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     It really seems like a tawdry end for such a great prophetic figure.  John the Baptist incurred Herod's wrath by denouncing him for marrying Herodias, who was married to another relative of Herod's.  Even worse, John incurred the wrath of the lady and she looked for a way to get rid of him.  The story is the stuff of lurid imagination from the wrathful woman, to the dissolute Herod to the dancing daughter (whom tradition has named Salome and called her dance the "dance of the seven veils") to the gruesome head on a platter!  Paintings and opera have attempted to capture the scene!  The story in the Gospel of Mark is lurid enough for me!

     John the Baptist preceded Jesus in death.  Like Jesus, he had done nothing wrong and was put to death because of the wrath of others to whom he was offensive.  In many ways, the church barely acknowledges the event because John's birth is celebrated as a feast and his death as a mere memorial!  Yet, we learn in this story just how destructive human emotion and hatred can be.  Herodias' grudge was lethal!   John the Baptist represented no real threat to her.  He paid with his life for telling the truth and confronting the ruler with that truth.  In this sense, he can be called the patron saint of "whistle-blowers!"  AMEN