In 1987, Chuck Colson wrote a book titled KINGDOMS IN CONFLICT. Colson was a mover and shaker in the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He was known as Nixon's hatchet man. And he went to jail for his role in the Watergate scandal. While in prison Colson had a genuine conversion experience and today he is a leading spokesperson for evangelical Christianity. He has first-hand experience of kingdoms in conflict.

Our story from Mark's Gospel concerns a man caught in a conflict. His name is Herod. Thinking about Herod reminds me of a census taker in West Virginia who was climbing to a cabin nestled high up on a mountain side when he met a youngster.

He asked the boy, "Do you live around here?" "Yep," the young man answered, "up in that cabin." "Good," said the census taker, "is your daddy home?" "…