Mark 6:17-19
Sometimes
people will do things for others, even when they don’t want to. They feel a
pull for the relationship which is greater than the pull toward doing what they
had first intended to do. Relationship is more important than whatever other
choice they had.
Or
perhaps embarrassment holds a stronger pull than even a relationship. You make
a particular choice because of pressure you feel to keep something quiet, or
keep it from getting out in the first place. Compromise comes from so many
different angles.
Herod,
the King at the time Jesus was here on earth, got himself in a pickle. He was
stuck. You see, he had married his brother’s wife. The relationships within
this royal family would make the best soap opera or made for TV movie. Let’s
just say that by marrying Herod, they both had violated family and society. One
account has the Herod of our text basically kidnapping Herodias from his brother
and taking her to be his wife. What a mess! And on top of this, everyone is
related to each other! Yikes!
Herod’s
problem was that he didn’t want to kill John, but his wife did. You see, John
had a habit of speaking the truth, even to those who were most powerful. He was
not afraid of the earthly powers. His only fear was the LORD. We could sure use
some people like this today, willing to speak truth to power. We have some
people speaking truth, but the powers don’t seem to care!
And
what was the truth? You shouldn’t have married your brother’s wife! What we
know is that his wife, Herodias, didn’t like John interfering with her life and
marriage. Perhaps, like many political spouses, she had ambitions of her own.
Perhaps she was using Herod to advance her own position in society, gaining
more status by leaving her first husband to marry her second, both of whom had
political ambitions and positions.
What
we do know is that Herodias didn’t want John broadcasting her business. Her
anger was to the point of murder. She wanted John killed at almost any cost.
But her husband stood in the way. Sometimes being stopped from doing evil is a
good thing, even if it gets in the way of your plans. But political power has
not changed over the centuries. Political power has the tendency to corrupt
those who seek it.
One
of the lessons from US history that we need to remember is that George
Washington didn’t want to be the first president. He only accepted the position
reluctantly and for a limited time. He only did it because everyone was telling
him, and he himself was convinced, that no one else could hold the fragile
nation together. If only we could get politicians who took their positions
reluctantly. Instead, we have people whose ambitions are to gain political
power and then use it for their own ends. Not much has changed!