A Sermon for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Mark 6:14-29
Austin Powers: Not the time to lose one's head.
Vanessa Kensington: No.
Austin Powers: That's not the way to get ahead in life.
Vanessa Kensington: No.
Austin Powers: It's a shame he wasn't more headstrong.
Vanessa Kensington: Hmm.
Austin Powers: He'll never be the head of a major corporation.
Vanessa Kensington: Okay, that'll do.
Austin Powers: Okay.
When I examined today’s Gospel reading about the horrible decapitation of the famous prophet, John the Baptist, I decided I’d have to start the sermon out with this set of puns because, how else can you cope with such a horrifying text? I mean, what is this story even doing in the gospel of Mark, let alone our lectionary? There are a lot of gruesome stories in the bible that didn’t make it into the set of lectionary readings like Uzzah who is struck dead just for reaching out his hand to steady the ark of the covenant when it wobbled on its way to Jerusalem (2 Samuel). Why did this story about John the Baptist’s awful death make it in the lectionary? And what are we supposed to gain from having examined it?
Well, to begin with, we should look at where the interlude comes chronologically in the Gospel story. It happens right after Jesus sends the disciples out to do their ministry. Remember? We talked about that last week. They didn’t take anything with them—no purse, no money, to extra clothes, not even a cell phone—and they were given power to heal and to cast out demons. It is during the time they are off doing this exciting ministry that we hear about John’s sad fate.
I think the point of juxtaposing these two stories is to highlight the high cost of discipleship. Jesus’ disciples are off slugging it out with the demons and illnesses and they’re out there on their own without even any snack bars or other provisions that might help prop them up in this difficult work. They’ve just been called as disciples and so they are not that experienced, yet they are sent to proclaim the good news. It’s certainly not an easy mission Jesus has sent them on. It’s costing them everything, as they’ve had to leave their old lives behind do to this.
Meanwhile, John the Baptist is about to loose his head for having had the courage and integrity to criticize Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. He had stolen his brother’s wife, Herodias and married her himself. So his wife’s daughter, Salome, was at once his niece and his stepdaughter. John had told Herod that this marriage was a moral outrage. This wasn’t exactly music to his ears. Still, he was fascinated by John and he feared him, recognizing he was a righteous and holy man. Furthermore, he liked listening to John, even though his words were critical. So Herod put him in prison, rather than killing him as Herodias had wanted him to do.
Well, then things really come to a “head” at Herod’s birthday banquet. This was an extravagant event thrown my Herod himself. The entertainment, it seems, was the dance of the stepdaughter/niece, Salome. I’m with John on the being outraged here because it doesn’t sound appropriate for this daughter to be entertaining the party guests in this way. Herod is a bit too “into” his step-daughter’s dance. He is so “pleased,” it says, that he makes an exaggerated oath to give her whatever she wants (up to half his kingdom, which is the most a woman could inherit).
The girl goes to her mother for guidance on what to request. Herodias has had it in for John from the start and so without hesitation, she tells Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
Now Herod’s in a tight spot. All of the guests heard him give his word that he would grant the girl her request. If he wants to be a man of his word, he will have to do it. It says he is deeply grieved about it but it’s rather difficult to have pity for him. He orders the dirty deed done and John’s head is brought into the banquet on a platter—still dripping with blood—and presents to Salome, who gives it to her evil mother.
Um...where’s the happy ending? I guess the old saying holds: No good deed goes unpunished. Here we have an incredible prophet in John. Even his birth was a extraordinary and miraculous and had been prophesied. While he was still in his mother’s womb, John leapt for joy upon hearing the greeting of Jesus’ mother. He was born to a family of priests to prepare the way for Jesus. He called people to repentance and baptized them in the Jordan River. He had no earthly possessions and ran around in nothing but some stinky camel hair and ate wild honey and grasshoppers, for crying out loud! The guy was committed. Here is a prime example of fabulous discipleship. He didn’t give God a portion of his life—he gave it all. And in the end, he’s gotta die for it? What’s the reward in that?
And he wasn’t the only one to die for his faith: the apostles did too. The only one who lived out his days was Saint John but he was exiled to the island of Patmos where he is said to have written the book of Revelation. All the others died as martyrs: killed for having the courage to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
John’s death foreshadows the death of the one he has come to prepare the way for: Jesus Christ. Just as Herod reluctantly orders the death of John, Pontius Pilate will soon reluctantly order the death of Jesus. Yes, even the Son of God is given the death sentence for bringing the good news. So is it really good news?
Indeed it is, because God does not let death have the final say. Jesus is laid in the tomb but three days later, he is risen to new life and with it, he brings resurrection power to the whole world. He lives that death may die!
And so the tragedy of John’s violent death, as well as the tragedy of all those disciples dying in the line of duty is nullified. There is no sting in death—there is no victory in it at all. Jesus’ has taken their deaths and transformed them into resurrections.
Hopefully, none of us will ever have to face what John the Baptist or any of the apostles did. Nevertheless, we can expect problems in our life of faith. Don't be mistaken: the cost of discipleship is extremely high. We can lose friends, even jobs because of our religious convictions. We can experience hardship and prejudice and any manner of setbacks. Yet these things don’t matter compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. Jesus has given us his life so that we may have life and have it abundantly. And he has called us to a life of discipleship in which we give our very ALL for the sake of the kingdom. We cannot hold back even a part of ourselves—no, we must follow the example of the saints who have gone before and dive right into our mission. We can do it because the Spirit’s power is with us and nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. Amen.
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