I am 49 year old father of three and husband of one (for life)

Monday, July 17, 2006

Sermon July 16, 2006

John the Baptist Beheaded
(Mark 6:14-29)

14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."
15 Others said, "It is Elijah."
And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."
16 But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." 23 He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."
24 So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"
And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"
25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.



I recently read a somewhat unofficial poll taken among a number of pastors across various denominational backgrounds, asking the question: “What have been your least popular sermon topics or series?” The results were interesting but perhaps not surprising. For our purposes today, I’ll just tell you the worst of the worst- the bottom five.
The fifth least popular sermon series was one that was titled: “Christian Confrontation: In Your Space and In Your Face.”
Fourth was “Aggressive Evangelism: Moving in for the Kill.”
Coming in as the third least popular sermon series was one called: “Studies from the book of Job, subtitled, “You Think Your Life is Bad?”
Runner up of the coveted worst sermon series or topic had a stewardship theme and was titled: “God’s Money is in Your Pocket: Will You Give it to Him, Please?”
And finally, the least popular sermon series was submitted by a now unemployed pastor from Hog’s Breath, Minnesota titled: “When They Least Expect it: Seeking Revenge on an Unsuspecting Relative or Friend.”
Perhaps this sermon series or topic was voted least popular because it was boring- I’d doubt it. Maybe it’s because the Bible doesn’t have much to say about the subject- no, the Bible has plenty to say about revenge. I suspect that one of the reasons behind this attitude is that revenge is a subject that is near and dear to our hearts. By that, I mean that this is a highly sensitive area with circumstances that can be extremely personal and private and wouldn’t it be better if we just didn’t talk about it?
I think that another reason we might seem to be afraid of revenge is that we may have a misperception about its meaning or more accurately, what it means to us.
To me, revenge can have a couple of meanings:
One is the sense in which we may feel the slightest bit of delight or a sense of justice being served, when hearing about the misfortune of another, against whom we may be nursing a grudge. While we probably wouldn’t actually inflict pain and suffering onto the other, we may secretly feel a sense of satisfaction that “they got what was coming to them”. I must admit that I have felt that way before and I am not proud of it. Some call it resentment. While important, I would not consider this type of revenge toxic or malignant, but if we choose not to deal with these feelings, they can quickly go from resentment to full blown retribution.
Then there is the more common definition of revenge, which is to “willfully seek to inflict physical or emotional harm on another person in an act of retaliation,” implying intentional punishment and injury.
This definition is the type of revenge that Herodias displayed in our scripture lesson this morning.

At first glance it may sound a bit like the latest episode of “As the Bible Turns” with all of the makings of a good soap opera: lying, adultery, power and finally, murder.
The cast includes John the baptizer:

Of whom Jesus said according to Matthew’s gospel in chapter eleven verses 11-11:

11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

This is the same John that when asked by Jesus to baptize him said: “No, you’ve got this the other way around- you should baptize me- you are the son of man!” giving us a sense of his humility.
Verse twenty from our scripture gives a better example of John’s character and righteousness:
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

If Herod feared John the Baptist, then John was obviously of noble character, worthy of respect and admiration. And then there’s Herod himself.
Herod Antipas the Tetrarch of the area of Galilee and Peraea (basically a mayor of sorts- not a king). According to some historians, while on one occasion visiting Rome seduced his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, who at the time was both Herod’s sister-in law and his niece (don’t ask). Herod had five sons, three of which he murdered when he grew suspicious that they were becoming a threat to his power, giving us an idea of the type of person he was.
Salome- Although she is not specifically named in the story, historians and scholars have concluded that her name was Salome. She was the daughter of Herodias and the step daughter of Herod and the featured performer the night of Herod’s big bash. According to our text, at the height or depth or her performance, Herod told her that she could have anything she wanted, up to half of Herod’s so-called kingdom. Upon hearing that, Salome did what any obedient daughter would do- she asked her mother what she should do. Her mother told her to DEMAND the head of John the Baptist- not just murder him (as if that weren’t bad enough), she specifically asked for his head! Salome went back to Herod and added her own special touch the situation to her mother’s request saying,
"I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." Sounds as if she’s a real chip off the old block, huh?
Then there is Herodias- Herod’s wife, Salome’s mother and the person that exacted her revenge on John the Baptist. Clearly, this was a troubled woman. Herodias did anything and everything necessary to secure her future and solidify her privileged position in the Greek culture, including having her daughter perform for the rich and famous. Herodias got her revenge on John the Baptist. However, as is the case in many situations such as this, Herodias and Herod committed suicide together some years after the incident, suggesting that the guilt for having John the Baptist murdered probably had a lot to do with her emotional erosion into a suicidal state.
Herodias’ story offers us an example that resentment, left unmanaged, can not only harm us emotionally but can and sometimes turn into something much worse.
As I mentioned in the opening, the Bible has a good bit to say about the subject.
One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry on earth was “take the high road”. Specifically, the Sermon on the Mount has numerous references as to handling situations that have the potential for retaliation.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Here’s the part that gets me- “REJOICE! AND BE GLAD, for your reward is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Luke 6: 37 in the New Living Translation reads:

37 "Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. 38 If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving-large or small-it will be used to measure what is given back to you."

In Matthew 5: 38-42 Jesus said:
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'* 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Other examples include:
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (
Romans 12:19)
“Treat others the way in which you want to be treated.”
“Be Peacemakers…”
“Be Ye Pure in heart…” “Pray for your enemies…”
“Yeah, right- Jesus, you know, people these days are different- this is the twenty first century. Things have changed- people have changed. There are some people out there that are just out to get me, stopping at nothing just to make my life miserable! What in the world am I supposed to do?”
I believe that we have already answered that question, haven’t we? Our savior tells us to forgive. “But what about them- the other person- they won’t apologize for what was done to me and besides, they don’t deserve to be forgiven.” Friends, if forgiveness came only to those that deserved it, we’d all be in trouble. We are powerless over whether another person seeks to apologize or not. We are only responsible for our reaction to what someone else has done to us. I believe that the first step in the process- and a process it is- is to ask God to help us to become willing to forgive. Maybe the pain of the situation is still fresh in your mind and heart and we may think, “I’m not ready yet.” Perhaps the time isn’t right just yet. You will know when the time is right. When we ask God to help us to become willing to forgive, God will show us the right time to move forward. The peace that we seek about the situation can only come when God is in it. We cannot do this without God’s help.
Secondly, confession our resentment before God must take place. You see, God already knows the grudges that we hold against others and even knows why we feel that way. Psalm 139 verse 1 says: “O Lord you have searched me and known me… you perceive my thoughts from afar.” Ryan Bixler sang a song at last Sunday’s service that included these words from the prophet Jeremiah, “When you seek me, you will find me- if you search with all your heart.” When we open our hearts, confessing our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
I am not suggesting that forgiveness will come easily- it may not. Nor am I suggesting that forgiving someone will be painless- it may prove to be terribly painful. But, if we claim to be followers of Christ, then we are to live our lives as He would if he were us. We are to live by the word of God. The word of God tells us many times, what we are to do- forgive! Forgiveness is one of those things that may seem simple, at some level, but it is not easy.
Believe me when I tell you that there are times when I would much rather stay right where I am and hold on to grudges just as long as I can, than to have to work at them, because working on them implies that there will be change and what will I do when things change- I’ll have to change!
“When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, and we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it.” - Lewis B. Smedes
We can choose to let go of the thing that we are holding- whether we call it revenge or resentment or a grudge, or we can choose to hang on to it. If we choose to hang on we are guaranteed that we will continue to hold all of the feelings that go along: anger, bitterness, greed, retribution, and the like. Some might argue saying: “Well at least it’s predictable.”
As long as we continue to hold a grudge, it still has power over us- with our permission, I might add. As long as we refuse to release the grudge, it will continue to serve its purpose and may even turn into something worse.
In closing, when we’re ready to make peace with the people or the situations that have caused us pain and harm, God is ready. We can get to that place, emotionally, by seeking Him and His ways. It may start by simply saying a prayer such as: Please pray with me:
“God, you know the person I need to forgive and you know all the ugly details about the situation. You know what is in my heart. I am asking you to help me to become willing to forgive. I don’t know if I’m ready or not, but you do. Put the right people in my path; keep my eyes and my heart open to opportunities that will help me to deal with this resentment before it turns into something worse. I trust that no matter what pain I may encounter, you are right there with me and you will help me handle the feelings that may be waiting for me. AMEN