Mark 6:14-29
July 12, 2015
During my internship in a church in
Virginia, I worked with the youth in a variety of ways; youth group, mission
work, etc. But two of young people came to me for pastoral care. They were both
18, and they were both struggling with different issues. They would come and
meet with me periodically in my church office, and I would listen and do my
best to guide them. One of the reasons they chose to talk with me was because
they trusted me. I took that trust seriously, but I had a “great awakening”
during one of these pastoral care sessions. These two teenagers, both of age,
trusted me so completely that they would listen to whatever I had to say. I
realized that I could ask them to do anything, short of something illegal, and
they would do it. I could have convinced them to do any number of things. I had
their trust, and because of that I had power. I could respect that trust or I
could abuse my power over them. Let me be very clear, I chose the first option.
But it was a profound moment in my becoming – really becoming – a minister when
I understood that I had that power.
A topic that was being widely
discussed while I was a student was that of clergy misconduct; clergy becoming
involved with their parishioners in inappropriate ways. As far as I know, this
was not a subject that was taught or talked about in previous generations. But
it needed to be because it was an issue in every denomination, protestant and
Catholic. A term that was used over and over again was “fiduciary trust.”
Fiduciary is most often associated with money or matters financial. But it is
also defined as something that is “held or founded in trust or confidence.” [1]
When it comes to our parishioners, ministers have a fiduciary responsibility.
I understood the definition of the
term, but it wasn’t until I was working with those two teenagers that I really
grasped its full meaning and import. I got it. Whether I like it or not, feel
it or not or believe it or not, as a minister I have been given a certain
authority. Just stepping into the pulpit means that a certain level of authority
is invested in me. I may not believe that that authority is justified, but it’s
there. And with that that authority comes power.
This authority and power combo is
true in more occupations than just the ministry. Teacher and student,
politician and intern, boss and employee, the list goes on. In our passage from
Mark’s gospel – a hard and challenging passage – we read about a king with
authority and power. This is not a
good example of a king who understood the responsibility that authority and
power carried. I think it is an understatement to say that Herod was a weak
king. Anyone who has read Matthew’s gospel already associates Herod with
brutality and cruelty after the massacre of Hebrew children in the wake of
Jesus’ birth. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, to read that he had John the
Baptizer beheaded to save face. Saving face is the first link in the chain of
events that led to John’s death. Saving face and power gone horribly wrong.
Jesus does not appear anywhere in
this story, and as far as I know, it is the only flashback that we read in the
gospels. In the preceding story, Jesus has given the twelve disciples authority
to exorcise unclean spirits. He has sent them out, two-by-two, to villages to
preach and heal. They do so and they report back to Jesus what they have
accomplished. King Herod hears about this, “for Jesus’ name had become known.”
People were guessing as to who this great teacher might be. Is it the prophet
Elijah? Or is it John the baptizer back from the dead? Herod believed that it
was John. We know immediately that Herod had him beheaded, but in the following
flashback we discover why.
Herod had taken Herodias, his
brother Philip’s wife as his own. John refused to bite his tongue and hold back
his disapproval of this marriage from Herod. I’ve always assumed from this that
Philip was dead, but then why would John preach against the marriage? It was an
expected custom if one brother should die, another brother would marry the
widow. This was a way to protect the family name, the heirs of the family, and
the woman who had little power in that situation. But if John is ticked off
about this, then Philip must not be so dead after all. Herod had John arrested
for his outspoken criticism about Herod’s marriage. But Herod also feared John.
He kept him in prison, but would go and talk to him, listen to him. Herodias
was a different matter. The text says she bore a grudge against John and wanted
him dead. However she couldn’t have him killed because of Herod’s fear of him.
Herodias got her chance to have her revenge
on John when Herod threw a birthday party for himself. The word translated as
“opportunity” can also be translated more literally as “a happy day.” When
Herodias saw her opportunity to have John killed, it was her happy day. Her
daughter – named Herodias in this version of the story, Salome in others – came
into the banquet and danced for the king and his guests. She must have been a
heck of a dancer, because Herod in a fit of lecherous benevolence swore to her
to give her anything she wished. She ran to mom to request motherly advice, and
Herodias replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” The girl told Herod her
desire and added that his head should be given to her on a silver platter.
Herod was the king. He had power. He had authority. He could have said, “No.”
But Herod was a weak king, an abusive and brutal king, who used his power to
keep his subjects in line through terror. He had also made this great promise,
this solemn oath in front of all the important leaders in Galilee. If he
changed his mind or went back on his vow, Herod would look like the weak and
insecure king we know him to be. He had to save face. Herod saved his face, and
John lost his head.
People with power; in some people’s
hands, power can be a dangerous and abusive weapon. There’s a reason for the
saying that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Power creates dictators,
tyrants, bullies and fools. We could make a list of people with power who abuse
that power that would stretch the length of this room and beyond. Yet when
power is used wisely and responsibly, good can be created as well. There are
examples of people using power that way as well. It seems to me that a wise
leader, a wise person, understands the seductive danger of power and acts
accordingly.
People with power can be a good or
bad thing, but what about the power of God? You see that’s where our
understanding of power gets upended. Power, even when it is used wisely, justly
and mercifully, is power that comes from top down. But in Jesus, in the
incarnation of the Word into flesh and into our lives, power comes from the
bottom up. We attribute top down power to God all the time. There are plenty of
examples in both the Old and New testaments of God using God’s power in exactly
this way. Yet, if we take the incarnation seriously, we have to take the shift
in God’s power seriously as well. God could have zapped the world back into
shape, right? Wasn’t that the point of the story of Noah? God promised never to
flood the world again, but couldn’t God just force every person to live the way
we are commanded to live, to love the way we are commanded to love?
God didn’t do that. Instead God
became one of us. In Jesus power took on a new meaning. Power was not about
forcing or coercing people to do God’s will. Power, real power, meant becoming
powerless. Jesus did not come to command a great army, and whip the butts of
everyone who opposed him. Jesus came as the suffering servant. Jesus walked
directly to his death, and on the way he demonstrated what it meant to live in
the power of God. The power of God, as I see it, is grounded in love. That is
the greatest power. I may be scoffed at for saying that, but that is my
unshakeable belief. Love is the greatest power. That’s why it is so hard to do,
to live. But it is in love that we find God’s power. It is in living love,
active, embodied love, that we find our power. People with power can lead to
abuse and oppression or it can lead to care and generosity. But God’s power?
God’s power leads to grace, to compassion, to life and to love. God’s power is,
and as far as I am concerned, always will be the power of Love. That is our
good news. That is what we are called to share and to do. That is our power,
people. Love.
Let all of God’s children say,
“Alleluia!” Amen.
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