OFF WITH HIS HEAD
Mark 6:14-29
St. Andrew’s-Wesley United church
Rev. Gary Paterson
July 8, 2012
Whenever you talk about John the
Baptist, you know you’re probably going to end up with a social justice kind of
sermon. John’s just that kind of guy –
the Prophet, the Critic, the Pain in the Butt, the will-not-shut-up Mouth. Usually you only get to talk about John
during Advent, when he is supposed to get centre stage for two weeks, “A voice
crying out in the wilderness…. “Pre-e-e--pare Ye the Way of the Lord; pre-e-e-pare
ye the way of the Lord.” John becomes a
challenge to prepare for a Christmas that truly matters, instead of getting
caught up in the consumer tidal wave that is December.
When January comes round, we give John a walk on role when Jesus
gets baptized, but after a quick introduction where John shares centre stage,
the light quickly focuses on Jesus.
Indeed, John disappears very quickly
in Mark’s Gospel… Mark is a hasty writer, and wants to get to the main story…
immediately. So he deals with
introductions, the birth of Jesus, his baptism and his temptation in the
wilderness in thirteen quick verses… and then in the very next breath, chapter
1, verse 14, he writes, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee , proclaiming the good news of God….”
After John was arrested??? Stop! What did I just miss… arrested… but no
further details? No why, by whom,
where, what happened next?”
Nevertheless, you suspect this will not end well. Because John was the kind of guy who insisted
on speaking the truth; to name things as he saw them… and they were always
short of the dream, of what might be possible.
He’s the one who had to call out, “The Emperor has no clothes.” When
crowds gathered to hear John, he yelled at them, “You brood of vipers; who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come…” Wouldn’t win him many friends; you
can see why someone might want him arrested.
And then he went on to criticize the king, telling Herod Antipas
that he was an adulterer, because he had divorced his first wife and married
his brother’s wife. John kept asking Herod,
“What part of Torah, the Law, Leviticus have you decided to ignore, to forget?” And you know darned well that was probably
just John’s opening salvo – there was an awful lot about Herod’s regime that
needed changing. Lots of opportunity for
a prophet… and John was never one to stand down from speaking truth to
power.
Speaking truth to power… I like that
Quaker phrase. I know, I know, it’s been
so overused that it risks sliding into cliché;
but it’s been overused precisely because it is so useful… such a
succinct and accurate summation of our Christian calling.
It’s not just
about beliefs and convictions – nobody ever got into trouble for having
convictions; it’s only when you speak them out loud, in public, where others
can hear, and know where you stand; it’s only when you act on them… that’s when
trouble comes.
Which is, of course, what happened
to John – Chapter 1, verse 14 -- “And then John was arrested….” No details until chapter six, no details
until today, when John explodes onto the stage, in a story of kings and queens
and prophets; of wealth, power, sex and blood; a story that begins with a
prison, then moves to a party, with a dance… and a dancing girl, and ends with
a head on a silver platter. Artists have
loved this story – Caravaggio, Titian, Moreau; Oscar Wilde wrote about it, and
Richard Strauss turned it into an opera… Salome – she of the “Dance of the Seven
Veils”.
It’s
a great story – gripping; made for Hollywood
production. Makes for great sermon
titles – Off with His Head – though someone told me they were worried I might
be talking about the murder of Lin Jun in Montreal
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Perhaps it needs to be a
sermon of inspiration -- see what John did; hear what John said; go and do
likewise! Be prophetic, speak truth to
power … wherever you find yourself. In
your family; at work, in the community, the country. But speak… and let your voice be heard, and
your actions counted. Maybe it’s as
simple as signing the petition brought to us by End Homeless Now Ministry,
asking our government to establish a National Housing Strategy, Canada being
one of the only G8 countries not to have such a plan. Maybe it’s…
well…. An aside… a few weeks ago,
at the General Meeting of BC Conference, we were in the midst of a difficult
debate; the vote was called for; and our President Deb Bowman asked us to make
a decision, saying “The only thing you can’t do is abstain -- that would be a
sin against the Holy Spirit,” She was
joking… but only partly. Don’t abstain; take action on the issue that
is in front of you.
Of course, the trouble is – in today’s
story John loses his head. So maybe this
needs to be a martyr sermon, where John is joined by people like Dietrich
Bonhoeffer from Nazi Germany, Stephen Biko from apartheid South Africa , Oscar Romero in dictatorship in El Salvador , Martin Luther King, Jr., in
segregated USA
Interesting to note where Mark has placed this story of John’s
beheading – right in the middle of the story of the sending out of the
disciples and their return. Send them
out… John gets beheaded… the disciples return with stories of great success. So the contrast is glaring… even in the midst
of the gospel coming alive, maybe precisely because it is starting to come
alive – the darkness still remains; the empire always strikes back (anyone else
watching old movies on TV over the weekend?)
Maybe this is the time to recall
Jesus’ teachings about losing your life to find it; or picking up your cross
and following him. Speaking truth to
power… it’s dangerous.
Which means that today’s sermon
really needs to be about courage. Easy
to talk about bearing witness; but however do we find the strength or courage
to do so? I mean, it’s all very fine to talk about
preaching truth to power, and how inspirational it all is… but there’s a
downside, no? I mean yes, the truth will
set you free… but as the short story writer Flannery O’Connor said, -- it will
also make you odd; and I might add… it can also get you killed. So courage… yes.
So… two thoughts on that; first…
note what happens in Matthew’s gospel when Jesus hears the news about John’s
death… “When Jesus heard about this, he went off in a boat, to be by himself,
in the wilderness.” I think there’s a
clue here… sometimes courage comes when we take the time to step back from the
immediate pressing situation in order to pray, to find the space and stillness
that enables us to see beyond the fear.
It is the opportunity to reconnect with God, to open oneself to the
Spirit… so that whatever is asked; whatever burden is given us to carry;
whatever task is laid upon us, ….. we will be given the strength to bear it, to
carry it, to live it.
Secondly, it’s clear that Mark is
creating parallels between John’s death, and that of Jesus. Herod is linked to Pilate… two political
leaders, who were reluctant to order the execution of their prisoner, but did
so because of pressure; beheading and crucifixion, and, at the end of both
stories, faithful disciples taking down the body and placing it in a tomb. But there’s a difference; the story of Jesus
has another chapter… a resurrection. That is to say, the bad news is never the last
word, not with God… there is always more life, God at work in, through and with
us… and beyond us, to bring about resurrection recreation, the Kingdom. It is in God that our hope is rooted; and
with hope, we can discover courage.
Okay… this is
where I had arrived by Friday morning; and I thought the sermon was pretty much
ready. But then I had lunch with a friend, Don Grayston…
and the sermon got its second wind, and decided it needed a different
ending. Don shared with me a moment of
vision, when he had heard in his mind’s ear, a phrase from a long ago sermon,
the one that had been preached at his ordination. And given it’s been a few
years since Don retired, well, we’re talking a while ago. But still, he heard
it clearly, a simple sentence – and that was enough vision for that
moment. “Your past is absolved; your
present accepted; and your potential assured.”
… The past… all that I’ve done or not done, the mistakes, wrong choices
and turns, the weight, the sorrow, the guilt, the disappointment … all
this…absolved. And then, the who I am
now, me, in the life given to me, that I have shaped, this present moment…
accepted. I have a place, I belong; I
need only accept that I am accepted. And
then… my potential, the future – my gifts, my life, open and assured, at the
same time; different possibilities, but God present in all of them, calling
forth a new future. “Your past is absolved;
your present, accepted; your potential. assured.”
Well the phrase stuck like a burr to my imagination, and slowly
insinuated itself into the sermon. Then
it hovered over today’s gospel story, and in a strange twist, I found myself
spending more time with… well… Herod.
I know, I know… he’s the bad guy.
But sometimes John is just… well… too much. Too heroic; never had a drink in his life…
didn’t touch the stuff; never bothered with a haircut… and me, there I am last
Friday, getting it trimmed for the summer. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by
John; he’s so heroic, so faithful; sometimes I feel like I’m just not up to it…
a second class kind of Christian. But
Herod, now… maybe he’s more my kind of person.
I mean, in a global context, I am a man of luxury just like him… a
developed world, Canadian, person of privilege.
In fact, Herod is more complex that you might think. Did you catch
that gospel throw away line, where Mark says, “And yet [Herod] liked to listen
to [John].” What? Herod actually listened to John? Liked to listen to him? Come on – was it spiritual masochism… Herod
liked to be called adulterer? Maybe
feeling guilty? Or just maybe Herod
actually heard what was underneath John’s preaching; maybe he heard John
saying, “Your past is absolved; your present accepted; your potential
assured.” Maybe he knew that what was
being offered was a new way of living, where God’s grace could lead him, Herod,
into a life that was deeper, richer, more fulfilling. Maybe that’s our longing too… to be baptized;
to have God’s grace fill us, and lead us into a grace beyond imagining.
Herod hears the invitation… he wants
to hear more. But what he heard left him
“greatly perplexed,” says Mark; in the Revised New English Bible that becomes
“very disturbed.” Herod was smart
enough to know the cost of what John was preaching; and like the rich young
ruler, he turned sadly away. Herod knew
that it is as hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
It’s our choice too… don’t you
think? Sure, we’re probably more like
Herod than John; but we have our moments; when despite being perplexed and
disturbed, we say yes to God’s invitation; we are inspired and courageous -- and
we begin the journey of transformation into a life where there is more Spirit
and less distraction; more significance,
less success; more trust, less fear;
more love, less greed. May it be
so.
Amen.
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