August 29
The Passion of
Saint John the Baptist
Mark 6:17-29
Today's Gospel: Mark 6:17-29
(The Death of John the Baptist)
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound
in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had
married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your
brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill
him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing
him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him
speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She
had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his
courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’s
own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to
you.” He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of
me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What
shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried
back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at
once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply
distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break
his word to her. So, he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring
back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the
head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her
mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid
it in a tomb.
Reflection:
Herod feared John, respected him, he even liked
listening to him, and he killed him anyway, because a party and a promise
mattered more in the moment than the truth he half-believed. That's the tragedy
underneath this whole story. It wasn't ignorance that killed John the Baptist.
It was a man who knew better and chose comfort over conviction when the
pressure of the room got too strong.
John never once softened his message to keep himself safer. He told Herod
exactly what he needed to hear, knowing what it might cost him, because the
truth mattered more to John than his own life did. That's the same fire Our
Lady's cousin Elizabeth recognized in the womb, when John leapt for joy at
Mary's voice before he'd ever drawn a breath outside his mother, recognizing
the presence of Jesus Christ before he had words for it, and living every day
after that recognition with the same total commitment.
Our Lady watched her cousin's whole family walk this path of total surrender to
the truth, and it's the same path her own Son would walk to His death not long
after. John went first, preparing the way in his death just as he had in his
preaching.
What truth have you gone quiet on, because saying it out loud might cost
you something? Bold faith is real conviction and speaks volumes; a faith quietly
silenced because of fear whispers nothing at all. What truth have you gone
quiet on?
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
