THE BEHEADING 

OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “The Beheading of John the Baptist.”

It certainly triggers all kinds of thoughts with the recent beheadings in the Middle  East. I’m sure you’ve seen news reports of the beheading of the journalist Jim Foley and the Syrian soldiers and so many others.

TODAY’S GOSPEL – MARK 6: 17-29

It was a hot, steamy, muggy, humid, sweaty evening after a hot, steamy, muggy, humid, sweaty day, when John the Baptist was beheaded.

We really don’t know what the weather was like or exactly what day it was when John the Baptist was beheaded, but we do know that he was killed by Herod Antipas, around 33.

We know this from Mark and from the Jewish historian Josephus.

Today, August the 29^th, the Church marks his death. It memorializes it. I don’t like to use the word “celebrate” We would not celebrate the anniversary of the death of J.F.K. or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Bobby Kennedy’s death, but we might mark it or memorialize it.

We can reflect and learn from deaths or the experiences of life. We can spend time in prayer with them.

That is what the Church is stressing, I believe.

Movies: Whenever I read this gospel - I see movie scenes of the beheading.  I see a drunken and then a troubled Heros  hiding behind the grill work - going through all the emotions: jealousy, lust, loud mousiness, and fear - lots of fear.

Paintings: In Vienna and Rome and New York and Washington D.C. art museums, I’ve noticed that this gospel scene is a favorite of artists - like the painting by Caravaggio on top of this blog piece.

It's a painting that artists would definitely attempt  -  like paintings of Judith with the head of Holofernes.

If you saw a painting of this scene, what would you reflect upon?

If you read this Gospel passage in prayer and meditation, what would your thoughts be?

What would be your thoughts as you look at those who actually executed him? What were their thoughts and questions in doing it? What did they think as they walked into the party with the head of John the Baptist on a plate? Did they look to see what  was happening in Salome’s face? Looking at Herod’s jaw, seeing Herod’s face, what would you think? What would your thoughts be? What would your wonderings be?

What were the thoughts of those in town who heard about what happened? What were the thoughts of his disciples?

4 POINTS

I took some time to think about it and came up with 4 possible areas for thinking about:

1) Would you reflect on the power of grudges, that Herodias harbored this grudge against John the Baptist, waiting for the time she could get even with John the Baptist?

2) Would you reflect on the various John the Baptist’s in the history of the world who were thrown in prison for speaking up about unjust deeds? Millions have had the courage to speak up and speak out and as a result are in prison and even execution.

3) Would you think of all the people who messed up their lives by stupid statements and actions at parties, things that changed their life, because of booze or lust or both and spoke words and then did things they lived to regret? Lust and wine (or drugs or other forms of alcohol) are powerful activators.

4) Or would you reflect as I did on Herod as a weak man. He’s the one that Jesus called “The Fox.” Today the word is okay in referring to beautiful Sports Illustrated bathing suit types, but in the scriptures, fox is a negative word. In the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, the word for “fox” also could be translated “jackal” - SUAL in Hebrew. ALOPEX, in Greek, a member of the dog family. That Herod was a fox or jackal or a scavenger. A fox is solitary. A jackal is more an animal who travels in a pack.

Herod disliked his first wife. While on a trip to Rome, he went after his sister-in-law, who was also his niece.

He ended up paying for his sins, because his first father-in-law, beat him in battle in 30 A.D. and when he ended up in exile in 39 A.D. people said that it was because of what he did to John the Baptist.

Jesus refused to speak to him.

To save his face, he cut another’s head off.

He was an animal.

He was unable to say publicly, “I was wrong.” or “I am sorry, folks, I really didn’t now what I was saying there. I spoke too soon. I was bragging. I shot my mouth off. I want to take back what I just said. It was a misjudgment. I blew it. I was afraid of criticism, but I am still wrong.”

CONCLUSION

To reflect on our own  life....  See this gospel as a mirror. Are I unable to say, “I was wrong.” – for example because of something I did at a party.  

Do I harbor grudges?

I picture Herod for the rest of his life harboring a grudge, a regret, staying there in the hot weather in his jockey shorts saying to himself, “Boy, was I was stupid.” I picture him as a man who had trouble sleeping, not just because of hot, humid, muggy, sweaty weather, but because of what he did in his life, especially to his first wife as well as to John the Baptist.

Reading today’s gospel, about the dance and Herod’s putting his foot in his mouth, and ending up having John beheaded, what can we learn?