The Gospel for The feast of St. John the Baptist is taken from Mark 6, 1729. 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, 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 officials 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 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 prison. He brought him the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Everything in the Scriptures reveals some mystery that we have to grasp and understand.

No matter how strange the action, it always seemed to me that this story of the death of John the Baptist was such an unfortunate cross coincidence that he happened to be in a situation that he found himself in and was killed for the most stupid of reasons. For someone to keep a promise he didn’t really want to do, just because of the crowd. It’s so like the crowd that also demanded the crucifixion of Jesus. And so it must be the plan of God that John the Baptist would step down. He would give up his ministry so that God could work solely through Jesus. It had to be this way.

And to see the similarity of his death and the similarity of Jesus death makes it even clearer. Both of them gave their life for this message. When Jesus died because of the crowd, they came and took his body and buried it foreign. Let us pray. Father. It’s difficult for us to read the times that we’re living in, to understand what’s going on in the world.

And if we lose a sense that it is all somehow there for a purpose that is greater, that is all about us establishing a new kingdom, then we have endurance, acceptance and conviction that the world is moving as it must. Bless us with this kind of understanding so we do not give in to fear. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.