Stories to live by
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 11, 2021
Ephesians 1:3-14 • Mark 6:14-29
I’m sure I’m not alone in finding today’s gospel story about the beheading of the prophet John the Baptist distinctly unedifying: an imprisoned truth teller, a weak leader, an angry wife, and the beguiling dancing daughter rewarded with a head on a platter. It’s tricky to find any Gospel good news here.
Being a prophet, one who speaks God’s truth to power, has never been a cushy or appreciated job. Speaking that truth rarely goes down well and our bible is filled with characters who experienced periods of imprisonment as a result: Joseph, Samson, Jeremiah, Micaiah, Zedekiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Silas, Paul, and Jesus himself.
Prophets routinely speak inconvenient truths: and John, whom Herod enjoyed and respected even if he found what he said made his head hurt, had pointed out that Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife Herodias, was just not okay. Herod’s grip on power was precarious, and he couldn’t let John’s comment go unnoticed. A temporary imprisonment had seemed like a good idea at the time....
When I have spent time with this passage before, my attention and sympathy have always been with John. I have despised the weakness of Herod – I mean, who offers half his kingdom up as a gift for a young girl’s dance? But this time, I found myself considering Herod. He knew that ordering the death of John was wrong. That he saw Jesus as a resurrected John is a clear sign of a guilty conscience. He had listened to the teachings of John, he had some sense of a loving, forgiving God. Herod must have believed his actions to be absolutely unforgiveable. He had imprisoned himself in a story of his own making, and there could be no escape. And that is really sad.
Each one of us lives the story we tell ourselves. This story is based in facts and events, but is also colored in by what we have learnt about ourselves from other people. There certainly is truth in our story, but we should always be alert to error and distortion. Our story serves us well when it leads us to make life-giving choices. It should be questioned when it imprisons us and we can see no way of escaping.
The God who loves each one of us so passionately yearns for us to see that truth in ourselves. Yearns for each one us to break down any walls that trap us, close us down, barricade us from the full, life-giving story that is there for each of us to live. And this love is not just for the good, righteous people, this love is for the weak, the cruel, the Herods, the murderers, the abusers, the greedy.
The prophets are those pointing out where our stories diverge from the life-giving. Truth tellers are rarely appreciated and yet we need them, not only on the national, international stages, but also on the small personal level. And we need to be reminded of the Gospel truth that not only is God’s love and forgiveness are for all.
Evidence of the cost of our erroneous choices lie all around us as a society, as a world. But our story isn’t over yet. With God’s unfailing help, to quote from our Eucharistic Prayer, we, burning with your Spirit’s power, may be a people of hope, justice and love. And may we stand with the prophets, raising our voices against oppression and misrule.
I pray that the stories we live by, guide us, all of us, into the light and freedom of God’s love. In the name of the living God. Amen.