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[2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 and Mark 6:17-29]

     "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist." [Mark]

     Once upon a time, this feast was more realistically entitled, "The Beheading of John the Baptist," but more recently the liturgical powers-that-be decided John needed a more noble notice to dress up a rather nasty story.  After all, John the Baptist is a major figure in the New Testament.  One would think he deserved a better end than having his head chopped off and put on a platter for the pleasure of a dancing girl and her outraged mother.  Mom was upset because John had confronted Herod with the fact that Herod had married a woman who was both his niece and his sister-in-law.  Mom  (Herodias) was that woman and the dancing daughter (Salome) knew better than to defy her mom.  The gory results speak for themselves.

     Jesus' own fate was in part due to outraged religious potentates who not only envied his popularity but also feared he might attract the wrong attention from the Romans who might decide to do away with more than Jesus!  Needless to say, Jesus' prophetic action in cleansing the temple didn't endear him to them, either.  

     Power corrupts.  It can create a kind of paranoia in the power-holder.  Anything that appears to be a threat to that power must be removed.  This is true in civil as well as religious matters, and we are not lacking in examples at the present time at both levels.  The fates of Jesus, John and many of the Old Testament prophets could discourage voices that need to be heard.  One can only pray that those voices will continue to speak out against any and all abuses of power, especially when that power claims spiritual authority.  AMEN