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THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The Good, the Bad, and the Savior

Mark 6:14-29

            The greatest temptation for religious people in reading the sacred scriptures is to draw a line between the “good” people and the “bad” people and to see themselves as completely on the side of the “good” people.  Thus, we fail to see how we stand on both sides of that line – “good” and “bad.”

            The story of the death of John the Baptist is a good example of this.  It is easy to judge the characters – especially King Herod – for their actions and condemn them.  But, then, if we don’t see how they are like us, we don’t see who we really are and we don’t see who Jesus is for us.

            So, I’d like to take a look at each “bad” character in this story and ask how we might see ourselves in them:

            HERODIAS – Herodias does not actually appear on the scene but her presence is certainly felt.  We could think of her as the ‘femme fatale’ who has lured Herod Antipas into a compromising position.  She could be compared to Delilah, but Herod is no Samson.  She is more like Jezebel, the Sidonian princess who married King Ahab of Israel .  Ahab was easily the most unfaithful king in the history of Israel .  And Jezebel carried out a religious campaign to rid Israel of the worship of Israel ’s God and replace it with the worship of the Canaanite god, Baal.  Elijah the prophet was her main opponent, the thorn in her flesh.  She too wanted Elijah’s head on a platter.  But Jezebel did not get her way with Elijah, the way Herodias did with John.

            But if we look at Herodias only as the evil temptress bent on manipulating men and opposing God, then it is too easy to dismiss her.  Let’s remember that Herodias’ power is derived.  She gets her power from her husband, whether from her first husband, Philip, or her present husband, Herod.  Since her status is dependent upon her marriage, she is more likely to be defensive about her marriage and to be vengeful toward those who threaten it.  If Herod decides that John is right, that he is guilty of adultery and that he should divorce Herodias, he will still be king.  But Herodias will simply be a former wife of a king.  That means she’ll be a nobody.

            If we try to see Herodias as more like ourselves than we would like to admit, then we must ask – How is our sense of status and power derived from work or family or marriage?  Where are we most vulnerable?  When push comes to shove, where are we most likely to push back?  If we do that, then perhaps we will see ourselves in this story through the person of Herodias.

            HERODIAS’ DAUGHTER – Herodias’ daughter would seem to be only an extension of her mother.  She is not identified by name, only by her relationship with her mother.  She also has a parallel in the scriptures.  It is Esther.  Esther is a young woman who is plucked out of a crowd of beauties to be the wife of King Ahasuerus.  His former wife, Vashti, proved to have a mind and will of her own, so the king banished her.  But then the king’s evil advisor, Haman, plots to rid the empire of Jews.  Esther’s wise and pious uncle, Mordecai, urges her to go to the king and put a stop to it.  Esther responds that she can do nothing, that even to approach the king would put her life in danger.  Mordecai tells her – “Do you think you will be spared just because you are queen?  Perhaps it is for just this time that you have been chosen.”  So Esther approaches the king.  He promises to give her whatever she asks.  So, she pleads for the life of her people.  Haman is defeated and the Jewish people are saved.

            This is not what Herodias’ daughter does, so it would be easy to dismiss this character as well.  But I am intrigued by her question - What should I ask for?  It is a question we all ask.  Although we would not run to our mother to ask it, we do take clues from other people.  We look to our friends and our neighbors.  We look to TV and its commercials.  It’s not that those things are necessarily bad.  But if we simply listen to them, we are unlikely to get what we really want out of life.

            So how often do we ask - What should I ask for?  And how often do we defer to others rather than searching our own hearts?  If we are able to ask those questions, then we can enter this story through the character of Herodias’ daughter.

            HEROD – I admit that, although he is the most vilified, I find Herod the character with whom I have the most sympathy.  I know this is surprising.  His father sought the life of Jesus when Jesus was still a toddler.  According to Matthew and Luke, Herod himself will play a role in Jesus’ death.  But I believe Mark’s view is more sympathetic.  Whereas in Matthew, Herod refrains from executing John because he fears the people, Mark says that Herod knew John was righteous and holy and that Herod liked to listen to him.  Herod is a man of power and he is capable of using it.  But he also has a conscience.

            Then Herod makes an extravagant promise.  He makes it to his step-daughter after she has pleased him.  Perhaps he has had a bit too much to drink.  Perhaps he is simply feeling expansive.  And who among us does not like to reward our children for a job well done, especially when they perform so well in public, in front of all our friends and associates.  Herod says, “Ask anything - even half of my kingdom - and I will grant it.”  Herod has no idea what he is promising.  The head of John the Baptist may seem like less than half his kingdom, but it could very well be more since he must give up his conscience. 

Even though it pains him, Herod grants the request rather than lose face with his friends, rather than go back on a public promise to a member of his family.  Although it is easy for us to say, “I would have followed my conscience; I would have said no to my daughter,” the fact is that we regularly make promises and commitments which compromise our conscience.  We make them for good reasons.  But they are promises in which holiness and righteousness are sacrificed.

            Where then is it that we are torn between what is holy and good and what will save face?  Where are we ambivalent about the call of God and the call of the world? 

            It would be easy to dismiss these characters, to say, “I would never do that!  I’m not like them at all.”  But if we dismiss the characters, then we also dismiss the story.  The fact is that this story is not really about Herodias or Herodias’ daughter or Herod.  It is not even about John.

            John is one of the main characters of the story.  But John’s role is always to prepare the way.  In his life, John prepared the way through his preaching of repentance.  John prepared the way by his baptism of water.  John prepared the way by pointing to the one who is greater.  But John also prepared the way by his death.  For just as John was executed by a politician who wanted to save face, so also was Jesus condemned by a politician who wanted to minimized his personal risk.

            This story is really about Jesus.  That’s the way the story begins.  It begins with the question of the identity of Jesus.  Everyone has been hearing about Jesus.  Who is he?  Some say he is a prophet.  Some say he is Elijah.  He is not John, even John the Baptist come back from the dead.  He is the one who will take up all of our stories of unfaithfulness into his own story of dying and rising.  But he is not a prophet.  Jesus is our redeemer.  A prophet will only accuse.  A prophet can only show us what is wrong with our lives.  A redeemer can change our lives and transform us.

            This is the one for whom John prepares us.  These characters help us prepare as well.  Because if we examine them closely – Herodias and daughter and Herod – then we know that they too are a part of who we are.  They show us how we have been unfaithful: how we will do anything to protect our turf, how we are led by others in our decisions, how we struggle to live out the call of God in everyday life.  The promise of these characters, though, is that because they teach us the truth about ourselves, then they show us our need – not only for John – but for Jesus. 

            For Jesus is more than a prophet.  He is more than Elijah the great prophet of Israel .  More even than John the Baptist raised from the dead.  He is Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Redeemer.