+ 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! In effect, St. John the Baptist became the patron
saint of marriage, and speaking truth to power with today’s feast – may we
imitate and follow St. John the Baptist all the way into the kingdom because we
too defend marriage as God gives it, and speaking truth to power even if it “cancels”
us in the estimation of the world: our crown, our glory will be great in the
Kingdom prepared for us.
Blessed
are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
Kingdom of heaven.
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