Stephen Sondheim wrote the great lyrical finale of into the woods with these
words…
How do you say to your
child in the night?
Nothing's all black, but
then nothing's all white
How do you say it will all
be all right
When you know that it
might not be true?
What do you do?
Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and
learn
Children may not obey, but
children will listen
Children will look to you
for which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say
"Listen to me”
For some odd reason those
are the words that first came to me as I walked with this gospel today. I
cannot help but wonder what this strange request did to this young
girl. I wonder if she even had a concept of what she asked for. We
do not know because she is not mentioned again. Now Herod on the other hand.
“Mark chose this
opportunity, after Jesus sent out his disciples on their first formal mission,
to report the death of John the Baptist. Mark hinted at this
political death earlier in the story when John was arrested (1:14) but saved
the full report until chapter 6. Interpreters who choose to think
that Jesus' life and mission were disconnected from the socio-political affairs
of his first century context must view this account (John's death by Herod) as
an aside. Using intercalation, there is a big fancy word it means
sandwich, once again, Mark placed this account between the commission and the
return of the disciples to intimate its significance for the expansion of
Jesus' mission.”[1]
Mark is intentional of
putting this message in between the moment Jesus sends out his disciples two by
two and before they return. Now this translation is a little weak on just how
much Herod enjoyed the company of John.
In Nicholas Kings direct
translation it says this about Herod.
“and Herodias had it in
for him and wanted to kill him. And she couldn’t, for Herod was afraid of John,
knowing him a just man and a saint. And he protected him, and when he was
listening to him he was greatly puzzled. And he used to listen to him gladly.”[2]
It is a bit more of a
gentler kinder image of Herod. He actually enjoyed being puzzled by John’s
teachings and he truly did want to protect him as best he could.
Now Herodias Philips
ex-wife and now wife to Herod seems to be the point of contention she is the
one who doesn’t like John’s objections to the marriage and plots to be rid of
him and sees an opportunity with Herod’s Birthday party. So she gets her daughter
to dance for Herod.
Her daughter has become
famous for her dance. What was her name?... What was the dance??
Well actually we do not
know her name is not mentioned except for in some writings where it is the same
as her mother’s name. What kind of dance did she do that so pleased
the king? We do not know? It might have been a simple little girl
trying to impress her daddy. Over the centuries there is more legend than
anything substantial around this dance.
So “What was Herod’s
fear all about? He could not have been happy with John’s judgment against his
adultery. There is no evidence that Herod repented. Yet we are told that Herod
knew John to be righteous and a holy man, and Herod liked to listen to him. Was
he like we are sometimes, sensing a hard truth about our lives, uneasy but not
ready to accept it? Why risk offending God by harming John; he could be a true
prophet after all. Was that it? Or was it also fear, as the ancient historian,
Josephus, claimed, that the power of John’s message might stir a rebellion….
Herod was not loved by
all. His more zealous enemies considered him a collaborator with Rome. Herod, a
small-time ruler, not actually a king, was beholden to Rome and vulnerable at
home. As the drama played out, he was vulnerable to his wife as well. Beguiled
by his daughter’s …dancing and its effect on his guests, Herod makes a rash
promise. Herodias leverages his need to appear resolute in front of his
politically important guests to get her wish; John is beheaded. Conflicted
within himself about John’s message but surrounded by manifold political and
family pressures, Herod does what he knows is terribly wrong. He is deeply
grieved.”[3]
Herod is deeply grieved as
are Johns followers and, I would imagine, John’s family which is Jesus’
family. John "a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" (Mark 1:1-3)
It is John we celebrate as this wild uncontrollable spirit that comes out of
the dangerous wild places proclaiming one baptism of repentance and a
forgiveness of sins.
John is the one who points
past himself, a lesson for all of us preachers and teachers, John proclaims;
“The stronger one than me is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to stoop
down and untie the thong of his sandals. (Mark 1:8) Jesus is baptized the
heavens open, the holy spirit as a dove descends upon him, and a voice is heard
saying this is my son in whom I am well pleased. Then Jesus is hurled out into
the desert. It is after John has been handed over to Herod that Jesus returns
and starts his ministry.
John starts the Jesus
story whether it be at the baptism or by a simple stirring in his mother’s womb
we have no Jesus without John…I mean we could have; Jesus might have still had
a great ministry and message without John and yet John is essential to our
story…this is our sacred story…this is our sacred text.
So yes, we grieve the loss
of John, but we do not celebrate how he died or even why for that is a bit
confusing, but we celebrate the life he lived. The wild man in the
desert telling us to make ready the way for our lord.
Just as much as Herod is
part of our sacred text. In the best of storytelling anytime we see or hear Herod’s
name we want to boo or hiss. Herod is a villain and yet in the
circumstances that play out is he a villain or is he trapped by his own
circumstances? Remember “Herod makes a rash promise. Herodias leverages his
need to appear resolute in front of his politically important guests to get her
wish”[4] so is he a patsy or
is he some political parable in the midst of all of this?
One commentator points out
that.
“It is tempting to see in
Herod a parable that speaks to leadership in government, economic and
institutional life in our own time. Persons in positions of power are subjected
to powerful pressures that pose a threat to their own security. Personal pride,
greed for gain and prestige, and the influence of ambitious intimates can also
play a role. Under the sway of these encroaching forces, the courage to serve
truth and the common good can flag. The results may not be as gruesome as
John’s execution, but the damage can be even more extensive. Even exemplary
leaders who are devoted to the welfare of those dependent upon them frequently
find themselves mired in a morass of conflicting forces that stymie their best
efforts.
Certainly, there are
prophetic voices like John’s today. Yet, the impact often seems minimal. When
wealthy interests can now influence the presidential election by giving
anonymously to non-profit “social welfare” organizations, citizens without such
economic power might wonder if their needs are being served. Indeed, one could
feel a bit like the Baptist’s disciples: nothing left to do but bury the body.”[5]
But we are called to be
more resolved and invested in life. We are called as disciples of Christ
to stand in the face of such opposition and call it out as what it is. We are
called to be the faces of hope beyond hope.
“So why does Mark tell
this story: the longest of the Gospel’s anecdotes and its only flashback?
Aside from the Golgotha
plot and discovery of the empty tomb, this is the only tale in which Jesus
never appears. Its villains never reappear. It’s a strange story about John in
which the baptizer himself never appears. Even stranger: beneath this story of
John is the story of Jesus. The flashback is flashforward. Mark tips us off in
“King Herod heard; for his name had become known. And he said. ‘John the
baptizer has risen from the dead, and that’s the reason these miracles are at
work in him…. That fellow I decapitated, John-he has risen’”(Mark 6:13-15)[6]
In this turn of
events Herod foreshadows Pilate in the same way that John foretells of Jesus. Just like Herod, Pilate is amazed by
circumstances surrounding an innocent prisoner, swept up in events that fast
spin out of his control and unable to back down after being publicly
outmaneuvered. Like John, Jesus is
passive in his final hours and is executed by hideous capital punishment
seemingly dying in order to placate those he offends.
As I was wondering how I
might tie this into today what we see here is a governor who knows better but
is trapped by the politics and expectations around him.
I found one commentator
that brought me to tears. I am going to share just a part of
commentary as he reflects on this gospel and today…
“Connecting to present
times
One such story from
today’s headlines goes like this:
When he landed in Michigan
in late May, all the weary little boy carried was a trash bag stuffed with
dirty clothes from his days long trek across Mexico, and two small pieces of
paper -- one a stick-figure drawing of his family from Honduras, the other a
sketch of his father, who had been arrested and led away after they arrived at
the United States border in El Paso…
An American government
escort handed over the 5-year-old child, identified on his travel documents as
José, to the American woman whose family was entrusted with caring for him. He
refused to take her hand. He did not cry. He was silent on the ride “home.” The
first few nights, he cried himself to sleep. Then it turned into “just moaning
and moaning,” said Janice, his foster mother…
He recently slept through
the night for the first time, though he still insists on tucking the family
pictures under his pillow …
Since his arrival in
Michigan, family members said, a day has not gone by when the boy has failed to
ask in Spanish, “When will I see my papa?” They tell him the truth. They do not
know. No one knows … José’s father is in detention, and parent and child until
this week had not spoken since they were taken into the custody of United
States authorities. He refused to shed the clothes he had arrived in, an
oversize yellow T-shirt, navy blue sweatpants and a gray fleece pullover likely
given to him by the authorities who processed him in Texas.1
I, Cláudio, have a
6-year-old boy and I am an immigrant citizen, foreign and citizen at the same
time. I could not read this biblical story of John the Baptist without thinking
of stories like José and the loss of his father. To have José separated from his
father is like having one’s head cut off. The story told in Mark 6 has no
redemption. John the Baptist had his head cut off. That is how hundreds of
families are now living, with their heads cut off, parents without children and
children without parents.
If John announced the
coming of Jesus Christ, these kids and parents announce the horrendous cruelty
of the immigration policies of this country. On behalf of these families, we
must stand up like John the Baptist, who told the governor of his day: “It is
not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18). Just as Jesus came
in the footsteps of John the Baptist, we must show up as Jesus Christ to these
families.”[7]
We must show up like
Christ…Just as John started a ministry and Jesus came in fulfillment and yet
not completion for you see the ministry goes on. The apostles
stepped up, the disciples stepped up and we are called to step up as Christ to
keep the ministry going. We are called to be Christ to our immigrant brothers
and sisters. We are called to be Christ to our homeless brothers and
sisters. We are called to be Christ to those suffering from
illness. We are called to be Christ to each other any time and all
the time. If not us than who?
We are the
United Church of Christ a united and uniting church living to make this place
heaven on earth for all. So I will leave this sermon as I began…
How do you say to your
child in the night?
Nothing's all black, but
then nothing's all white
How do you say it will all
be all right
When you know that it
might not be true?
What do you do?
Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and
learn
Amen!
[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1325
[2] King,
Nicholas. The Bible: A Study Bible. Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk: Kevin Mayhew,
2013.
[3] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-james-m-childs-phd/mark-6-14-29-the-downfall-of-giving-into-fear_b_1663356.html
[4] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-james-m-childs-phd/mark-6-14-29-the-downfall-of-giving-into-fear_b_1663356.html
[5] Ditto
[6] King,
Nicholas. The Bible: A Study Bible. Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk: Kevin Mayhew,
2013.
[7] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3736
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