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 eye those who are corrupt and
immoral? Or those who are straying from the right path? For example, if you
sense that your spouse is having an adulterous relationship, 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 we are true to our discipleship with Jesus. We have to be ready to
sacrifice a big part of our life or even our very life so that evil will not
triumph over good.
To do nothing, to pretend to hear and see nothing in
spite of the obvious stench of immorality and other wrongdoings is consenting to evil. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
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