Readings: Jer 1:17-19; Ps 71:1-4a.5-6ab.15ab.17; Mark 6:17-29
Today, the Church celebrates the obligatory Memorial of the Beheading, or the Passion, of John the Baptist. On 24 June each year, we celebrate the Baptist's Nativity. In the Northern Hemisphere, our observance of his birth, often called St. John’s Day, is the longest day of the year, which means, of course, it is the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Traditionally, John the Baptist has been much more venerated than he is now. The inspired author of Saint Matthew’s Gospel writes that Jesus proclaimed: “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”1 The Baptist is considered the “seal,” or the last of the great Old Testament prophets. His beheading, his martyrdom, like many prophets before him, was for, well, being a prophet.
It is not the job of a prophet to foretell the future. God calls prophets to call his people to repentance, to call them back to fidelity to God. Herod imprisoned John because John called him out for marrying his brother’s wife, something God’s law forbids. Even today Catholic canon law prohibits such a move. You cannot licitly marry your sibling’s former spouse.
Because the Baptist denounced Herod and Herodias’ illicit union, Herod, at her urging, had him imprisoned. Herod, it seems, was torn between his fascination with this strange man and Herodias' scorn for the raggedy prophet, who wore camel skin clothes and ate locusts. This episode is found in Mark’s Gospel, which is the first written of the Gospels. Both Matthew and Luke use Mark as a source. Given some its particularities, it seems pretty historicially genuine.
Beheading of John the Baptist, by Nicholas Roerich, first half of 20th century
Mark’s Gospel even includes that, while “perplexed” by John, Herod, nonetheless, “liked to listen to him.”2 Why? It’s a fascinating question. The inspired author also tells us Herod knew the Baptist “to be and righteous and holy man.”3 Could it be that someplace, deep down, Herod longed to heed John’s prophetic warning and repent? If so, what kept him from doing so? Perhaps it his situation was such that he could see no way out of it. In case you didn’t know this, sin is a trap. Sin is quicksand. Sin is enslaving. Sinful choices about big things can leave you feeling trappped by and in your circumstances, especially when a change would throw your life into what might seem unpredictable chaos.
While it is not the job of a prophet to foretell the future, it is within the prophetic scope to warn that the consequence of sin is death. It’s easy to be fascinated by religion or even be a “fan” of Jesus. Christ didn’t come to win over fans. He came to invite followers. There is a big difference between a fan and a follower.
We esteem the Blessed Virgin Mary, and rightly so, for being the preeminent disciple of her son. Veneration of John the Baptist among Christians has traditionally been almost as high as that of our Blessed Mother. In many Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches, the sanctuary is behind an iconostasis. On either side of the door are icons of Blessed Mary and the Baptist.
John the Baptist was fearless in the way Jesus invites his followers to be. We are fearless because we know that in and through Christ we will live forever. So, death has lost its sting. Faith gives birth to hope and hope, as the Baptist and other martyrs show us, les on the far side of optimism. Hope is what enables us to love God and neighbor fearlessly. Hope is what allows us to venture outside our comfort zones for the sake of God’s kingdom.
By his refusal to back down though cast into prison with the threat of death daily hovering over him, the Baptist is a sign of hope, not despair. His is the victory, not the loss. Like Jeremiah, the Baptist trusted in God’s promise: “They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.4
By virtue of your baptism and relying on God's promise, like the Baptist, you are called prepare the way of the Lord, to prepare the way for his Kingdom.
1 Matthew 11:11.↩
2 Mark 6:20.↩
3 Mark 6:20.↩
4 Jeremiah 1:19.↩
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