In a week when the papers were full of stories about the conflict between Israel and Lebanon about how one action sparked retaliation from one side which was met by more violence from the other side, we have an appropriate gospel lesson. A lesson about retribution and also about mercy. The gospel today is a pretty disturbing story, a story, unfortunately, with a rather gruesome and very unhappy ending. John the Baptist who at the beginning of Jesus' ministry proclaimed Jesus' coming and called out for people to repent and to look to Jesus and who also baptized Jesus is beheaded because he got in the way of the king. Because John spoke up when Herod was doing dishonest and sinful things he was put at the mercy of the very angry and spiteful queen who tricked her husband into agreeing to behead John, be he a prophet or not.
We come onto the scene in the middle. We don't get to hear a lot about the circumstances under which John was able to talk to Herod or how he came to be in a place to criticize such a high political official. What we do know, however, is that John was clearly making a dangerous move when he spoke to Herod about his choice to marry his brother’s ex-wife. I can't imagine that when John was imprisoned it came as much of a surprise to him. What might have come as a surprise, however, was that he was allowed to continue to advise Herod. Herod would let John preach to him while he was in custody.
I imagine that John spoke to Herod about mercy and repentance and the text says that Herod was interested in what John had to say.
Unfortunately when tricked into agreeing to execute John, Herod does not seem to have thought back or refer to any lessons about repentance and loving thy neighbor that John might have taught him. Herod did not hear the call to mercy that John and Jesus proclaimed in God's name rather he gave into the anger and revenge of his wife and because of that there was great suffering for many people.
The wisdom in this horrible story, however, might be in how John's disciples reacted. Like Jesus, John had disciples with him when he preached and taught. His disciples must have been horribly distraught and angry at Herod for making so light of John's life but instead of reacting with anger, instead of trying to find some sort of retribution, they saw the truth in what John had been preaching. They repented, this literally means they changed their minds or turned, they turned away from more violence, violence that surely would have led to their deaths. Instead some of them buried John and kept to his teachings and some theologians believe that others went to find and follow Jesus.
What an amazing and grace-filled choice to make. It seems like it would have been very easy to live on in anger and hatred, mistrusting God and swearing revenge on Herod, but these were not their values.
How wonderful would it be if we as individuals and as a society could more often choose this kind of grace. Certainly we are called to be loving and merciful in the name of Christ but too often we turn to retaliation instead.
When I think of turning from anger to grace. I am always reminded of a mother I knew whose son was killed violently because he was mistaken for another local boy against whom the shooter had a vendetta. It is hard to imagine the intense pain that this mother experienced. I certainly would have, at the very least, retreated into myself and would have felt justified in lashing out in anger.
Instead through her tears and pain she enlisted the people who came to visit her in her sorrow to help her make a change in her violent neighborhood. She decided to provide mercy to her wounded community.
She teamed up with other parents who had lost children to try to make the neighborhood safer. Over time the movement that she started days after her son died became an organization that provides tutoring, violence counseling, grief counseling and even relocation funds to both grieving families and to those who are involved in gangs and need help getting out.
In the midst of all of this work she also found the boy who was the actual target in her son's murder and personally made efforts to keep him safe.
This type of mercy isn't easy to find and is even harder to meet out, in fact, I would argue that perhaps none of us are capable of it by ourselves. But just like with John's disciples this grieving mother heard a call greater and stronger than the call to anger. It was the call of grace urging her to mercy. In situations like these the grace that is exercised is the grace of God active in the hearts and minds of the children of God and the strength for such acts comes only through the work of the Holy Spirit.
There are many stories in the bible and many more in the history of civilization that end much in the same way as John's story ended. Too many stories end with someone choosing not grace and mercy, but power or revenge.
It is easy to choose the path that provides less grace to our neighbors, sometimes it even seems like the best idea from a self-preservation standpoint but are all called to merciful actions. We are called to spread the love of Christ to those with whom we come into contact, those who hurt us and those who help us . This doesn't always come naturally but we are empowered do it though the grace that comes from the love of God.
The grace of God assures us that there will be mercy in the world. There will be mercy even in the midst of the great violence happening all throughout the middle east. There will be mercy for the poor who sleep on the streets of Spokane. There will be mercy for the children born to abusive and overworked parents. There will be mercy for those who show grace and for those who choose anger.
Mercy is both our duty and our greatest joy as Christians. We are called above all else to act out of love for Christ and for creation but we are also assured that we will be shown great mercy each time we need it and we will be saved from our lack of mercy by the amazing and ever living grace of God. This is truly Good news.
Thanks be to God. Amen
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