Readings: Psalm 24, 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark: 6:14-29
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, July 11 2021
In many Bibles and commentaries, our gospel passage from Mark is given the title 'The death of John the Baptist'. But it is not really about John. It is about King Herod. We may, in our better moments, wish to identify with John. John is the victim. John is the one who has done nothing wrong and makes a stand for what is right. John is the hero and the martyr.
Most of us here today are neither victims or likely to become martyr's. We are the ones with power. Power to choose. Power to decide. Power to create lives that have meaning and influence. If our life situation is to be identified with anybody in the account, it should probably be Herod.
Whilst we may identify with Herod's situation we probably do not want to be identified with his character. Though incredibly powerful he turns out to be weak, compromised, and dangerous. The word 'toxin' when used in chemical terms, describes a substance that is capable of causing injury or death. Hence our sermon title: “Beware the Toxin's of Herod”.
In the life of Herod we observe a whole trinity of toxins!
• The danger of toxic relationships
• The delusive power of toxic environments
• The dilemma of toxic choices.
The danger of toxic relationships
Pop-singer Britney Spears once had a hit song called 'Toxic' in which she sang of the attraction she had for the wrong sort of guy. With poetry that you only find in dance charts she sings; 'With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride, You're toxic, I'm slipping under! With a taste of poison paradise, I'm addicted to you, Don't you know that you're toxic?' I was going to invite Thomas to make that an anthem this morning, but... maybe not.
Herod was in a toxic relationship with his wife Herodias. Herodias was his brother’s wife... and that is where all the trouble started. Because when John the Baptist found that Herod had taken his brother's wife as his own, he spoke out about it. Herodias did not want to hear what John had to say, and through her incessant nagging, she persuaded Herod to have John arrested and put in prison. When it came to John, King Herod was completely paranoid. He was drawn to John's message like a moth to a flame. He knew John was in the right.
Verses 19 and 20 in the Message Bible picture the tensions in the story quite clearly. “Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill John, but she didn't dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn't stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back. “
For his birthday Herod throws a party and everybody who is anybody is invited. As she witnesses Herod's behavior, Herodias finds an opportunity to have John silenced for good.
The whole sad story begins with a relationship that never should have been. Herod's relationship with Herodias. The lady is toxic. In church we often talk about reaching out to everybody with the gospel and how all are welcome at our table. We do not always talk about boundaries and the danger that exists when relationships go bad.
Maybe we are not aware of the statistics regarding domestic violence, maybe we naively believe that somehow, we are a strong enough character not to allow toxic people to influence our decisions. But the truth is that certain relationships can be a curse rather than a cause of celebration.
We must take care that our relationships do not cause us to compromise what we believe. Herod believed John to be in the right. Because of his desire to be in a relationship with Herodias, he did the wrong thing. He ignored his own conscience and went along with her.
We need to be careful who we make our closest friends. We need to get out of relationships that are dragging us down. Relationships that are causing us to compromise on what we know is right. Relationships that are causing harm. Once things start going crazy, it is not just ourselves who are hurt, but conflict spills over into every other relationship that we have in our life, including our relationship with God.
Which leads into a second observation. We need to be aware of...
The delusive power of toxic environments
Singer/Songwriter Randy Newman had a song that was a number 1 hit in 1970 for Three Dog Night 'I've seen so many things, That I ain't never seen before, I don't know what it is, But I don't wanna see no more... Mama told me not to come, Mama told me not to come, She said that ain't no way to have fun, Mama told me not to come.”
I am fairly sure that Randy Newman wasn't writing about this particular passage in Mark, but I tell you, if I was at a party where, following a dancing girls’ performance, they bring out a prophets severed head on a silver plate... I'd be singing along, '.Mama told me not to come.” It is not enough to just watch who we are knowing. We also need to watch where we are going.
There are parties... and there are parties. I do not believe there is anything wrong with having a dance to celebrate a birthday with friends or a good company and a glass of wine. But there was something more than an innocent celebration going on here. Things were getting out of control.
Whilst the text does not suggest there was anything salacious about the young girls dancing, it appears to have been interpreted that way by Herod. His judgment is impaired by too much drink. He has no idea that he is being manipulated. He starts making promises that he could not possibly fulfill. 'Just dance for me one more time ... I will give you anything you desire.”
No sooner has he said it than Herodias sweeps down like an eagle on her prey. “Ask for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter” she goads the daughter. Herod looks around at his guests. He is afraid of what people will make of him if he goes back on his word. So, with a wave of the hand, it was done. Executioners are sent to do the dirty deed and return with their gruesome prize. What happened next at the party we do not know. I am not even sure I want to know! 'That ain't no way to have fun, Mama told me not to come.’
Sometimes we find in ourselves in situations where we feel we are out of our depth. We feel pressure from family, friends, or peers to behave in certain ways. We may let our guard down more than we should by relaxing more than we had intended. At such times we should remind ourselves that there are situations when we must walk away. And there is no shame in doing that.
And that does not just apply to parties. In the workplace, in a school or college setting, when people are joking around, even just being out with friends or colleagues, if something in our spirit witnesses that this just is not right, it is OK to walk away.
It does not mean that we do not care or that we are being judgmental.Events can turn toxic. And when they do, we do not need to be there! Just as there are toxic relationships that we need to avoid so there are toxic situations we need to walk away from. Or better still avoid getting into in the first place.
We also need to be alert to the simple truth that not everybody has our best interest at heart. I admit it, I can be “Mr. Gullible.” I often presume the best about people. If they spin me a sad tale as to why they need my help, I do not always ask the right questions. And then I have those “DANG” moments when I realize I have been taken for a ride.
Herod thinks he is being generous offering this dancing girl whatever she wanted. He is just being had. He is just being taken advantage of. Never underestimate people’s powers of persuasion. Remember the old adage “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!' And once our guard is down... then we make bad decisions. This account also warns us about...
The dilemma of toxic choices.
One of Herod's failings is that when he is called upon to compromise, he gets his priorities completely messed up. About marrying his brother's wife? No compromise. About locking up John. Total compromise.
Herod knows he is doing the wrong thing. And then there is the question of his honor. Should he have made a compromise and declared that the death of a good man was more of a wrong than losing face with his guests? Yes. That is what he should have done. But rather than compromise on a drunken promise, he instead has a man executed!
The choices we make can be toxic. Maybe not quite as toxic as Herod's but nevertheless, we are daily faced with choices about what we support, where we shop, what causes we support, how we spend our leisure time... and on and on. Herod is not a puppet.
Throughout the whole story Herod has choices. As do we. But he is weak. He makes all the wrong decisions. The story starts out with him choosing what he is going to believe about Jesus Christ. People tell us that it does not matter what we believe. That is not true. Because if we get it wrong about Jesus then that decision effects everything else that we do.
Some days after the party King Herod is learning about Jesus. People are expressing their opinions about who Jesus is. 'He's a prophet' 'He's a phenomenal teacher' 'He's a healer' 'He's Elijah”. Herod is fixed on his own idea. Jesus was not any of those things. Jesus was John the Baptist, raised from dead, and come back to haunt him.
Herod is riddled with guilt and remorse for his actions. He cannot get John out of his mind. His disturbed mental state means he has no comprehension of the Kingdom Jesus was bringing into being. He is so pre-occupied with his own assumptions that he gets it all wrong about the one who could have been his savior.
The question of who we believe Jesus may be and how we deal with all the conflicting information we hear, is one that each of us must work through. There is always a danger of being blinded by our assumptions or of reflecting too much on our own failures, that we fail to see how God can help us. I personally believe that if we turn honestly and openly towards God, God's Holy Spirit can help us make the right decisions and reveal to us things we may be missing.
So, there we have it! We have covered some ground this morning. Britney Spears, Three Dog night. Dancing girls. Parties. Silver plates. Be-headings and Beliefs. I am not really sure how to conclude other than repeating again my sermon title 'Beware the toxins of Herod!'
- Be alert to the danger of toxic relationships. Get out of them.
- Be aware of the delusive power of toxic environments. Avoid them.
- And be sensitive to the dilemma of toxic choices.
- Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. You can't trust Herod, but you can trust in Jesus! Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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