20220204 A TALE OF TWO KINGS RESPONDING TO THE CALL FOR REPENTANCE
04 February, 2022, Friday, Week 4 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ecclesiasticus 47:2-13 © |
David sang out of love for his Maker
As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice,
so David was chosen out of all the sons of Israel.
He played with lions as though with kids,
and with bears as though with lambs of the flock.
While still a boy, did he not slay the giant,
and relieve the people of their shame,
by putting out a hand to sling a stone
which brought down the arrogance of Goliath?
For he called on the Lord Most High,
who gave strength to his right arm
to put a mighty warrior to death,
and lift up the horn of his people.
Hence they gave him credit for ten thousand,
and praised him while they blessed the Lord,
by offering him a crown of glory;
for he massacred enemies on every side,
he annihilated his foes the Philistines,
and crushed their horn to this very day.
In all his activities he gave thanks
to the Holy One, the Most High, in words of glory;
he put all his heart into his songs
out of love for his Maker.
He placed harps before the altar
to make the singing sweeter with their music;
he gave the feasts their splendour,
the festivals their solemn pomp,
causing the Lord’s holy name to be praised
and the sanctuary to resound from dawn.
The Lord took away his sins,
and exalted his horn for ever;
he gave him a royal covenant,
and a glorious throne in Israel.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 17(18):31,47,50-51 © |
Praised be the God who saves me.
The ways of God are perfect;
the word of the Lord, purest gold.
He indeed is the shield
of all who make him their refuge.
Praised be the God who saves me.
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
Praised be the God who saves me,
so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations:
I will sing a psalm to your name.
Praised be the God who saves me.
He has given great victories to his king
and shown his love for his anointed,
for David and his sons for ever.
Praised be the God who saves me.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:14-29 © |
The beheading of John the Baptist
King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’
Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half 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 straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
A TALE OF TWO KINGS RESPONDING TO THE CALL FOR REPENTANCE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Sir 47:2-13; Ps 18:31,47,50-51; Mk 6:14-29]
Yesterday, the apostles were sent out to proclaim the gospel of repentance and to cast out devils. At the same time, the apostles were warned of rejection and persecution. The Good News is not always good to those who do not want to accept it because it challenges their lifestyle. Today, one’s lifestyle is considered private and everyone is free to live as they like so long as they do not interfere in the lives of others. That is why, the proclamation of the gospel demands courage and even martyrdom, unless we compromise with the world and preach and teach only those things that they are agreeable with. This is the greatest temptation today when political leaders, and even religious leaders, compromise their faith to appeal to those who cannot accept the gospel. Today, we seek acceptance and popularity.
This explains why today’s gospel on the martyrdom of John the Baptist is sandwiched between the Mission of the Twelve and their return. It is Mark’s intention to highlight the price of being a messenger of the Lord. Mark also wanted to prepare his readers; that what happened to John the Baptist was what happened to the earlier prophets before him, and that our Lord would suffer the same fate as well. But what is significant in the narration of the martyrdom of John the Baptist is that the evangelist singled out the King as the cause of injustice and the primary persecutor of the prophets of God. At the end of the story, we read, “when John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” This statement anticipates the same action of Jesus’ disciples at His death. Joseph of Arimathea, “went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.” (Mt 27:58-60)’
In bringing out the persecutions faced by the apostles, Mark adapted two biblical stories wherein the king betrayed his own God and his people. In the first story taken from 1 Kings 21, the wicked Queen Jezebel manipulated her weak husband, King Ahab of Samaria to acquire Naboth’s vineyard which he desired so much, by falsely accusing him of treason and blasphemy and then having him executed. In the second story, Herodias plotted the death of John the Baptist by arranging her beautiful daughter to dance before the king so that she could use her to request for the head of John the Baptist.
The story of John the Baptist being killed by the King brings out the irony of what a weak king did. Instead of being rational and righteous in his judgment, the king, who was the representative of Yahweh, failed to protect the prophet. As we have seen in the Old Testament, often it was the king that sought the death of the prophets sent by God. So when King Herod relented to the request of Herodias’ daughter for the head of John the Baptist, he acted against justice. He was more concerned about offending the guests, or rather, losing his authority, than doing the right thing in protecting God’s prophet whom he himself recognized as well.
But Herod was conflicted. He was an indecisive leader. He acted from his insecurity, his need to please, the desire to hold on to power and popularity. He was a king without principles. Although he was supposed to protect the Jewish faith, he was a poor example of fidelity to the Law. He committed adultery with Herodias who divorced her husband. As a leader, he went against the very Jewish tradition and laws that he was called to guard. He was also overcome by lust and unable to resist the seductive beauty of Herodias and her daughter.
Yet, he was not without a conscience. In fact, Mark presented him in a sympathetic manner. He knew that John the Baptist was a prophet. Herodias “was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.” Herod knew that what he did was wrong, but he was not able to do the right thing. Under pressure from Herodias, he had him arrested and put in prison to silence him from reprimanding them publicly. When asked for the head of John the Baptist, Mark said, he was deeply distressed. He could have overturned a request that was evil but he did not. He was an accomplice to the crime.
Hence, Herod lived with a guilty conscience for the rest of his life. The guilt of killing John the Baptist haunted him. When we do evil things, our thoughts will come back to haunt us in our quiet moments, and condemn us. Trying to live with a guilty conscience is like trying to live with oneself condemning oneself. When the voice of conscience becomes louder, we live in fear of being found out and of the consequences that will catch up with us for the evil we have done. This is true for a murderer, a molester, an adulterer or a criminal. We are haunted all the time, so much so sleep evades us. When we live a life of sin, our conscience will haunt us in our dreams, when we are quiet, or when we are at prayer.
When we are guilty, we begin to hallucinate and imagine things, like King Herod. He thought Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. When he heard the miracles that Jesus was doing, he concluded that it must have been John the Baptist who had returned from the grave. But why John the Baptist when there were other views about John the Baptist’ identity? He was thought of as Elijah, the prophet who was to return before the coming of the Lord. (Mal 4:5f) Or he could be the return of one of the great prophets. These prophets’ primary duty was to call the king to repentance and live up to the conditions of the covenant. To accept John the Baptist as one of these prophets would be embarrassing for him because it implied that he was a bad king. Unfortunately, he was. Herod became the first leader of the Jewish people to kill a prophet since King Jehoiakim. (Jer 26:21-23) Hence, it was more appealing for Herod to subscribe to the explanation that it was John the Baptist who had come back from the dead with miraculous powers.
In contrast, in the first reading, we have a glorious presentation of the life and achievements of King David. The author sang high praises of his successful military expeditions and how David contributed to the development of the liturgy, especially through the composition of the psalms. And this was because David was focused on the Lord. He relied on the strength and power of God instead of himself. “He called on the Lord Most High, who gave him strength to his right arm to put a mighty warrior to death, and lift up the horn of his people.” Hence, they “praised him while they blessed the Lord, by offering him a crown of glory; for he massacred enemies on every side, he annihilated his foes the Philistines, and crushed their horn to this very day.” Indeed, “in all his activities he gave thanks to the Holy One, the Most High, in word of glory; he put all his heart into his songs out of love for his Maker. He placed harps before the altar to make the singing sweeter with their music; he gave the feasts their splendour, the festivals their solemn pomp, causing the Lord’s holy name to be praised and the sanctuary to resound from dawn.” David truly loved the Lord.
But this did not mean that David was sinless or impeccable. His achievements and his success, although acknowledged, did not rule out the fact that he was unfaithful to the Lord when he committed the grievous sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, her husband, which he humbly confessed, and accepted the death of Bathsheba’s child. Then he disobeyed God by taking a census of his people and was punished with a plague that killed 70 thousand of his people, which he deeply regretted and asked for mercy. (1 Chr 21) Because of his humility and sincerity, “The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn forever; he gave him a royal covenant, and a glorious throne in Israel.” Indeed, what the Lord expects from us is not perfection but humility, sincerity and desire to do the right thing.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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