There is a book on my shelf titled Texts of Terror. Phyllis Trible, the author, has a lot of courage. In this book, she has examined the most awful texts in the Old Testament. These are the pages from the Bible we wish we could accidentally drop between our desk and the wall, lost forever. For example, there is the heart-wrenching story of Jephthah's daughter in the book of Judges. The little girl loses her life because of her father's foolish promise. There is another horrific story in Judges about a woman who is taken by a group of men and tortured, beaten, and raped. When she comes home to her husband more dead than alive, in anger he kills her and cuts her body into twelve pieces which he distributes to the twelve tribes of Israel. Who in their right mind wants to preach on a text like that? The answer is: no one. The people who put together the lectionary know this and tend to leave them out. We preachers calmly progress through a summer of Mark texts on the calling of the disciples, a handful of parables, a few miracles, and then boom — out of the blue, there it is — Mark's own text of terror.
The story of the beheading of John is gruesome. The events leading up to it are hard to believe. Herod, the king, definitely was a mixed bag. He divorced his wife so he could marry his brother's wife, Herodias. Herodias was not just the wife of Herod's half-brother. She was also the daughter of another of Herod's half-brothers. So, when Herod married Herodias, he was marrying his sister-in-law and his niece at the same time. This was a clear violation of Old Testament law. John the Baptist publicly denounced the marriage. Herodias was furious. Herod was angry, too, but at least he had a conscience. He genuinely did not want to kill John. Mark tells us that Herod was confused by John's preaching but he liked to listen to him. Herod respected John and feared him because John was a righteous and holy man.
Unfortunately, Herod chose cowardice over courage. Rather than stand up for what he believed, he gave in to the selfish obsession of his wife. Herod ordered John beheaded and the head presented on a platter to his wife's daughter who presents it to her mother.
Why would the people who put the preaching lectionary together include this story? Where's the hope? It's clearly a story where evil triumphs over good. The righteous man loses his life. The weak and vengeful people get away with murder. It's a sordid tale of anger and revenge, resentment, and death. The name of Jesus is never even mentioned.
To understand this story better it helps to look at what comes right before. The story of John's beheading follows Jesus' instructions to his disciples. Jesus tells them how to embody God's love in the world. He tells them to expect opposition and trouble. All they need to take with them is the gospel and then trust God. By the time Mark is telling us the story, Jesus has been preaching his message throughout Galilee. I think Mark is making two points by including the details of John's death.
Number one, there is danger when you tell the truth, especially to those in power. The story of John's death reminds us that being a Christian does not guarantee success in this life, but very likely will bring some suffering. Number two, this is a story of the delusions of the powerful. Herod is afraid. He thinks Jesus is John raised from the dead. Herod killed John. Now he thinks that John has come back to get him in the form of this new preacher, Jesus. In other words, even defenseless, unarmed, decapitated dead men like John the Baptist can come back to haunt those who use their power for evil.
There are numerous examples. One of the things that kept Gandhi going against overwhelming odds was the conviction not just that love would conquer, but that evil would defeat itself. Gandhi said this: "When I despair, I remember that throughout history tyrants and dictators have always failed in the end. Think of it. Always."
Oscar Romero was appointed Archbishop of El Salvador because the church hierarchy thought he was a safe and conservative scholar. He did a complete turnaround and became a champion for the poor and spoke out against the oppressive government forces. He won the love of the people and the hatred of those in power. He was gunned down on a Sunday, while elevating the host at the altar of the cathedral. Instantly, Romero became an unstoppable spiritual force in the hearts of the Salvadoran people and a symbol of freedom and justice around the world.
The story of the beheading of John makes it crystal clear that God's work is risky. When you do it, don't expect accolades or success. When you speak the truth to the powerful there may be a bitter price to be paid. But, no matter what may happen, God's plan cannot be stopped.
Barbara Brown Taylor tells the story of a teacher who was fired from his job six months short of his retirement after 25 years. It was a nasty piece of work on the part of his superiors. They wanted to punish him for challenging them and to make him an example for anyone else thinking about trying the same thing. They called it early retirement and gave him a party he suffered through. "I've been to my own funeral," he said weeks later, recounting the pain of it. "I lost my students, my program, my livelihood, and my pride. But you know what? There really is life after death. I'm doing things I always wanted to do, but never had time. I'm spending time with my wife. I'm finding energy I thought I'd lost forever. Getting crucified turned out better than I thought."1
Those who follow Jesus must not give in to the naïve notions that being faithful to God will be easy. It isn't. John lived for the truth and died because of it.
John Chrysostom was a great preacher of the fifth century. He said of the beheading of John, "Herod cut off his head, but he did not cut off his voice." No matter what evil people may do, the voice of the gospel will not be silenced. I thank God for those who risk everything to make certain it is heard. The question is: are we among them? Amen.
1. Barbara Brown Taylor, God in Pain — Teaching Sermons on Suffering (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), pp. 73-74.