READING: MARK 6:14-29

King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’

Others said, ‘He is Elijah.’

And still others claimed, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.’

But when Herod heard this, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!’

For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.’ And he promised her with an oath, ‘Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.’

She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’

‘The head of John the Baptist,’ she answered.

At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: ‘I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a dish.’

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a dish. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

REFLECTION

Hello and welcome to Tuesday's foundations podcast. My name is James and I am on the team here at STC. Today's passage is a tricky one. It's about John the Baptist being beheaded… you can find the whole passage on the Foundations website. But let me begin by being honest at the beginning of this podcast. It is incredibly unlikely that we will find ourselves in a situation like this in the 21st Century western society, although persecution does still happen around the world. We might not lose our head, but there are many things we might lose if we follow Jesus. Our reputation might be threatened & our character or integrity might be questioned. Although this is not life-threatening persecution, the battle can still feel real. This thought will shape our podcast for today: how can we, as 21st century disciples, have courage.

The first thing I want us to talk about is, ‘who is this John the Baptist and why what he believed threatened Herod’. John was a baptiser, hence his nickname. He brought a message of repentance, a technical word that means turning back to God. He pointed away from himself saying the Kingdom of God is near - get ready - a true King is coming. As you can imagine this didn't sit well with nearby Kings, especially Herod. Our associate vicar, Tom Finnemore, did a brilliant talk earlier this month about the wise men & choices. In part of his talk he explained what kind of man Herod was - it's well worth a listen if you would like a clearer picture. He described Herod as a Frank Underwood figure if you watch House of Cards (think a very calculated & strategic political operative, if that doesn't make sense). For John to stand up before this man and to be true to himself and to the message, about another kind of King, took courage. That's when the discipleship kicks in. It's in these moments where there is opportunity to talk about the Kingdom of God we need to have courage & a clear faith. This time we are spending together listening to the Bible, hearing a daily thought & praying together asking God to speak to each of us is part of that training. The goal is to equip everyday disciples to become clear about what we believe. Let's keep it up. Know what we stand for. The old adage is true, those who stand for nothing can fall for anything.

The second thing we can reflect on is that Herod did not want to kill John the Baptist as Pilate didn't want to kill Jesus. As you read this story you might find some parallels with Jesus. Both these men had an opportunity to stand before the rulers of the day, the powers that be, and recant their message. You can picture it, “go on John… just take back what you said and you are free to go”. The same with Jesus… “just tell the people they’ve got it wrong Jesus - apologise and walk free”. But these men had courage in the face of injustice. Their light shined in the face of oppression and still today we are telling the story.

We can be encouraged by the courage of these men. We have a saviour who knows what it is to be human. The idea that God doesn't know what you & I face each day can be discarded because to our amazement he entered the story of creation. He knows what it's like to live, to breathe, to learn, to work, to laugh and to play but also to be pressured and be treated unfairly, even to die. But by some mystery of the Christian faith, even these momentary pressures are being turned for good. Though outwardly the pressure may be on, inwardly they refine us like gold. That is discipleship.

PRAYER

God, we know that we might not find ourselves in such a similar situation as this story today. But we know there are people all over the world who are still persecuted for what they believe, Lord in your mercy would you hear our prayer and bring peace to a conflicted world. And closer to home, would each of us listening be given the gift of courage to live for Jesus today. Amen.

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