Friday, 28 August 2026
Saturday, August 29, 2026 - The Beheading of John the Baptist - Does it make sense to lose your head?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jer1:17-19; Mk 6:17-29
Mark’s
Account of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist by Herod Antipas is more
elaborate than that of Matthew and Luke. According to Mark, Herod had
imprisoned John because he reproved Herod for divorcing his wife (Phasaelis),
and unlawfully taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I. On
Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter (traditionally named Salome but not named
by Mark or the other Gospels) danced before the king and his guests. Her
dancing pleased Herod so much that in his drunkenness he promised to give her
anything she desired, up to half of his kingdom. When the daughter asked her mother
what she should request, she was told to ask for the head of John the Baptist
on a platter. Although Herod was appalled by the request, he reluctantly agreed
and had John executed in the prison.
The
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also relates in his Antiquities of the Jews
that Herod killed John, stating that he did so, "lest the great influence
John had over the people might put it into his [John's] power and inclination
to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise),
[so Herod] thought it best [to put] him to death." He further states that
many of the Jews believed that the military disaster which fell upon Herod at
the hands of Aretas his father-in-law (Phasaelis' father), was God's punishment
for his unrighteous behaviour.
While
Mark has mentioned Herodians before (3:6), this is the first time in his Gospel
that he mentions Herod. Herod, here is Herod Antipas who was the son of Herod
the Great who is the one referred to in the narrative of the birth of Jesus in
the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2:1-23), and had been appointed by the Roman as the
ruler of Galilee and Perea (Lk 3:1). He was never “king” as Mark mentions in
his story, and Matthew corrects this by referring to Herod as tetrarch (Mt
14,1). The story of the death of John the Baptist in Mark is sandwiched between
the sending of the Twelve on Mission (6:7-13) and their return from Mission
(6:30-34).
Mark
mentions three opinions about Jesus said to be circulating at that time. Some
believed that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead; others believed
that Jesus was Elijah, while still others believed that Jesus was one of the
prophets of old. Herod, however, is quite clear in Mark that Jesus is John the
Baptist raised. This profession of Herod leads Mark to narrate the story of the
death of John the Baptist as a flashback. According to Mark, the reason why
John was put in prison was because he objected to Herod’s violation of the
purity code, which forbade marriage of close relatives and to a brother’s wife
while the brother was still alive (Lev 18:16; 20:21). Mark seems to lay the
blame for the death of John on Herodias who manipulates Herod into executing
John. The daughter of Herodias is not named here or anywhere in the Bible, nor
does the Bible give her age. According to Mark a drunken Herod is trapped into
fulfilling a rash vow and so has John beheaded.
Though
in Mark’s narrative it is Herodias who is directly responsible for the death of
John the Baptist, Herod cannot disown responsibility. He could have decided if
he had the courage not to give in, yet he made the choice to have John
beheaded. Each of us is responsible for our own actions though we may sometimes
blame others or even circumstances. The sooner we accept responsibility for who
we are and what we do, the sooner we will grow up. The legend of John the
Baptist shows us that justice is the ultimate victim in such situations.
Thursday, 27 August 2026
Friday, August 28, 2026 - Is there enough oil in the lamp of your life? If not what will you do about it today?
To read the texts click on the texts:1 Cor1:17-25; Mt 25:1-13
In
the parable of today we will hear of the ten bridesmaids, five of whom were
prepared and five unprepared, five of whom had oil and five of whom who did
not. We are told that five were foolish and five were wise right at the
beginning of the parable, because we cannot tell this just be looking at them.
All ten have come to the wedding; all ten have their lamps burning; all ten
presumably have on their gowns. The readiness is what distinguishes the wise
from the foolish.. Five are ready for the delay and five are not. Five have
enough oil for the wedding to start whenever the bridegroom arrives; the
foolish ones have only enough oil for their own timetable.
It
is easy to be good for a day if goodness is seen only as a means to an end. It
is easy to be merciful for a day if mercy is seen only as a means to an end.
However, if we see goodness and mercy and everything that is positive as an end
in itself, then it is possible to be good and merciful and positive always. We
are called then to be like the wise ones with our lamps always burning so that
we will then be able to welcome the Lord whenever he comes.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Thursday, August 27, 2026 - If Jesus were to call you to himself now, would he find you ready? Why?
To read the texts click on the texts:1 Cor 1:1-9; Mt 24:42-51
We
will hear for the next few days’ readings from Chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel
of Matthew, which are known as the Eschatological Discourse. The word
Eschatological comes from the Greek word “Eschaton” that means “the last
things”, “the things of the afterlife”. In these chapters, Jesus speaks to all
the people about how they must behave in the present, if they are to expect to
be judged with mercy in the future. In the text of today, the disciples are
asked to “stay awake”, because no one knows when the hour of departure will be.
The disciples are called to be busy with the assigned mission not with
apocalyptic speculation. The wise servant is the one who obeys not calculates.
Some
of us regard being good as a burden. This is because we may associate goodness
with being serious and sombre and not enjoying every single moment of life. On
the contrary, goodness means exactly the opposite. It means that one is in the
present moment and so living it as fully as possible. It also means that for a
person who does this there is no need to worry about the day or hour when
he/she will be called simply because such a person is always ready.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 - How will you ensure that your being is good today so that your works too might be good?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Thess 3:6-10,16-18; Mt 23:27-32
The
text of today contains the sixth (23:27-28) and seventh (23:29–36) woes begun
in 23:13. The sixth Woe concerns “whitewashed tombs”. As a public service,
tombs were whitewashed to make them more obvious, since contact with the dead
and with graves, even if unintentional, transmitted ritual impurity (Num
19:11-22). This was especially important to pilgrims at Passover time, who
would not know the places they visited. The point that Matthew makes is
“ostentatious exterior, corrupt interior”. The seventh and final Woe extends
the tomb image and modulates into the concluding theme: The rejection of the
prophets God has sent.
The
challenge then to each one of us is to bother less about what we ought to do
and think more about what we ought to be, because if our being were good then
our works would shine forth brightly.
Monday, 24 August 2026
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 - If your being is good, then all you do will also be good. How will you ensure that your being is good today?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Thess 2:1-3,14-17; Mt 23:23-26
The
fourth (23:23-24) and fifth (23:25-26) woes against the Pharisees are about
focussing on the insignificant matters and externals while forgetting what is
significant and internal.
The
Pharisees were extremely particular about tithing and to ensure that they did
not err in this regard, tithed even small garden vegetables used for seasoning
which Matthew mentions here as mint, dill and cumin and probably in order to
correspond with justice and mercy and faith.
Gnat
and Camel, which the Matthean Jesus contrasts in 23:24, were the smallest and
largest living things in ordinary experience.
While
the Matthean Jesus does not state that what the Pharisees are doing is wrong,
his critique is that while focussing so much on these insignificant items, they
lose sight of the larger picture. Too much focus on the external can also lead
to forgetting the internal. What is on the outside is merely a reflection of
what is within.
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