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

 

 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 6:14–29 

 

 On Saturday we read that Jesus came to His own country of Nazareth in Galilee, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may 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 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.  

 

  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."  My study Bible informs us that this King Herod is the son of the one who slew the infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The one responsible for what is called the Slaughter or Massacre of the Innocents was also known as Herod the Great, king of Judea.  His son, the King Herod of today's reading, was known also as Herod Antipas, and he ruled over Galilee.  The Herodian dynasty ruled for Rome: Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee.  Although he was technically a governor, he was popularly called king.  My study Bible explains that, as Herod known that John the Baptist had worked no miracles while living, he now believes John was raised from the dead, thinking that powers are at work in him.  Therefore, he fears John more dead than alive.  

 

  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  Elijah was expected to return and to work signs before coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).  My study Bible comments that the Prophet is interpreted by some to be a reference to the Messiah, the One whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15), while other interpret it as simply meaning that a new prophet had arisen.  

 

  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.  The account of Herod Antipas' story with John the Baptist is given parenthetically here; that is, we're given a "backstory" in order to explain John's earlier death so that we understand why Herod would think that John had risen from the dead.  My study Bible comments on the fact that Herod, with his wealth and soldiers, feared John, a man who lived in poverty and was clothed in camel's hair (Mark 1:6).  It notes that this is a testament both to the power of personal holiness and integrity, and also to the people's understanding of John.  St. John the Baptist was held by the people in the highest esteem; he was revered as a holy man (Mark 11:32).  

 

  This language of the opportune day reminds us of the temptation of Christ by the devil as He fasted in preparation for His public ministry.  Luke 4:13 tells us, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."  Here is another opportune time for the works of evil, this time through the cunning of Herodias, and the blindness of her daughter.   It seems that just the right temptations are here before Herod; it's the right time and place to implement a plan that will work for the evil ends of Herodias to rid herself (and her king) of the presence of St. John the Baptist.  Note how temptations work on Herod.  He's subject to grandiosity of course; but perhaps this is "normal" for a king of his time and place.  But this is a dangerous sort of grandiosity which can easily get a person of power into a lot of trouble, and cause him to make bad decisions, errors of judgment.  It is a weakness.  Here it is his birthday party, a time when a seemingly rather spoiled and temperamental person is at their most weak in terms of the need for gratification of all desires, being the center of attention.  Note how his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee are all assembled for this birthday feast.  It is before these men that he swears his oath.  There's another temptation here, and that is the lasciviousness that seems to be stirred by the dancing of the daughter of Herodias.  It seems to be something that would have been scandalous to the Jews, to allow a daughter to expose herself in this sense to these men.  But it works indeed to provide just the incentive for a rash and stupidly expansive promise to be given by Herod to this 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."   The girl goes to her mother, to find what she should ask for, indicating that she really doesn't seem fully able to think for herself, and her mother, being the extremely ambitious and unethical person she apparently is, goes after the most monstrous thing she could ask:  the head of John the Baptist.  Note that in terms of personal wealth or gain, she could have asked for "up to half" of Herod's kingdom.  But she doesn't, and neither does her mother advise her to do so.  Moreover, the girl adds an imaginative, macabre twist to her mother's demand, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."   And so it was, St. John the Baptist's head was brought to this birthday celebration on a platter, as if it were one more dish at the feast.  This is the story of John's martyrdom; and in many icons he is shown bearing his head in this way (see the photo of a mosaic at this blog post, for example).  Herod's weakness extends to his conscience, and his overriding concern for saving face before his court:  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.  In some sense, this king who is a slave to his passions and therefore weaknesses is an antithetical contrast to the person and character of St. John the Baptist.  John is his opposite:  one who has served God in all ways possible in his life, and an extreme ascetic in so doing.  His life has been lived without the comforts of the world, forgoing traditional community for his life of ascetic poverty which would become the model for Christian monasticism to come.  Herod's story (and that of his wife and her daughter) is a cautionary tale for Christians, because it teaches us about our own weaknesses, how our need for indulgence of various kinds on display here can lead to evil results in our lives.  Herod is on display as a kind of paradigm of all that was wrong with the pagan world, but nonetheless forms an image of things we might see from the pages of our own newspapers and tabloids, with modern figures of those grandiose and indulgent and wealthy enough for every excess without limits or spiritual discipline.  The beheading of John, and especially his head being presented on a platter at this dinner, is also a kind of double suggestion:  beheading would have been the easiest or "kindest" way to die at the hands of the Roman Empire.  But that it was demanded and served on a platter gives us a bloodthirsty hint of human sacrifice linked with cannibalism, also once common to the ancient world, and suggestive of the religious practices of the enemies of the ancient Jews and their opposition to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Let us remember in this context that Herod's family was meant to be nominally Jewish, even if they served for Rome.  All we need do is to consider the restrictions on contact with blood for Jews to see how truly scandalous this story is.  Let it remain a caution to us today.  For John the Baptist, and those monastics who would follow in the Church, humility before God and hospitality to others served as the greatest virtues, the gateway to all others.   In a time of excess, tremendous wealth, and unlimited freedom, our choices remain more significant than ever as to who or what we will follow, and what traditional disciplines of faith and the Church are meant to serve for our lives.  Herod's fear tells us all we need to know about what is truly stronger.