"On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” She went out and said to her mother Herodias, “What shall I ask for? The head of John the Baptist,” she answered."Gospel of Mark
In 1983, Harold Kushner wrote his acclaimed national bestseller "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". This book was his response to dealing with the tragic death of his son at a very young age. Through his family's shared ordeal, Kushner, a clergyman and man of faith came to see God as he never had before. He discovered a God who weeps with us during tragic times, and a God who can fill the deepest needs of an anguished heart.
The death of John the Baptist found in the Gospel of Mark is such a tragedy. The above scripture text gives witness to the death of a man in his prime. What makes it seem more tragic is the fact that his death resulted from such superficial and avoidable circumstances. The players in this tragedy were the very people that John the Baptist was trying to help. They were people of very short lives who got caught up in their superficial and egotistical needs.
First we have Herodias, wife of Philip's brother, but in a wrong relationship with Philip himself. When John the Baptist brought this to the attention of Philip, Herodias failed to see this as an honest attempt to correct the conduct of one venturing down a wrong path. Her pride burned with anger against John until her revenge could be taken.
We also have Herodias daughter, young, immature, desiring to please, and probably willing to do anything to gain the attention of others.
And then we have Herod, a man of considerable power but a fickle heart. He allowed his whole being to be compromised by a seductive dance, an irrational promise to a child, full of fear as to how he might appear to a bunch of his drunken friends.
The stage is set for a tragedy, a grave injustice that would raise a question in everyone mind's as to whether true justice is possible for human kind. What have we to learn from Herodias, her daughter, and King Herod?
Perhaps one thing we have to learn is that without God, without the power of His Spirit to guide us, to give us wisdom, strength and insight, then we too can fall prey to misjudgements that can lead to tragic results. Without the Spirit, we have only our a human nature that yields easily to pride, power, the desire for revenge or to please at the expense of others. When our impulsive nature sets in motion the events that lead to such tragedy, then we are referred to as lost.
We are all children of God, but if we choose to ignore or abandon God, we are left only with the weak resources of "self" to rely on. Then God weeps for us. God weeps because our gift of free will has been turned in on itself to spread only darkness among those who He is destined to save. God weeps for the victims who suffer unnecessarily at the hands of others.
When we listen to TV news or read our papers, we see this same tragic scene being played out continuously, and each time God weeps for us. If we turn to Him, He is there to comfort our anguished hearts. Why? Because He loves us, hopes for us, desires to be with us, dies for us, despite our failings.
This is our faith, faith that provides the hope to go on, to continue to embrace "Emanuel", meaning "God is with us".
In Jeremiah we read: "Brace yourself for action; stand up and tell them all what I command. Do not be dismayed for today I will make you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron. For I am with you to deliver you."
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