Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 5, 2023 - Saturday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Lev 25:1, 8-17 and Matt 14:1-12]Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him." [Matthew]
There is some irony in Herod's paranoid statement. The gospel scripture for today tells the story of Herod's drunken command to have John the Baptist beheaded. He had imprisoned John because John denounced Herod's marriage to the former wife of his brother, Philip. The story is graphically presented in Strauss' opera, SALOME, (the name tradition gives to the dancing girl who was the daughter of Herod's new wife.) What is ironic is the reference to John the Baptist having been raised from the dead. It would be Jesus who would be raised from the dead, and his mighty powers had nothing to do with John the Baptist, even if he (Jesus) may have been initially among the disciples of John.
This story would be just so much tawdry (even if lethal) biblical opera were it not for the constant barrage of news about the abuses of power by those in high office around the world. Power corrupts, as Lord Acton warned long ago. There is an African proverb that illustrates this: "When the elephants are agitated, it is the ants that suffer." We do not have to look abroad to find examples. Jesus warned his disciples about the abuse of power and the importance of service and accountability (Matt. 20:25) That warning applies to us as well, no matter what power we may have or elect to serve us. AMEN