Gospel: Mark
6:17-29
Herod was
the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of
Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to
Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias
harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod
feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in
custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he
liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his
birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers his military officers, and the
leading men of Galilee. Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me
whatever you wish and I will grant it to you. He even swore many things to her “I
will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom. She went out
and said to her mother “What shall I ask for? She replied, “The head of John
the Baptist. The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist. The
king was deeply distressed but because of his oaths and the guests he did not
wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with
orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He
brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave
it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his
body and laid it in a tomb.
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Reflection:
Where does
John the Baptist’s courage comes from? John’s courage emanates from God, he
draws strength from God. It’s God who fuels John’s motivation to denounce the
immorality of Herod and Herodias.
Faced
with a very powerful man, John never thought of backing down. He stood his
ground and simply followed the dictate of the Holy Spirit.
When
faced with the same dilemma would we be able to stand our ground and look
straight in the eyes those who are corrupt and immoral? Or those who are
straying the right path? For example in your house if you sense that something
is wrong with your spouse, would you pretend to see nothing and hear nothing?
Of course not! You have to denounce it no matter what happens.
Many
martyrs and saints of the church took the difficult path of John and like John
they paid dearly for it. This is how it is when you are true to your
discipleship with Jesus. You have to be ready to sacrifice a big part of your
life so that evil will not triumph.
To do
nothing, to pretend to hear and see nothing in spite of the obvious stench of
immorality and other wrongdoings is evil. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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