I’m going to try to put this passage in Mark’s gospel in a little context today. In many ways, this reporting of the death of John the Baptist seems like an afterthought in the gospel of Mark. It was pointed out by some of the Thursday Matters crowd that it doesn’t fit neatly within the overall narrative of the gospel as a whole. But Mark thought it important to share what happened to John as Jesus’ ministry began to take form, so it’s important for us to examine this text as well. And maybe an important place to start is to point out the irony that after I concluded this text, I said, “This is the Gospel of our Lord,” and you all responded, “Thanks be to God.” Because there doesn’t seem to be much to thank God about in this particular passage. There doesn’t seem to be much that would qualify as “good news,” which is what “gospel” really means. This passage is dark. And it’s dark because the writer of Mark understood how the powerful in this world tended to operate in the First Century. And I don’t think much has changed.
Let’s be honest – the powerful and the comfortable don’t like to hear a challenging word. They don’t like to hear that what they’re doing is wrong. They don’t like hearing that God is displeased with their actions, especially when those actions seem so beneficial for them. It’s easy to justify that maybe half-measures can at least mitigate the wrath of God, and what Herod has tried in our gospel today is just that – a half measure. Because it’s apparent that Herod sees John as one who has come from God, so he’s afraid of invoking God’s wrath by having John killed, but he’s also afraid of the hit to his reputation by allowing John to speak freely. So he tries to have it both ways. He has John arrested, but refuses to harm him. And it seems to be working out for him – until Herod gets comfortable in his pride, and decides to make a show of his generosity in front of his guests.
And it’s this simple desire to show how great he is – that he’s generous and loving of his step-daughter – that really gets him into trouble. Like a lot of rulers, he’s intensely concerned with appearances, and demonstrating his largesse is a way that he can make himself seem even greater than his father, Herod the Great, who was well known for his cruelty. By offering the contrast of his generosity, he hopes that he can make a name for himself and accumulate more power through these acts. One wonders who he was trying to impress as he made his ill fated pledge to his step daughter. He was talking a big game, and it wasn’t until it was too late that he realized that words can get him into deep, deep trouble.
But the unknowing victim of his words knew. He knew that words could get him into a lot of trouble, because it was his words that caused him to end up in prison. John was in his predicament because he felt that God had called him to speak out against unjust acts, including scheming to marry your brother’s wife in order to legitimize a power grab, which is essentially what Herod had done. Herodias, Herod’s wife, is a willing co-conspirator in all these things, more than happy to attach herself to the rising power of Herod over her existing partnership to Philip. And it’s apparent from the start of this narrative that her primary concern is the status that she gains from her new husband, and how his star is rising, and she wants it to rise even further.
And Herod’s pride and ambition, tied with the ambition of his ill-gotten bride (though let’s be honest, for her in that society, she only has power because of the status of her husband) turns into a perfect storm where those without power are completely at the whims of one with power. It didn’t matter that John fascinated Herod. It didn’t ultimately matter that Herod thought that John was a man of God, because Herod feared loss of his earthly reputation and power far more than he feared God. And the consequences were real.
And this text should convict us just a little bit, because we’re all at least occasionally guilty of choosing expediency over the will of God. Sometimes we justify harmful things because we believe that God’s forgiveness is easier than the judgment of the world.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for ourselves and for others. I hope that our choosing reputation and expediency over obedience doesn’t have as dire of consequences as what happened in our scripture reading today, but part of our caution today is to recognize that Herod’s pride isn’t exclusive to Herod. There are a number of people who would say or do anything to gain power for themselves, and no, I’m not gonna name names today. But I will challenge you – if you think the people who fit that particular bill are only people you dislike, you need to look a little more deeply. Because all of us would rather ignore inconvenient truths than confront them.
So as I started out today, it’s a challenge to find the good news. It’s a challenge to fit this passage neatly into the broader narrative of Mark, and our current news cycle. But the writer of Mark thought it was important for us to wrestle with this passage. The writer of Mark knew it was important to foreshadow what would happen to Jesus when he also threatened the status quo of power. And it’s important for us to wonder – where is our ultimate allegiance? Do we ally with the powerful of the world in order to gain power for ourselves? Do we speak truth to power and risk our own comfort and well being to be modern day prophets for the sake of God’s will of the kingdom coming to earth still today?
Family of God, I truly believe most of us fit somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. And it’s a hard path to travel. But God challenges us to focus first on the righteousness of God – how our words and actions serve not ourselves, but our neighbors in need and thus bring glory to God. And these things aren’t easy. To act in love for the oppressed at the discomfort of the powerful among us is a struggle, and carries some risk. But in doing these things, we reveal God to our neighbor, and a testimony to the powerful. And this is the good news that we hear today – that the word of God, and the work of God, continues to be made known regardless of how the earthly powers of this world try to silence it. And Because we know that God is at work, we know we can proclaim it, and that proclamation is the truth that God’s love and justice is for all, and no power in all the world can take away God’s compassion found in the community of Christ.