7th Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, July 15, 2012
Amos 7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
In some ways today’s gospel story is almost too ludicrous to take seriously. We have a “king” who’s not really a king celebrating a birthday with a grand party for his friends and officers. Shamelessly he allows his daughter to dance for the guests, something that should only have been allowed with family present. He becomes so enthralled with her dance that he offers her anything she desires, even though the most a daughter can expect to receive from a father is half of what he owns. But his daughter doesn’t want the kingdom. She wants the head of John the Baptist on a platter, a truly gruesome request. Herod has made the gift offer in front of all his officers, and to avoid dishonor he reluctantly … we’re told … sends his soldiers to the prison to kill John. John’s head is ultimately served up on a platter to the waiting daughter.
There’s a lot going on in this story that is rooted in the realities of an honor/shame system that is not our own. Clearly, Jesus is becoming known throughout the countryside. His honor status is rising. Since honor was believed to be limited commodity that meant that Herod’s honor was dwindling. Herod was hesitant to oppose John because he recognized him as a holy man, so he protected him … even though John had spoken against his marriage. Herod’s wife sees the threat, and some scholars say that she was acting to protect a weak husband (and his family) from shame. She tells her daughter to ask for John’s head precisely because Herod will not do it himself! It’s a very interesting story filled with a good smattering of palace intrigue ... but I’m not sure that this is the real meat in the passage we heard today.
This passage is really about fear and regret; it's about how we make life decisions and deal with the consequnces of them. It begins with the statement that “King Herod heard of it, Jesus’ name had become known.” So well known that some were saying he was a prophet of old raised from the dead, maybe even Elijah. The Jews were all well aware of what that meant. If that were true then the Day of the Lord was at hand. The Israelites were finally coming into their own! At last the years of domination and oppression were coming to an end! Herod is hearing this news about Jesus after he has already killed John the Baptist. The story of the birthday feast is a memory being retold for our sake … to help us understand what was going through Herod’s head.
If Jesus was indeed a prophet of old, perhaps he wasn’t a prophet as long removed as Elijah. Perhaps he was John the Baptist come back from the dead! In Mark’s gospel, Herod kills John reluctantly. He recognized that John was a holy man, a righteous man, and even so, Herod orders his execution. Now it appears that this John has found a way to come back and torment him again. His rule, his power, his honor are all in jeopardy again. His worst fears resurface.
Fear is a powerful force, and that is what motivates Herod. He acts out of that fear to protect himself from loss, to bolster his own sense of security. He goes to great lengths to squash that fear. He kills the innocent to protect himself and his position. But Jesus tells us “not to be afraid”. Jesus tells us to face our fear, to acknowledge it but to act out of love. Jesus was a master of that, a master of transforming fear through love.
A woman is caught in adultery, and Jesus stands before the angry mob that wants to stone her and draws in the sand. He tells them that the one without sin should cast the first stone, and one by one they all walk away.
Jesus is asleep in the boat with his disciples when a violent storm comes up and the disciples panic. They wake him with shouts and cries. With a word he calms the waters. Have faith, trust, he tells them. Do not be afraid, I am with you.
Soldiers burst into the garden where Jesus is praying on the night before his execution. His disciples are woken from a deep sleep and they strike out at those there to arrest Jesus. A soldier’s ear is cut off. Jesus tells them to put down their swords. He heals the man’s ear and goes with them. Do not be afraid.
Peter is sitting by a fire and a woman asks him if he is with the man from Galilee that was arrested. Peter says, “No. I do not know the man.” Three times he denies any relationship with Jesus because he’s afraid he might also be arrested. Then the cock crows. Fear leads us into actions that, like Herod and Peter, we often later regret. Fear leads us on a path inward, away from connection with others.
I have been clear in a number of sermons about the decline in numbers in mainline churches over the last several decades, especially since the 1960’s. Very knowledgeable people have made attempts to understand why this has occurred. Some have blamed it on a changing culture and the emergence of post-modernism. Others have blamed it on churches drifting away from their scriptural base. Some have proposed that the church is irrelevant and no longer has a role to play in an enlightened world.
I wonder if it doesn’t have more to do with the fact that we have become extremely relevant, taking on issues that matter in the world, issues over which we have divided opinions. I wonder if perhaps we have started taking scripture very seriously, engaging the world more intentionally on issues the way Jesus did … seeking justice for those on the fringes of society … a living wage for the poor, equal opportunity for our brothers and sisters of color, marriage equality for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, rights for rural migrant farm workers, sustainable stewardship of the earth, opposition to hydrofracking, speaking against the continued occupation by Israel in Palestinian territory, advocating for women’s rights and reproductive choice … and on and on and on. The Episcopal Church as a whole has spoken out on many issues that are extremely relevant to our day.
David Hollinger is an historian who specializes in American intellectual history. He was interviewed in a recent article in the Christian Century. He says that the ecumenical leaders in churches in the ‘60s “achieved much more than they and their successors give them credit for. They led millions of American Protestants in directions demanded by the changing circumstances of the times and by their own theological traditions. These ecumenical leaders took a series of risks, asking their constituency to follow them in antiracist, anti-imperialist, feminist and multicultural directions that were understandably resisted by large segments of the white public, especially in the Protestant southern states.”[1] What have been called traditionally mainline, liberal churches were not only involved in the transformation of our society, but we were also at the forefront of advocating for what is considered “standard” in our culture today.
So why are we declining? Hollinger says that was part of the trade off. What is right is not always popular. We have not talked aggressively about all that we have helped to accomplish, or why. We have been slow to blow our own trumpet because we have allowed others to define the terms of winning and losing with numbers in the pews. We are hesitant to shout about success when churches are half empty on Sunday morning … but that’s what we are called to do! Shout about who we are and what we believe. Not so that the pews will fill up … but so that the gospel message will be heard! So that the church will remember what the church is capable of doing in the world!
I have been watching with interest some of the things going on at our church’s General Convention since I returned from China, and it’s a lot! Our deputies have taken some risky steps with courage, recognizing that these steps might put us on the fringe yet again. They have approved for provisional use a Blessing Rite for Same Sex Couples, and bishops have the latitude to approve these rights for use in states where marriage between two men and two women is legal. We will be moving our national church headquarters out of the building that has housed it in NYC for decades. The House of Deputies unanimously approved the creation of a special task force to begin to reimagine the workings of the Episcopal Church to prepare it for mission in the 21st century. Suggestions for changes in our structure, governance and administration are anticipated. For the first time, our national church budget is aligned under the five marks of mission developed by the Anglican Consultative Council between 1984 and 1990.[2] At a time when the worldwide Anglican Communion is waiting anxiously for a response our General Convention resisted taking a position on the proposed Anglican Covenant as a pastoral response to the many divergent views on that document and in our church. We will not be pushed into something simply because others want answers we do not yet possess.
Each of these decisions may cause some angst … but they are bold steps, not fearful ones. I’m proud of US! Our leaders are asking us to engage in a conversation about what the church is being called to do and to be in the 21st century. That work isn’t always easy, it’s sometimes scary, but it is necessary if we want to continue to be relevant in our culture. Be not afraid … I am with you always … says Jesus. May our leaders be leaders who continue to look toward the future with hope, not fear … making decisions grounded in justice values and rooted in the gospel message of God’s unconditional love for all creation. If they are, whatever happens, unlike Herod we will have nothing to regret.
Amen.
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