| King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name
had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer
has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these
powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It
is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet,
like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod
heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded,
has been raised.” |
| For Herod himself had sent men
who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on
account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
because Herod had married her. For John had been telling
Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s
wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and
wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and
he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed;
and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity
came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his
courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased
Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask
me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And
he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me,
I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She
went out and said to her mother, “What should I
ask for?” She replied, “The head of John
the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the
king and requested, “I want you to give me at once
the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The
king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths
and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately
the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring
John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,
brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl.
Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples
heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid
it in a tomb. |
| The apostles gathered around
Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place
all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were
coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by
themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them,
and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and
arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great
crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach
them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came
to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and
the hour is now very late; send them away so that they
may go into the surrounding country and villages and
buy something for themselves to eat.” But he answered
them, “You give them something to eat.” They
said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred
denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” And
he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go
and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five,
and two fish.” Then he ordered them to get all
the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.
So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up
to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave
them to his disciples to set before the people; and he
divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and
were filled; and they took up twelve baskets full of
broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the
loaves numbered five thousand men. |
|
| Mark 6:14-44 |
| Our text begs the question: whose rule reigns in our hearts
and what type of power will we follow? There is a collision
in our text. Two stories hit, head on. Only one story, or the
other, can rule our hearts. |
| I’d never heard anyone suggest that the death of John
the Baptist and Jesus’ Feeding the Five Thousand might
shed some light on one another. They are totally split apart
in the lectionary. I’ve never heard them preached on
together. But this May while I was attending the Festival of
Homiletics in Atlanta, Barbara Lundblad who is a Presbyterian
minister and homiletics professor suggested that these passages
might need to be taken together. We could, she suggested, ditch
the lectionary for a move that makes some common sense. |
| One approach to taking these texts together might be to
ask what the death of a prophet has to do with the miracle
of abundant food for a bunch of seeking people? Wait a minute!
These words ring with sacramental familiarity. Might these
two stories taken together foreshadow Jesus’ death and
the significance of his table for his followers? |
| Another more obvious editorial move by Mark, the one we will
concentrate on this morning, is that we have before us a tale
of two feasts. Could the two feasts be any more disparate?
One is held in the seat of power; the other in a deserted place.
One is an elaborate birthday party with an invited guest list;
the other was an attempt to flee from crowds and seek a little
solitude—and ended up an open teach-in for people who
weren’t invited at all. One lavishes food upon the ranking
guests while some just outside the walls of the room are surely
starving; the other is a motley crew, under stocked even in
simple foods, yet abundant food is provided for all. |
| Two feasts are recounted in a row. They are as different
as night and day yet Mark wants us to hear these stories next
to one another. |
| Mark tells us Herod was often perplexed by John, yet he liked
to listen to him…except when he warned Herod about his
sin in marrying his brother’s wife while he was still
alive! At Herod’s party, his niece entertained the dignitaries
and Herod, and they were so enthralled that he told her she
could ask for anything and he would give it to her. When it
came back from mommy that Herodias wanted the head of John
the Baptist as fulfillment of his oath, Herod felt there wasn’t
much he could do. There were all the guests he had made it
in front of to consider. Herod chose to use his power in cruel
ways to gain respect and drive fear into the hearts of others. |
| The one who ruled at the palace banquet cared more about
the power of wealth and his image than he did of taking care
of those in need under his authority. For Herod there was only
one reasonable solution, to fulfill the request and behead
John. |
| Barbara Lundblad noted at the conference, “Herod’s
feast is shaped by the rubrics of the empire. His allegiance
now is to Rome, to Caesar, more than to Torah. On his small
stage, the empire defined the priorities…. The head
of John was brought out on a platter—a terrible leftover
at the feast of Herod.” |
| On of my professors from seminary, Dr. Brian Blount says
in his book on the Gospel of Mark, “At the banquet in
the desert, there is one reasonable thing to do: send the people
away so they can fend for themselves. Jesus, however, won’t
cooperate.” (1) |
| If Herod had been in the desert with Jesus at the teach-in
he would have agreed with the disciples, “Send them away.” Let
the little people fend for themselves and go off to find food
on their own. |
| Jesus takes another point of view from Herod’s; he
cares for those in need who are under his authority. Not only
does he show compassion for those under his authority, he makes
his disciples join him in his reign of compassion! “You
give them something to eat.” The One who rules the desert
banquet is so filled with compassion that all become invited
guests; all are nourished. The feast in the desert counters
in every way the power yielded at Herod’s feast. It’s
a whole new vision. |
| The grass was green in the desert that day. The disciples
couldn’t see it in the beginning, but they witnessed
it as Jesus sent them to carry out his compassion, collecting
the five loaves and two fish, which somehow became more than
enough for all to eat. “You give them something to eat.” Mark
lets us know that we are going to have to take our place in
God’s reign. We are a part of God’s ongoing work
and we too must take risks to care for others even when it
seems like we lack the resources to do so. |
| People who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ are bound
to upset the powers that be around them. Just like John the
Baptist upset Herodias. Truths must be spoken though, and works
of compassion followed. The good news for followers of Jesus
is that, “if John’s story shows the cost of discipleship,
Mark goes on to show that God will not be stopped.” (2)
Not by Herod killing John the Baptist, not by lack of resources,
not even by Jesus’ death. God’s rule of the world,
God’s power cannot be stopped. |
| We follow our God who made a way where there wasn’t
one assuring us of life after death! God even made a way for
us to be sustained for the journey of faith through the sacraments.
Our baptisms claim us and proclaim that we are marked by God’s
grace forever; therefore, we are able to join in protesting
worldly powers contrary to God’s will just as Jesus did
at the feast in the desert. |
| Mark illustrates the collision between two different notions
of where power comes from, and how it should be wielded in
the stories. “Trust in Jesus, says Mark, rather than
in the enchanting, enticing, and often deadly lure of earthly
power in whatever form it is lodged.” (3) |
| Whose reign will we follow? The truth is that our actions,
like Herod’s, speak louder than our inquiries about faith
or our confessions of faith. The compassion of Jesus for all
who he encountered is a discipleship orientation, a guide for
our lives. May the grace and power displayed at the feast in
the desert rule in our hearts and lives. |
| Amen |
| Beth E. Godfrey - July 16, 2006 |
| Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, New
York |
| (1) Brian K. Blount and Gary W. Charles in Preaching Mark
in Two Voices (WJKP: Louisville 2002) 113. |
| (2) ibid. 115 |
| (3) ibid, 101. (Gary W. Charles) |
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