The Gospel for the memorial of the passion of St. John the Baptist is taken from Mark 6:17. 29th verse. Herod was the one who had John the Baptist 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 and yet liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and his military officers and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias 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 give 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, and because of his oath and the guest, 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 prison. He brought him 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. We’ve been spending a lot of time this week focusing on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

But now we have a king, King Herod. And we see something in him that is very like that. He’s caught in a situation where he’s afraid that he’s going to be misunderstood by the public. And he cannot take a stand on what he believes, but does only what serves his ego. That’s what we have to be careful with, the ego. Please take the next few minutes to reflect upon the meaning of this scripture.

And then I will close with a prayer. The closing prayer. Father, nothing gives us more a sense of value and worth than being authentic. Saying what we believe, acting on what we believe, give us that kind of integrity, and we ask this. In Jesus name, amen.