sermon-2015-07-12
Posted on July 13, 2015 by admin No comments
Sermon preached by the Reverend Nicholas Lang
St. Paul’s on the Green, Norwalk, CT
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost — July 12, 2015
In the Name of God: Creater, Redeemer, Sustainer. Amen
Well, well, well. That was a cheerful Gospel story, wasn’t it? What on earth are we supposed to learn from a grisly account of John the Baptist having his head chopped off? What a macabre scenario—presenting it on a dinner plate! I guess we might conclude from the story that the truth hurts. Speaking the truth can be hazardous to your health. In fact, it can get you dead.
This is the kind of Gospel lesson we preachers read and wish we had planned to be on vacation or at least scheduled someone else to deal with it. It is, however, an intriguing story, filled with drama, conspiracy, and a violent resolution. Strangely, it has inspired plays, operas, and striking art work.
This is the only Biblical reference we have to either Herodias or Salome, the more common name for the young daughter. While Herod’s wife has a strong influence and voice, she is offstage, waiting in the wings. Her daughter, though, is far more central. Called on to provide entertainment for this important birthday party, young Salome succeeds and Herod rewards her—with the Baptist’s head.
This is a most atypical Gospel lesson. No matter how carefully we listen, we cannot find a single note of hope anywhere in this text. Instead, what we hear is a tale of anger and revenge, resentment and murder and it is one of very few stories in Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus is never mentioned.
Last week Father Peter preached an impressive sermon on the role of prophets and John the Baptist, of course, was a prophet who stood up to Herod about this affair he was having with his brother’s wife. Prophets are truth-tellers, not crystal-ball gazers. They are called by God to speak the truth and that often gets them into trouble. Speaking the truth can be hazardous to your health. It can get you dead. It is not a job for the feint-hearted.
Prophetic voices take a huge risk when they speak the truth in the face of the powerful. If they are going to preach a Gospel that humbles the mighty and exalts the lowly, the consequences can be lethal. We know the fate of prophets like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Harvey Milk.
This Gospel reminds us that the task of following Jesus, the One who said, “I am the Truth,” will never be easy. We still live in a world where those entrusted with political power live in fear that their authority will be challenged and are often committed to expediency, and willing to compromise truth, justice, and compassion if they think it will guarantee their position of influence and privilege.
Telling the truth can get you in deep doodah. You know that about the truth. A friend is drinking far too much and on the verge of disaster. Your teenager is on the wrong track and headed for big trouble. A coworker at work has a penchant for telling racially offensive jokes. As a teacher you need to confront the difficult parents of a student who is viciously bullying a gay kid in your class.
A presidential hopeful makes a blanket statement degrading people of a particular ethnic background. A sister or brother member of the church is trying to stir up the pot of turmoil by creating a winter of discontent over some gripe. Your ethics dictate a particular conviction on an issue that is not popular with your friends. What do we do when we have the choice to speak truth…or to be silent? And when we hear those hard truths, do we listen to the prophet, or hand their head to them on a platter.
Listen again to the very last line in this Gospel: “When the disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.” In Jewish tradition, a man’s sons were expected to give him an honorable burial. John must have had no sons because the disciples stepped up and buried him. Government officials did not look kindly on people who came to collect the body of someone like John who had been executed as an enemy of Herod. It took guts to ask for the body of someone who had been put to death by the ruling authority of ancient Palestine.
Guts. Chutzpah. Courage. Isn’t that what is at the heart of the Gospel? Daring to take on the risky business of subverting the old world and creating a new world by what we do and what we say and how we live? Every time we speak up for love in the face of hate, whenever we tell the truth about injustice and oppression, each and every way we advocate for the poor, the exploited, the oppressed, and the weak —we proclaim the Gospel and we take a step into that new world.
Jesus has promised us a lot of wonderful things but he never promised us that following him would be a rose garden. Speaking hard truth—not easy. It can be hazardous to your health, at the least you my lose friends or popularity…and, yet, at the same time it can be enormously life-giving.