SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013, ARE FROM: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-1; Psalm 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab; Mark 6:17-29 Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife”. Herodias harboured a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you”. He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom”. She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist”. The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist”. The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:17-29) REFLECTION ON BEING ON GUARD The daily news as it comes to us in the press or on television or radio is in large measure the news of tragedies. There is the tragedy of daily accidents, of murder, of war, of famines and various natural disasters leading to loss of life or injury. Life and human history is in large measure tragic, but its most tragic element is the presence and perpetration of sin. This was the tragedy present in man’s beginnings. If only at the beginning he had not sinned! God has revealed to us that at the beginning man sinned, and that sin brought death and more sin. It was a catastrophe of incalculable proportions, and the most catastrophic element in the history of man since then has been the presence of sin. Now, how did it occur? Man sinned as a result of giving in to temptation coming from outside him. It was proposed to him that he disobey God. It was intimated by another that it would be in his own interest to disregard the expressed will of God. It was suggested from without that if he partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would be godlike in his own right and not subject in matters of right and wrong to Another. The man and the woman were placed in a garden, as it were, by their Creator and given commands for their life in the garden, but another approached and put to the woman, who in turn put to the man, that their course be rebellion. They freely and without any compulsion or interior impetus accepted the temptation. They sinned mortally as had Satan long before. But in the case of the woman, and then the man, the temptation came from without. Let us turn now to our Gospel text (Mark 6:17‑29) and notice a parallel situation. Herod sinned by shutting up in prison the holy John who had reproved him for taking Herodias to himself as his wife. The situation escalated and sin led to sin. Recall from what quarter came the prompting for these sins. We can just imagine the urging by Herodias that Herod gaol John, and we are specifically told that she wanted to have John killed. But Herod, superstitious in the presence of a holy man, would not allow it. The chance came with Herod’s birthday and the riveting dancing by the daughter of Herodias. Herod in his bravado promises the girl anything she wishes and Herodias seizes her chance. The girl, prompted by her implacable mother, requests the head of John the Baptist, which she receives. A terrible crime and sin before God is proposed to Herod by another, and he falls. Due to his sensuality and his fear of what he thinks will be the judgment of others, he gives in to the temptation. What the Church has traditionally called “the flesh” lays him open to fall before the temptation coming from “the world” of others. Undoubtedly behind both, there was the orchestration of these factors by “the devil”, so hateful of the person and witness of John. Temptation to sin comes from within ourselves and from Satan, but here we notice that which is so pervasive in everyday life, namely that others can and do often lead us into sin. The prevailing culture with its expectations and values, our workplace companions, even our friends and circle of relatives and even family members can prompt us to do what God forbids. We must be on guard against the occasions of sin coming from the suggestions and expectations and pressure from others. We must be on guard against those occasions of sin and if possible avoid them because if we are tempted, we can fall. We are, say, with a group of friends and the conversation turns impure or it is proposed that the group go to something grossly unchaste. There is a serious temptation afoot and we could fall unless we be on guard and be ready to resist a perhaps silent but very real pressure. It could be any one of a number of different kinds of sin which is at issue. We must be ever on guard against temptation to sin. Let us learn from this pattern portrayed in today’s Gospel to be ever vigilant. Let us understand that at every choice we stand at a crossroad. It is that of either loving and obeying God or loving self and sinning. God or sin, good or evil, that is the constant choice in life. That is the ultimate issue in the universe, and the world and every human life hang in the balance of these two. Let us make our choice now and resolve resolutely to live it out whatever be the temptation at hand. (E.J.Tyler)
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:53:06 +0000
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