“Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly… And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner…”
The story of St. John the Baptist’s execution reads like a soap opera. John was a charismatic preacher of the times, who lived in the wilderness but was close enough to Jerusalem to have a following among the people there. Herod, also known as Herod Antipas, the son of the infamous Herod the Great, was a vassal king; he held the title of King of Galilee at the pleasure of the Roman government, which held ultimate authority over the region. He did not live in Galilee but rather in Jerusalem, which lay in Judea, probably because it was a larger and more attractive city with all the amenities of a big city.
Herod married a woman known to us only as Herodias, who happened to be the former spouse of Herod’s brother Philip. John criticized him severely for this. Herodias wanted him to be killed for this insult to the king. Herod for his part was quite conflicted. The gospel says, “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” It is quite clear that Herod knew right from wrong.
So St. John was safe until one day Herod was in the midst of a birthday party for Herod. Though the Bible does not say it, many have surmised that there was an abundance of alcohol there. Herodias’ daughter was asked to dance for the group, and she must have put on quite a performance, Herod, perhaps inebriated, wished to make a magnanimous gesture in front of his friends, and offered the girl anything she wished, up to half of his kingdom. The girl, named Salome, went to her mother, Herodias for advice, and this was the cause of John’s execution.
The twist is that Herod knew in his heart that he was doing something wrong. The gospel notes, “The king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.” In other words, because the King had spoken and given an oath, it became a matter of honor. He could not deny his oath.
It reminds me of the Lord’s execution, which was ordered by Pontius Pilate because of the crowd’s rioting, and not because he believed that Jesus deserved to die. The Lord’s execution was the result of a political calculation by Pilate; John’s, on the other hand, was the result of too much partying- too much food and drink. Thus, both Herod and Pilate knew right from wrong, but they chose to do wrong.
There are times when I think that Herod’s birthday party resembles our 20th and 21st century society. We live in a place with many comforts, conveniences, luxuries and distractions. We know right from wrong- everyone does, except perhaps a few sociopaths- but we chose to do the wrong things, Sometimes these wrong things are sexual sins. Other times they involve power, money, pride, etc.
Two days ago National Public Radio did a story, “How Wall Street Made the Mortgage Crisis Worse.” (http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/08/26/129454550/inside-the-sausage-factory-how-wall-street-made-the-financial-crisis-worse). The story began with the words,
“We believe we can show that some Wall Street bankers had evidence, a year or two before the financial crisis hit, that there were serious problems with subprime mortgage investments…. Rather than wind down this business, they sped it up using financial trickery. These people earned huge bonuses for their actions. They also made the crisis considerably larger and more damaging.”
Does this not resemble Herod’s birthday party? It is yet another case of people who knew right from wrong, but chose to do wrong.
Orthodox Christian tradition holds this day as a day of prayer and fasting, in part to remember Herod’s birthday party and the evil that comes from too much revelry and in part to remember how John lived his life, in simplicity and in quiet. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says the Psalmist. Life is full of choices; our future will be determined by the choices that we make in this life. Perhaps we are not all cut out to live as John did, but at times we need to leave the party and go out to the wilderness- to back away from our daily routines and sit in silence. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says the Psalmist.
Text: Mark 6:14-29
Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” Others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is the Prophet, or[c] like one of the prophets.” But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!” Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.