I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter

 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

Yesterday, we read that Jesus came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach 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 no 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 more than 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.  While Jesus' disciples now are sent out, with power to heal and cast out demons, King Herod comes to hear of Him.  Herod is Herod Antipas, who is the son of Herod the Great (he who commanded the slaughter of innocents in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth).  Herod Antipas is the governor of Galilee, called a king in popular language. 

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.    Here we are given a flashback regarding the death of John the Baptist.  My study bible says that "early Christians regarded John the Baptist with utmost esteem.  Here, Mark shows John's fearlessness in telling the truth."  We note Herod's fear of the Baptist, a testimony to John's righteousness, that he was a just and holy man.  My study bible says, "The royally clad Herod was frightened of a man clothed in camel's hair, a servant of God who lived out in the desert."  But even this man who lived material power, raised in a ruthless environment of his father Herod the Great, has a kind of respect or fear of John's holiness, another kind of power.

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.  Here is a contrast of material power and its corruption, a place where any indulgence becomes an occasion for the use of that power -- and its incompatibility with holiness, with the power that is of God, of righteousness.  The corruption of Herodias, upon whom there are no real restrictions in terms of using power to shore up position, runs right through this family, her husband and her daughter.  Herod makes a lavish promise at his birthday, and wife and daughter take advantage.  The king cannot go back on a promise made with an oath and before the guests of the royal court.

The Gospels contrast for us state or material power with the power of holiness, with (in this case) John's righteousness.  John's fearlessness in speaking out has landed him in Herod's prison.  And yet the king has a kind of fascination, a fear of John.  He hears him gladly, we're told.  He protects John, although John is his prisoner, despite the fact that John's in prison for criticizing Herod's marriage to Herodias.  But it's John's righteousness that acts as a kind of power here -- and later on, when Jesus is seized and then sent by Pilate to Herod, we will see the same fascination in the king, who wishes to view Jesus' power for signs or miracles.  What we have is a very extreme contrast between material power and the power of holiness.  Holiness and righteousness seem to come in "packages" of humility:  in poverty, in those, like the apostles in yesterday's reading, who are told 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 more than two tunics."  The Apostles are told to stay wherever they are welcomed first, as opposed to kings who will only stay in the grandest lodgings, with the most high ranking individuals.  But Herod's corruption in this story goes in some sense much deeper than the material circumstances we witness, and the material rank and power and wealth that a king possesses.  This story today is about a kind of corruption that extends to the most basic unit of the society, through and in the family, and even into the relationship of mother to daughter.  The corruption of this family is violent and extraordinary, a mother teaching her daughter -- and using her daughter -- for the most bloodthirsty act we can imagine:  the beheading of a captive holy man.  That she would use a beautiful dance for this vicious outcome of a holy man's head on a platter gives us a visible picture of the corruption of an internal life so extreme as to be unforgettable in its violence.  Couched in the revelry of a birthday party, of a father pleased with a stepdaughter, making lavish promises of largess in gifts, what we find is the heart of the violence that plagues the world.  And it's at this depth that we have to think about corruption, because while all of us may not live in a king's palace, nor have a king's retinue or court or wealth or power on hand, all of us possess something of tremendous value, and that is the soul or the inner life.  This is where the Gospel takes us, not to the court of a king or a corrupt queen, but to the place where each of us decides what we love the most, where each of us lives with the choices we make.  And the difference between the real holiness of John and the corruption of this court and this family is just there:  in the heart.  That's where we really choose what we love best, what comes first.  And there, we all stand on equal ground.  Let us remember where our choices begin, and nurture the heart and the soul in ways that honor who we are and what we are capable of being.  Jesus emphasizes over and over again the inner life that makes the outer clean.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.