When Those in Power Notice... Look Out

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 12th 2009

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“When Those in Power Notice…Look Out”
Mark 6:14-29

They were riding high after all the healing and casting out of demons. The disciples had been sent out and for the first time had a taste of the power of God which was at work in their ministry. But the excitement of those days lost its’ luster when Herod had heard of it. When King Herod got wind of the things Jesus and the disciples were doing we find out about the trouble that follows.
“King Herod heard of it.” Those words hang in the air like the beginning of the book of Exodus. In case you do not have that memorized let me refresh your memory. After the list of genealogy it says: “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” This new king in Egypt comes to power who had not heard of Joseph. Joseph was the favored Hebrew son who rose to power and saved Egypt from famine. However, the new King had not heard about Joseph. Instead, this new king had heart that the Hebrews in his land had grown strong and numerous. Fearing their power, and forgetting Joseph’s legacy he subjects them to slavery and death. Like the words which open Exodus, “King Herod heard of it” is meant to elicit a fearful response from the hearers.
This may seem like a tenuous connection but this passage which recounts the death of John the Baptist is so full of allusions to the Old Testament that we must ask why. But before asking why, we ought to identify those connections. This first statement appears to be more rhetorical than theological in nature. It helps to gather us in and hear this story with different ears. When we hear the words: “King Herod heard of it…” they are meant to grab our attention and let us know trouble is stirring.
Herod is not the only person to hear about what Jesus and the disciples have been doing. “Elijah has returned!” “The prophets of old have returned!” “John the Baptist is back from the dead!!!” These messages were all over the tabloids. But the rumor mill was more than just that. Jesus’ ministry is clearly part of the great tradition of God’s work throughout history, even as it is so much more. Yet before we get to the more, we need to go back, back in the stories of our faith to which this passage is pointing.
Many people have been claiming that Elijah has returned. Since John has died many now assume that Jesus is the new Elijah. Jesus will put this controversy to rest in chapter nine of Mark’s gospel by identify John as Elijah returned. John is the messenger who has come to announce that “the day” has come. This role and work of John is vital but often forgotten. For when Elijah returns, the prophet Malachi proclaims, the Day of the Lord is upon us. The “great and terrible day of the Lord” is a theme that runs through many of the Old Testament prophets. That day is a day when justice will roll down like waters. The prophet Amos has much to say about that day.
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations… and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (Amos 6)

On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. (Amos 6)
That day is a day that is not a day to look forward to if you were one who attended King Herods’ parties. If Elijah has returned King Herod has reason to fear. But King Herod does not believe the rumors and instead believes that John the Baptist has returned. This is not any better news since he was responsible for his death.
The day of John’s death was a party in the places of leisure. Wine flowed freely from bowls. Songs of leisure were being sung. In the midst of this party the King promising half the kingdom to his daughter who had pleased his guests. “Half my kingdom…” These words hang in the air and take us back to the book of Esther in a time when another King who was easily caught up in his life of leisure. That king finds himself pleased by Queen Esther and offers her half his kingdom. The result on that day was not beheading but many lives saved. However, they both serve as telling reminders that ways of kings never change.
On another day King Ahab, in the book of Kings, uses his power to steal land from a subject. King Ahab was part of the faith community, just like King Herod, and he should have known better. Ahab had listened to the faithful words of Elijah and was moved. Yet he was not committed so when the opportunity for this land grab arose he signed off on the plan. After all, what are a few displaced people when there is opportunity for development?
Herod too had listened to John and was moved, yet he too was not committed. It was not lawful to have this woman in marriage but he did not heed the words. Herod was intrigued, interested and moved by this wilderness prophet. He was fascinated by his words even as the stung. So for a time John was safe even if that meant imprisonment. But on that night of ease everything changed. Herod’s ego went overdrive and at the end of the night John is executed so that the king will save face with the most important citizens.
So what are we to make of this? This passage seems to be so full of Old Testament allusions that we can get bogged in the details. If we really try to examine each one we will find ourselves confused and even frustrated. And it is in that confusion and frustration where there is contemporary relevance. Trying to keep up with, let alone truly understand, the ways of our political and business leaders these days can leave us confused and frustrated. I find it terribly difficult to stay current on every King Herod whose ego sacrifices the lives of the innocent. Who is not tired of hearing about every King Herod who leads their lives built upon hunger for more of everything that does not belong to them? And worse yet, who is not confused, frustrated and even angry by the contemporary king Herods who are part of the faith community and trade on it for personal gain? There are many who are interested but not converted? But all this still does not get at the “so what” for us, at least not entirely.
Being a follower of Jesus means we are called to follow and serve in the midst of all this “stuff.” It means that our faith is never disconnected from the confusion and craziness all around us. It means that we are not immune from making the same mistakes as Herod either. Instead, it serves as a reminder that the life of faith is going to be messy. It means that our service and calling to bring healing to a broken world might just put us at odds with whatever the most recent King Herod has in store.
But the good news is that we are not the first people to deal with kings who act this way. We have a great cloud of witnesses who have faced the previous editions of King Herod and done so as faithfully as they knew how. It is for this reason that we need not worry when Herod takes notice or when Herod begins to act in this way. It is not the first time and it is not the last. But our call is to remain faithful and keep working for the healing and wholeness of all God’s children, excluding no one. So when the powerful notice what we are up to… do not worry. We know these things for sure: They are not the first to take notice, they will not be the last to take notice, but they also do not have the last word. Amen.