Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 29, 2015 - Aug. 29 - The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
[Jer 1:17-19 and Mark 6:17-29]SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015 THE PASSION OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST [1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 and 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." [Mark] Once upon a time, the title of this feast was "The Beheading of John the Baptist!" That must have seemed too literal for the liturgical folks, so now it has been "sanitized" with a less gruesome title. However, the story in the Gospel of Mark is still pretty awful. The offended lady just abided her time until her husband got drunk enough at a party to make a deadly promise. It seems pretty tacky for John the Baptist, the precursor of The Lord, to come to such an end. Yet it shows how callous and cruel the powerful can be about the lives of those whom they rule. Indeed, it can be very dangerous to confront them about it as Archbishop Romero and others have demonstrated. Yet, the prophetic ministry is essential and even if not everyone is called to it publicly, we are each, as baptized persons, called to live in such a way that the callousness and cruelty of powerful people stands out for condemnation. John the Baptist is simply a good example. AMEN Sent from my iPhone
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