+ St. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus Christ, son
of Zachary, a priest of the order of Abiah, whose job in the temple was to burn
incense; and of Elizabeth, a descendent of Aaron. John was a Prophet – the last
of the great prophets of the Old Testament, for he literally pointed to Christ
on the banks of the Jordan and said: Behold,
the Lamb of God, it is he who takes away the sins of the world: follow him!
Before this time, John
converted many to a way that would propel them towards Christ when he did in
fact arrive: and he baptized men and women for the forgiveness of their sins
(which would be fully effected by Christ’s death and resurrection). And, of
course, he baptized Jesus himself, not that he had any sins, but as a sign that
baptism would be required of all future members of his church, and as a way to
inaugurate his own public ministry among the people of Israel.
Now that Jesus ministry had
begun, John’s job was pretty much finished except for his greatest act of faith
and love for his cousin that he could make: his martyrdom. He was imprisoned
because he had condemned King Herod Antipas for his marriage to Herodias, which
was both adulterous and incestuous. She was not only his niece, but also the
wife of his brother, who was still alive. At Herodias’s insistence, Herod
imprisoned John. Later, during a banquet the king made a public promise that he
could not retract: telling Heordias’s daughter, who danced provocatively in
front of him, that he would give her anything she wanted. Herodias told her
daughter to ask for the beheading of John in prison. And so John the Baptizer
“lost his head” to “save the king’s face” in front of his guests.
This feast is celebrated by
both the Eastern and Western Churches – in which John has always been held in
very high esteem.
The first reading makes a
seeming contrary prophecy: they will
fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord. Did John the Baptist, therefore, win or lose in his
confrontation with King Herod? He won, of course: even though one loses his physical life for the sake of
the Kingdom, God delivers the soul intact and joyful to him as a specially
granted reward. To give one’s life for Christ and his Kingdom is the greatest
of all gifts one can give to God, and he accepts it as such and rewards the
giver with a crown of glory!
May we be willing today, more
than in any other time in our lives to give and give for Christ the true King
and his reign, and receive blessings and rewards assured us by the Father’s own
promises, for the Church, as you know from the news media, is in deep trouble
right now – there is a betrayal in the ranks of shepherds that in many ways
equates the betrayal of Judas, who handed over Jesus for his Passion, the most
devastating Passion of all time. In “pleasing themselves” with self-gratifying
sexual exploits with children of both sexes, on into adulthood in some cases,
and then in attempting to perpetuate these improprieties and crimes by cover
ups and closing ranks of their subculture of homosexual perversion for
protection from exposure to the light of day!
As bad as things are, I urge
good and faithful Catholics and clergy to remember that it is Jesus who is his
Mystical Body, his Church – and he is extremely angry at what is coming to
light, and he and his Blessed Mother, weep together over the atrocities, and
they will bring about just retribution, because at this point they are the only
ones who can do it! As St. John the Baptist offered his sufferings and
martyrdom for the sake of his cousin and his Lord, in imitation of him and
Jesus himself, we can do the same. Please, do not abandon the ship, even though
a great many of its stewards are fools!
God himself will come to
shepherd his flock – he promised – and he will do it!
Blessed
are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
Kingdom of heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment