Sermon for July 11, 2021, Pentecost 7B
Video is here at the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR’s YouTube channel, uploaded after the Sunday servide.
Podcast audio is here.
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias 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 give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.”
Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Money, sex, and power combine to make a toxic cocktail. Power, the abuse of power, manipulation, and violence; this story has it all. It stirs people’s imagination, which is why there are so many paintings of it; even a play and an opera.
This is a political story, we should notice. It is about someone called a “king.” This is a story that holds that so-called king morally accountable. I guess that means this story mixes politics and religion.
Many people in our country today have strong feelings about mixing politics and religion. There seem to be two opposite feelings about it in our country. Some say politics and religion should never mix under any circumstances.
Others mix them quite purposefully, but to opposite ends. On the one hand, Christian nationalism is on the rise in America. People hold the Bible in one hand and the flag in the other. They quote the Bible, at least the parts they like, ignoring the parts that they don’t like, and make it sound as though Jesus were a white, middle-class man. You can almost picture him, in this version, being concerned about his lawn and his golf game.
On the other hand, some people see politics and religion mixed in an opposite way. They look at the Bible’s many calls for justice for the poor, inclusion of the outcast, and the equality of all people made in God’s image, and conclude that God’s will must include political as well as personal morality.
I admit that this is my view which I feel called to, precisely because of the Bible. The whole history of the prophets of Israel, as our Amos reading illustrated, is a record of repeated criticisms by the prophets of injustices and abuses of power by the people in political control.
Often the prophets paid a high price for that criticism, just as John did, just as Jesus did.
God Cares
Here is the point that is inescapable, for me. God cares about all of the people created in God’s image. All people have dignity. All people are worthy of respect. All people belong in God’s family; no exceptions. And so when humans are hurt by those in power, when there is corruption and abuse of power, God cares.
That is what this story is about. The story takes some liberties with the facts. Mark calls Herod “king.” He’s not actually a king. His father was Herod the Great, a client-king that Rome tolerated — but that had all changed after his death. The Herod of this story, called Herod Antipas, was in charge only of the region of Galilee, where Nazareth is.
Why would Mark call him “king” if he were not? Probably to mock him. In the story, Herod gives himself a birthday party like a king might do, and promises half his “kingdom” to the dancer who famously “pleased him.”
Why mock him? Because he is completely pathetic. Not only is he not really a king, he is not even in control of anything, as we will see.
From the beginning of the story, without any spoiler alert, we are told the conclusion: Herod is responsible for the death of Jesus’s cousin, John the Baptist.
In fact, Mark tells us that Herod fears that Jesus is actually John, come back to life, which would be potentially bad news for his killer. Herod then, is living in some kind of guilt and dread. Mark tells us:
“when Herod heard of it [Jesus’ growing fame], he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
How it came to this
What follows is the description of how Herod came to behead John. We find out that it wasn’t his idea; that in fact he was fascinated by John, he even “feared him” because he recognized him as a “righteous man.”
So why was John being held at all? He had offended Herod’s wife, Herodias, by calling into question the legitimacy of their union. She used to be Herod’s brother’s wife.
Now, it is true that the law of Moses forbids a man to marry his brother’s wife (Lev. 18:16; 20:21), but there is more reason than just that to oppose this union. Herod was also her uncle. (see Mark, by Joel Marcus, Yale Anchor, 394)
In the English version of the story we read, it says,
“John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
“Not lawful” is a bit of a free translation of the text that originally says something more like: “it isn’t done” meaning it’s morally out of bounds.
Now, of course that criticism made Ms. Herodias angry, but let’s not rush past what is happening here. John the baptist is presuming that Herod and his family are not at the top of the moral food chain, free to consume at will.
This means that they are under obligations that supersede them in power and authority. John is saying that they are not in charge. God is.
No one is above the law
This is why politics and religion mix. No one is above the moral law. No king, no president, no member of Congress or anybody, no matter how powerful, is free of moral obligations.
Just as Amos confronted king Ahab, so John confronted Herod. Later, Jesus himself will confront the powers that be in Jerusalem, and he too will pay with his life for it.
The central point is actually not that Herod’s marriage violated the law from Leviticus. The central point is that the governmental authority is not the highest authority.
Perhaps this is what was most offensive to Herod’s wife — that her family’s authority was, after all, penultimate; accountable to standards of morality and ethics that they were not free to flaunt.
Ridiculous and Creepy Herod
The way Mark tells this story makes Herod looks ridiculous and for good reason. At his party, his step-daughter, the daughter of his brother, who is actually also his own niece, does what normally only the prostitutes of that world did — dance for the men.
There are lots of paintings of this dance but all of the paintings I have seen get it wrong. They make the dancer a mature woman. But Mark calls her a “girl” — and, back then, females, post-puberty, were not called “girls” as they sometimes are in our culture. Mark expects us to be horrified by the “delight” this child-dancer gave to Herod.
Mark completes the picture of Herod he has been painting by recording the ridiculous promise Herod gave her of “up to half my kingdom” — as if his administration of a morsel of Roman territory gave him the right to make that foolish offer.
Then, we watch his wife manipulate her own daughter and her husband, at the same time, by demanding the beheading of innocent, righteous John.
So What?
Why are we given such a disgusting story? What does it mean to us?
This is crucial. At the very center of our faith is the cross; the instrument of execution used by a corrupt government to execute an innocent person, Jesus. By itself, that should be enough to make it clear to all of us that governmental power may be used for illegitimate ends.
Holding Accountable
It is right to hold everyone accountable. This is why we must not ever allow Christianity to become the handmaiden or chaplain to any political party. We must be ready to hold accountable anyone and everyone in office. We may have strong political positions, but we cannot wear any jersey uncritically.
Just because something is legal, today, does not make it right. For example, laws like Citizens United make it legal to flood the political process with dark money; that does not make it right.
And just because something is illegal, today, does not make it wrong. Giving water to someone waiting to vote is not wrong, even if Georgia’s laws say so today.
Laws are human products, often made by people with vested interests. The Christian tradition, which we inherit from our Jewish ancestors, calls us to hold our entire political process up to scrutiny, and if necessary, criticism.
We want what we believe God wants: that all people would be free of oppression and discrimination. We believe humans have rights to basic standards necessary for life, just because they are humans.
We believe that everyone should be treated equally, without regard to gender or gender identification, race, sexual orientation, religion, or any other condition.
This is because we believe we are all created by and loved by God. We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture. It is to God alone that we give our ultimate allegiance.
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