightening observation on the similarities between the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist and the passion of Jesus:
Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death. The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them a respectful burial (USCCB Bible Mark 6:17-29).
As I spend time with the story, it becomes more unsettling each time I read it. The imagery is gruesome and vulgar; what kind of corruption, seething hatred, and evil leads to this scene? William Shakespeare is noted for the quote, “In time, we hate that which we often fear.” A basic example would be that of spiders: my wife is fearful of spiders. At risk of putting words in her mouth, I would venture to guess that if you brought up the subject of spiders, she would reply, “I hate spiders”--case in point. Mark shares that “Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.” (Mk 6:20) John called out Herod for his unlawful marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, but it likely goes much deeper than that. A sinful lifestyle--political corruption, greed, sexual promiscuity, false imprisonment; there is a lot packed into this gruesome end to the life of John the Baptist. Fear of truth and righteousness can quickly turn sour if we let it dig at our hearts.
Like Jesus, John the Baptist had many followers who looked to him as a symbol of hope. However, John came not as the way, but to prepare the way of the Lord. He dedicated his life to courageously speaking truth, repentance, and salvation even in the face of threats and persecution from Herod--ultimately leading to his death. John spent his life pointing people to Christ; Herod tried to silence him, but to no avail. The hatred and culture of death in that time and our own is overcome when we live out our call to radically love and radically serve one another, aligning ourselves with God. May we, like John, answer that call with our whole heart and with joy in the love of Christ.
Abundant Blessings,
Brandon