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Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
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. NRSV
In my church of origin, I was not taught to read the Bible historically or literally, but rather to read it metaphorically. One example of why I still ascribe to that way of reading scripture is The New Interpreters Bible's (NIB) explanation that the "historical" account in Mark of King Herod being trapped into beheading John the Baptist because of a drunken oath is different than the "historical" account of the incident written by Josephus, the Jewish historian. Which account is more credible? And, if Mark's account of the drunken king incident is not history, why did the writer include it in Mark?
If Mark's isn't a factual historical account, then what truth or life lesson can be found in the story of a king who goes against what he believes is right because of a drunken oath and because of what his guests might think? The NIB suggests that this depiction of Herod's actions indicates the following life lesson: "Willingness to sacrifice others to maintain honor, prestige and power remains one of the great temptations of persons in positions of authority." With the caveat that this is a temptation for all people, not only those in positions of power and authority, I agree.
Put yourself in Herod's shoes to begin to understand the lesson. If Herod was sincere in his respect for John and his desire to protect him, can you imagine how he felt when he was alone with his feelings about what he had done to John? Think how the guilt, shame, and sadness would have felt powerful, overwhelming, and all consuming. If he had ever acknowledged his feelings or allowed himself to experience them, he might have hung himself from a tree just as Judas did for betraying the Christ.
When we sacrifice what we know is right in order to look good to others by going along with the crowd, the personal cost in self-condemnation is far greater than if we stand against the crowd to do what our conscience clearly tells us we should. The biggest cost to us, however, is what happens when we do not allow ourselves to feel our painful feelings: not looking at ourselves honestly...believing that we are minimizing the pain we will experience by ignoring our feelings...stowing away those painful feelings in a stewing emotional cesspool with all the other negative feelings we've never addressed. Our low self-esteem is lowered to rock bottom by the self-destructive act of denial of what we feel and believe. And, ultimately, perhaps through injury to our physical or mental health, perhaps through their magnified and misdirected expression exploding outward on someone who doesn't deserve it, we toxically experience and express them one way or another.
What can we do to feel better about who we are? When we don't have the courage to do the right thing - or when we need the courage to act correctly - we can remember the teaching of Jesus that God's love for us is unconditional. How can we choose not to follow in Herod's footsteps? We can have the courage to do what is right because we know it is right. Nothing, neither who we are nor what we have done, can separate us from the love of God. Step out of Herod's shoes. Feel God's all-consuming love. Believe God's love. Know that as God's handiwork, as God's very own creation, you are the apple of God's eye. If you start there, it is a short step to making healthy emotional decisions based on a strong self-concept and to knowing the loving forgiveness that awaits us when we fail to. If only King Herod had known the love of God, the story might have had a different ending. But then, another story would have been needed to teach us the moral.
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