A homily on Mark 6. 14 - 29. The Death of John the Baptist.
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today's Gospel reading is a very-well-put-together composition, which presents interesting questions for us to answer, and also parallels Mark's presentation of the suffering and death of our Lord. The questions are worth a close look, as are the similarities and differences between this account and the Passion. And it is worth comparing with the version of the story in Matthew's Gospel.
The first question in today's reading is not actually stated, but instead it is implied. The reading begins, "King Herod heard of [the deeds of power], for Jesus's name had become known. Some were saying, 'John...has been raised from the dead...others said, 'It is Elijah...it is a prophet.' " The question of course is: Who is Jesus?
Now, what Herod had heard of was the Mission of the Twelve, which Mark announces in the reading just before this one, and which we heard in last Sunday's Gospel. As Mark says, "So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent," just as John was doing at the beginning of Mark's Gospel. That is why Herod thinks that John has returned from the dead, which others also believe, even though some think that Jesus is Elijah or one of the prophets. Herod gets it wrong, of course! He does not recognize the new thing that is happening, at least, not entirely. He partially recognizes something new: the idea that someone can come back from the dead. John is not coming back in this story, but Herod foreshadows the Resurrection of Jesus.Coming out of the mouth of Herod, this is an astounding statement, because, as we learn shortly, he, or at least his family, thought that they were getting rid of John once and for all when Herod had him killed. Something new is indeed happening.
The question of Jesus's identity comes up again in Mark's Gospel, in chapter 8, when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And we hear the same answers that Herod heard: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. So, these were the usual ideas about Jesus that people had at the time. Jesus would later provide another understanding.
The bulk of today's reading is mostly an account of just how it happened that Herod had John killed, since the reading also makes it clear that "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him." This dramatic story puts all the responsibility for John's death onto Herod's wife, who, we are encouraged to believe, was able to manipulate her daughter and her husband in order to achieve her end, by taking advantage of her husband's reluctance to go back on a promise made in public.
This leads us to the second question. Herod's daughter asks her mother, "What should I ask for?" Considering the kind of favor she could have asked -- jewellery, perhaps, or some similar indication of her father's good will -- her failure of imagination here is interesting. Both father and daughter here allow responsibility for their own choices to fall on someone else. The daughter's unwillingness to make her own choice allowed the evil intentions of another to take control of the situation, and so allows an event to occur which might not have happened.
Matthew's account of the death of John the Baptist makes Herod directly responsible for John's death. Matthew says plainly, "Herod wanted to put him to death." Mark says, "Herodias...wanted to kill him, but she could not, for Herod feared John." But, in the end, Herod winds up being responsible anyway. I think that Matthew simply got rid of the ambiguity in Mark's account, while maintaining Herodias's role in the story. But we also know from Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, that Herod imprisoned and executed John, because he feared that John's influence over the people might lead to rebellion. Matthew confirms the historical background of this event, and Mark fills out some of the details.
Although there doesn't appear to be any support for my idea in Scripture, I have been speculating that when Herod says, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised," he is wishing that he could bring him back, that he could reverse his actions and undo the consequences of his decision. The Gospel does say that Herod feared John and protected him and liked to listen to him. Perhaps there is a deep regret here, an awareness that he did wrong, and that the wrong needs to be reversed. Herod's belief that John has risen from the dead is also, perhaps, a wish that foreshadows the true Resurrection yet to come.
Mark's story of the death of John the Baptist parallels the story of the suffering and death of Jesus. The weakness of Herod matches the weakness of Pilate. Both recognize the righteousness, the basic goodness and holiness of their prisoners. Both in the end are unwilling to use their powers of life and death to save them. Herod and Pilate allow themselves to be manipulated by those around them, and passively allow their power of death to be taken over by others. Herod's guests match the crowd that demands that Pilate crucify Jesus. And, lastly, the bodies of both John and Jesus are taken away by their friends and disciples for burial. Mark is reinforcing the importance of both John and Jesus by paralleling their stories in this way.
This story is about many things: identity, responsibility, confusion, weakness, and even hope for a new beginning. Herod has no doubt about the identity of Jesus, calling him John, but he gets it wrong, possibly, as I said a moment ago, because he wants to get it right. He is confused about Jesus because he is not confused about something else: his desire, perhaps, to make right what happened to John the Baptist. He does not see the new beginning in Jesus, but he can imagine what a new beginning would look like, which is why he believes that John is risen.
Responsibility. Herod put himself in the position of allowing his power to be taken over by others. He, in effect, took advantage of his own confusion to allow others, who were not confused at all about what they wanted, to make decisions for him. How typically human this is. We all are indifferent, at one time or another, when faced with situations which we think we can't influence, and perhaps allow things to happen which we need not. Herod's weakness is our weakness.
Herod's belief, his hope perhaps, that John was risen, points the way out of the dilemma that Herod found himself in, and in which we find ourselves, sometimes, in situations less drastic than Herod's: the hope of resurrection, of new beginnings, of new life, which our story hints at indirectly, but which all the Gospels testify to.
I haven't said much about the other actors in this story, about Herodias, about the daughter, or, least of all, about the apparently silent observers: Herod's guests, the courtiers, and officers and leaders of Galilee. Or about the occasion: Herod's birthday. When Jesus was before Pilate, at least we hear from the crowd demanding release for Barabbas, and crucifixion for Jesus. But in today's reading, we don't hear from the crowd, the guests, at all. We do hear about what Herod imagines that his guests are expecting: that he keep his foolish promise, no matter what. So we come to the point where we realize how this story works on us: it leads us to identify with the guests! We become the silent observers in the story. We see and hear what the king and his family are doing, and we say nothing. We expect, we even want, Herod to follow through. We passively allow the birthday party to turn into a grisly display of horror. The story stops here, but we can imagine what happens next. Possibly, the guests feel what, say, Saddam Hussein's dinner guests felt all the time, or what the courtiers of any absolute ruler feel: constant dread, most likely.
But Mark does not allow us to feel this way for long. The next Gospel reading is about the feeding of the five thousand. We, the guests of Herod, become the guests of Jesus and his disciples. The disastrous birthday party becomes the miraculous meal. The hint of Resurrection in today's reading, becomes the proclamation of it by the end of the Gospel. Herod's confusion about Jesus's identity becomes our clear recognition of it. As Jesus says in chapter 8, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers him, "You are the Messiah!" That is the answer that we are invited to give as well.
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today's Gospel reading is a very-well-put-together composition, which presents interesting questions for us to answer, and also parallels Mark's presentation of the suffering and death of our Lord. The questions are worth a close look, as are the similarities and differences between this account and the Passion. And it is worth comparing with the version of the story in Matthew's Gospel.
The first question in today's reading is not actually stated, but instead it is implied. The reading begins, "King Herod heard of [the deeds of power], for Jesus's name had become known. Some were saying, 'John...has been raised from the dead...others said, 'It is Elijah...it is a prophet.' " The question of course is: Who is Jesus?
Now, what Herod had heard of was the Mission of the Twelve, which Mark announces in the reading just before this one, and which we heard in last Sunday's Gospel. As Mark says, "So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent," just as John was doing at the beginning of Mark's Gospel. That is why Herod thinks that John has returned from the dead, which others also believe, even though some think that Jesus is Elijah or one of the prophets. Herod gets it wrong, of course! He does not recognize the new thing that is happening, at least, not entirely. He partially recognizes something new: the idea that someone can come back from the dead. John is not coming back in this story, but Herod foreshadows the Resurrection of Jesus.Coming out of the mouth of Herod, this is an astounding statement, because, as we learn shortly, he, or at least his family, thought that they were getting rid of John once and for all when Herod had him killed. Something new is indeed happening.
The question of Jesus's identity comes up again in Mark's Gospel, in chapter 8, when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And we hear the same answers that Herod heard: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. So, these were the usual ideas about Jesus that people had at the time. Jesus would later provide another understanding.
The bulk of today's reading is mostly an account of just how it happened that Herod had John killed, since the reading also makes it clear that "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him." This dramatic story puts all the responsibility for John's death onto Herod's wife, who, we are encouraged to believe, was able to manipulate her daughter and her husband in order to achieve her end, by taking advantage of her husband's reluctance to go back on a promise made in public.
This leads us to the second question. Herod's daughter asks her mother, "What should I ask for?" Considering the kind of favor she could have asked -- jewellery, perhaps, or some similar indication of her father's good will -- her failure of imagination here is interesting. Both father and daughter here allow responsibility for their own choices to fall on someone else. The daughter's unwillingness to make her own choice allowed the evil intentions of another to take control of the situation, and so allows an event to occur which might not have happened.
Matthew's account of the death of John the Baptist makes Herod directly responsible for John's death. Matthew says plainly, "Herod wanted to put him to death." Mark says, "Herodias...wanted to kill him, but she could not, for Herod feared John." But, in the end, Herod winds up being responsible anyway. I think that Matthew simply got rid of the ambiguity in Mark's account, while maintaining Herodias's role in the story. But we also know from Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, that Herod imprisoned and executed John, because he feared that John's influence over the people might lead to rebellion. Matthew confirms the historical background of this event, and Mark fills out some of the details.
Although there doesn't appear to be any support for my idea in Scripture, I have been speculating that when Herod says, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised," he is wishing that he could bring him back, that he could reverse his actions and undo the consequences of his decision. The Gospel does say that Herod feared John and protected him and liked to listen to him. Perhaps there is a deep regret here, an awareness that he did wrong, and that the wrong needs to be reversed. Herod's belief that John has risen from the dead is also, perhaps, a wish that foreshadows the true Resurrection yet to come.
Mark's story of the death of John the Baptist parallels the story of the suffering and death of Jesus. The weakness of Herod matches the weakness of Pilate. Both recognize the righteousness, the basic goodness and holiness of their prisoners. Both in the end are unwilling to use their powers of life and death to save them. Herod and Pilate allow themselves to be manipulated by those around them, and passively allow their power of death to be taken over by others. Herod's guests match the crowd that demands that Pilate crucify Jesus. And, lastly, the bodies of both John and Jesus are taken away by their friends and disciples for burial. Mark is reinforcing the importance of both John and Jesus by paralleling their stories in this way.
This story is about many things: identity, responsibility, confusion, weakness, and even hope for a new beginning. Herod has no doubt about the identity of Jesus, calling him John, but he gets it wrong, possibly, as I said a moment ago, because he wants to get it right. He is confused about Jesus because he is not confused about something else: his desire, perhaps, to make right what happened to John the Baptist. He does not see the new beginning in Jesus, but he can imagine what a new beginning would look like, which is why he believes that John is risen.
Responsibility. Herod put himself in the position of allowing his power to be taken over by others. He, in effect, took advantage of his own confusion to allow others, who were not confused at all about what they wanted, to make decisions for him. How typically human this is. We all are indifferent, at one time or another, when faced with situations which we think we can't influence, and perhaps allow things to happen which we need not. Herod's weakness is our weakness.
Herod's belief, his hope perhaps, that John was risen, points the way out of the dilemma that Herod found himself in, and in which we find ourselves, sometimes, in situations less drastic than Herod's: the hope of resurrection, of new beginnings, of new life, which our story hints at indirectly, but which all the Gospels testify to.
I haven't said much about the other actors in this story, about Herodias, about the daughter, or, least of all, about the apparently silent observers: Herod's guests, the courtiers, and officers and leaders of Galilee. Or about the occasion: Herod's birthday. When Jesus was before Pilate, at least we hear from the crowd demanding release for Barabbas, and crucifixion for Jesus. But in today's reading, we don't hear from the crowd, the guests, at all. We do hear about what Herod imagines that his guests are expecting: that he keep his foolish promise, no matter what. So we come to the point where we realize how this story works on us: it leads us to identify with the guests! We become the silent observers in the story. We see and hear what the king and his family are doing, and we say nothing. We expect, we even want, Herod to follow through. We passively allow the birthday party to turn into a grisly display of horror. The story stops here, but we can imagine what happens next. Possibly, the guests feel what, say, Saddam Hussein's dinner guests felt all the time, or what the courtiers of any absolute ruler feel: constant dread, most likely.
But Mark does not allow us to feel this way for long. The next Gospel reading is about the feeding of the five thousand. We, the guests of Herod, become the guests of Jesus and his disciples. The disastrous birthday party becomes the miraculous meal. The hint of Resurrection in today's reading, becomes the proclamation of it by the end of the Gospel. Herod's confusion about Jesus's identity becomes our clear recognition of it. As Jesus says in chapter 8, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers him, "You are the Messiah!" That is the answer that we are invited to give as well.
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment