This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;  for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

- Mark 6:13-29

In yesterday's reading, Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth.  There He went and preached in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do not mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  My study bible notes here that Herod is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great and governor of Galilee, "called a king in popular language."  Jesus' fame has reached a place in His Galilean ministry where those who work for the power of Rome have heard of Him.  They govern the land.  We hear here the things that others are saying about Jesus, and the kind of power He exhibits.  Up through recent readings we have been taught about this power and how it works or does not (depending on faith), and how it has now been shared with and through the Apostles (see yesterday's reading).

But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;  for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Mark gives us a flashback, a reason for Herod's great fear that John the Baptist may have returned from the dead.  We see the circumstances of John's imprisonment.  He has condemned the marriage of Herod and Herodias.  But Herod himself knows John to be the holy man that he truly is, and "when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."  So we see a contrast in power:  the state power as used by Herod Antipas because of the things John said against his marriage, and the power of John's holiness, which is also to some extent understood by Herod, and fascinates him.  My study bible says that early Christians regarded John the Baptist with utmost esteem, and John's faith and zeal are made clear by Mark in this powerful testimony to John's fearlessness in telling the truth.  It adds that the fact that the king feared John tells us something about John's righteousness.  "The royally clad Herod was frightened of a man clothed in camel's hair, a servant of God who lived out in the desert."

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."   We see the cast of characters play out as given us by Mark.  There is the king who actually fears and is fascinated by the holiness of John.  But these two women tell us about the nature of worldly power; it is there simply to be exploited for furtherance of their own dreams and goals.  The holy power of John is contrasted in his righteousness, and his desire for the glory of God.  There's also a perverseness here to the role of mother and daughter; the daughter relies on her mother for guidance.  What is this maternal place reserved for here?  We contrast that to Mary, the Mother of Christ.  The daughter completely relies on her mother, as if she has no mind of her own, and is essentially exploited in return as if she is simply an extension of her mother, in furtherance of her mother's aims.  Again, the Gospel shows us the contrast between the power that comes of the holy, rooted in righteousness, and the worldly power that "lords it over" others.

And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.  Herod is "exceedingly sorry" but again the rules of worldly power come into play.  Every great person in his kingdom is there, and he has made this oath in front of all of them.  To be seen to back down in this context would be seen to be "weak" somehow -- in contrast to the true righteousness of repentance that cares for the opinion of God over the opinion of men.  So John the Baptist becomes a martyr, adding to his stature in the eyes of the early Christians.  This gruesome scene, of the "obedient" girl handing a present to her mother of John's head on a platter, teaches us about the levels of corruption in this particular expression of worldly power.  In contrast, Mark's gospel gives us the righteous response of John's disciples.  There is no clamor here for revenge or plotting or expression of violence, but of peace.  They take his corpse and lay it in a tomb.

So the Gospels -- here, through Mark's testimony -- give us the message about power.  What is worldly power, and what is holy power?  How is it contrasted with the power we've seen so far in Christ, the one who comes to uplift us from the afflictions of the strong man?  First of all, holy power is characterized by righteousness, a life lived for the glory of God, not simply for our own aggrandizement.  And there is the start of something for us to understand.  If God is love, as we are told in Scripture, then to glorify God is to glorify the source of love.  In faith, we trust in that Someone, and so we go back also to a relationship of love.  We trust that what God calls upon us to do is for the greater glory, the betterment, what is truly good for all.  And this is the relationship, the nature of the sacrifice, whatever it is, that we may be called upon to make in our own lives.  We see John the Baptist's great sacrifice in today's reading, made after a lifetime of the sacrifices of a holy man who lives for God and God's message of the coming Kingdom found in Christ.  Up until today's reading, in the past several readings, Mark's gospel has given us several examples of this divine power, where it works and where it doesn't work (among those neighbors who resent Him in yesterday's reading, for example), how it works through sharing it with others (the Apostles on their first mission in yesterday's reading).  We know what this "stronger man," Jesus, comes here to liberate us from and how He does that, through countless examples of healing and casting out demons, lifting affliction and oppression of all kinds.  And in today's reading we have the example by contrast of worldly power that exploits and uses and manipulates and is subservient to the opinions of man rather than that of God.  And so, we learn, through contrast, what not to be. We learn who we are to follow.  The Scriptures teach us all these things.  So let us think about power and what it is for and how it is used.  One power comes "of the world" and another "of God."  Which do you honor in your heart?  Which uses fear and exploits, and which serves love?