6th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 10
Mark 6:14-29
"Giving in to Pressure"
14* King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.”
15* But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
17 For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her.
18* For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19* And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,
20* for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly.
21* But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee.
22* For when Herodias’ daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.”
23* And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”
24 And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.”
25* And she came in immediately 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.”
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.
27* And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
29* When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Do you like flash back movies? Last night, July 4th, there was classic flash back movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney playing George M Cohan. Cagney is invited to the White House and sits with the President and tells the story of his life. When the story is over, we are brought back to the present time when Cohan is given the metal of honor by the President.
In our gospel lesson this morning, we are given a flash back by Mark. We are in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. We have seen miracles and healing, but now all of a sudden we are brought back to John the Baptist. Mark seems to think we need to know what exactly happened to John the Baptist, so we flash back to this point in history. Mark talks about John’s arrest in Mark 1:14a.
Herod has heard of Jesus and is wondering who he is. He asks, Is he Elijah? Is He a prophet? But Herod says is it john whom I beheaded, has been raised.
And then we get the story of the beheading of John the Baptist.
We need to take a look at this story to understand it.
"Herod the Great was King when Jesus was born. He was responsible for the massacre of the children in Bethlehem as he sought to kill the Child who was a threat to him. Herod the Great married a number of women and had a number of sons by them. Some were actually murdered by their father. Among those who were not was Herod Antipas, the Herod of this passage, and Herod Philip. They were half-brothers. Another half-brother was Aristobulus. Aristobulus had a daughter named Herodias. She married Herod Philip. They, in turn, had a daughter whose name was Salome.
Now comes a storyline that reads like a near-eastern version of Peyton Place. On a visit to Rome, Herod Antipas met his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias. She was a deceitful and ambitious woman who saw in Antipas a way to fulfill her own selfish desires. So he took her away from his brother and they came back to Palestine together. Of course, this sordid affair had already begun. You see, what you have to remember is that Herodias was Aristobulus’ daughter, who was Philip’s half-brother. That made Herodias Philip’s niece. Philip had married his own niece. And now his other half-brother had stolen her away from him."1
And now that brings us to today’s text. John found out that Herod had married his brother’s wife and said, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias wanted to kill John the Baptist, but having been arrested by Herod to keep him safe, she could not attack him. Herod would go to the jail cell to hear John preach. And I imagine that John would tell Herod what a bad fellow he was and his wife was just as bad.
So, Herodias hatched a plan involving her daughter, Salome, to kill John the Baptist. Herodias invited a large group of very powerful men to a banquet.
The men were enjoying themselves with fine food and drink. Then Salome came in to dance. She mesmerized the audience. She danced so well in fact that Herod said, "and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.”
23* And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”
Herod was so enamored with Salome he was willing to give her half the kingdom. So Salome runs out to see her mother to ask what should she do. And Herodias knew now she had what she wanted all along. She told her daughter Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist. As text says: And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.”
So Salome runs back to Herod and says “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
Herod is now confused. He really likes John but how can he go back on his word with all the important men sitting around the table.
The text says: 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.
27* And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
So Herodias had her revenge. She silenced John the Baptist.
But Herod must have felt guilty about the whole affair, because when he heard about Jesus’ teaching his first reaction was that John had been raised from the dead.
Herod was in a sense a tragic figure. He was boxed into a corner by his own pride. He could not retreat from the promise he made to Salome in front of all those powerful men. He couldn’t retreat so he had to follow through with granting the promise. He was sad, he was guilty, he was ashamed, but he could not back down. But he had to follow through so he ordered the beheading of John the Baptist.
Herod gave in to pressure, period. He had no back bone. He was pressured by his wife, by the important men at the party. So instead of standing up to them and saying that John was a decent kind of guy, he caved in to the pressure and had John the Baptist beheaded.
In our lives when the world clamors for us to do this, to do that, we need to have a back bone and stand up to those pressures.
Brian Stoffregen tells a story about two men and how they handled pressure in their lives.
There were two brothers in Georgia during the 1950’s. One decided that in opposition to the dominant culture of the day, he was going to support and participate in the formation of a multi-ethnic community. The other worked as an attorney for a prominent law firm. Both were Christians and attended church regularly.
As the multi-ethnic community formed and social pressure forced them into court proceedings, the one brother asked his attorney brother to help them with the legal work. The brother refused, saying that he could lose his job. The pressure increased to help with a reminder that he was a Christian. The lawyer responded, "I will follow Jesus to his cross, but it is his cross. I have no need to be crucified." To this his brother replied, "Then you are an admirer of Jesus, but not his disciple."
The one brother was willing to follow Jesus and his teaching no matter what happened to his life. He would not bow to the pressures of segregation. He wanted to see people from all walks of life living and working together.
A disciple of Christ needs to be his own boss. A disciple needs to be free from the pressures of the world. A disciple of Jesus needs to be award of peer pressure and when it goes against the teachings of Jesus, a disciples needs to steer clear of it.
Salome was pressured by her mother to ask for the head of John the Baptist. I would imagine that she might of wished for something else. Riches. A glamorous house. Servants. But she caved in to the pressures of her mother, Herodias, and asked for the head of John the Baptist.
And Herodias gave in to the pressure of hate in her live. She hated John for telling the truth. She was living in a sinful marriage. She wanted power that came with living with Herod and she did everything she could to marry him.
The main characters in our gospel lesson gave in to pressure.
In the following modern parable each person gave in to their own internal pressures.
"There are six people gathered around a dying campfire on a dark and bitter night. Each one has a stick which they might place on the fire. But, sadly, one by one they decide not to give what they have to keep the fire going. The lone woman does not give because there is a black man in the circle. The penniless tramp does not give because in that circle there is a member of the idle rich. The rich man does not give because he reasons his contribution would obviously help someone who was lazy and shiftless. Another didn’t give because one of the six didn’t belong to his church. The black man hung tight to his wood, because it was his way of getting even or back at all the whities. Still another would not give because he believed in giving only to those who also gave. And each one felt if he or she were asked to give with a personal invitation, or if they knew the need was really great, then they would give.
The parable ends with these words: "Six logs held fast in death’s hand was proof of human sin, the sin of pride, ego, and selfishness. They didn’t die from the cold of that night, the cold without, they died from the cold within each heart." author unknown
Giving in to pressure can lead to death. These six people gave in to the inner pressures in their lives. They were not willing to back away so they died.
Jesus and John on the other hand stood their ground. John preached a message of repentance till the day he died. Jesus was not pressured by the religious leaders of his day to conform to their ideas or practices. He did not jump through their hoops. Jesus led his own life which eventually led to the cross. But the resurrection followed.
John and Christ knew they drew strength from their own lives rooted and grounded in Christ.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: "Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ."2
Living with and in Christ can help us avoid pressure. Living with and in Christ can help us not to follow the pressures all around us. Living with and in Christ can help us live a life that we can be proud of.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale July 10, 2006
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This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to J. David Hoke, Pastor, New Horizons Community Church, 2303 Evesham Rd. Voorhees, NJ. 08043.
2 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Cost of Discipleship"
