Good dance, bad dance

David danced before the Lord in the procession of the Ark of the Covenant.  It was free, and joyful and certainly not kingly.  But it was worship because above all else, it honored God.

Herodias danced before Herod and a crowd of (probably) inebriated cronies (read that as: drunk, powerful men).  From Herod's reaction, it was beautiful, seductive and in the end, deadly.  As a reward for her performance, Herodias received John the Baptist's head on a platter.  It was gruesome, it was egotistical and prideful and it honored no one.

Good dance, bad dance.

What kind of dance are you dancing?  One that honors God or one that honors the powerful?  Good dance or bad dance?

Be assured I ask this question from the perspective of an awkward and occasionally rhythmically challenged dancer.  But of course, how we look on the dance floor at a wedding is not the point at all.

The point is:  how do you look on the dance floor of life?  Are you dancing a life that honors God?  Do you work at love, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, humility?  

Or are you dancing the dance of the powerful?  Are your choices grounded in self-preservation, protecting what's yours, keeping the needy at bay, giving no thought to the oppressed?

Who is playing the flute for you?  Who is calling the shots?  Who commands your respect?  For whom will you sacrifice?

To whom do you give glory?

Many thanks to Fr. Peter Williams, Grace and Holy Spirit Church, Cortland, NY for this dancing perspective on the lessons for Sunday, July 15th.  This is his sermon in a capsule although it doesn't include an awesome rendition of the Chicken Dance from the congregation.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5sIspLfmXM  for a good version.

Feasting on power

In the end, Mark's story is about Jesus.  A good author could probably explain the reason this story about John the Baptist is so effective in unveiling Jesus' real identity, however it is good to remember that in the end, this is a story about Jesus.

And power.

Even with all his great power, Herod couldn’t silence the preacher named John who was not afraid to speak out against wrong. Herod knew that John was right, and he feared him as a holy and righteous man, but John was a problem.  First, Herod had him imprisoned.  Next, Herod served John up on a platter. In the end, Herod's own (infrequently used) conscience told him he was wrong, on all counts.  Herod's feast led to him feasting on his own evil and ego.

That is how power deals with uncomfortable or inconvenient truth.  It squashes the opposition, jails the journalists, martyrs the activists, and insists on its own (alternate) reality.  Or it grounds the teenager, turns a deaf ear to the spouse, fires the employee, labels the woman, shoots the black man.

Meanwhile, Jesus was feeding people on bread and the Word of God.  There was no power to equal the power of Jesus, the man teaching and healing in the streets and breaking bread on the hillside.  In a short time, Jesus would be on the top of another hillside feeding the world on his own body and blood.

Herod was feasting on power.  Herod would never be satisfied.  

Jesus feasted on love and had twelve baskets of leftovers.   That's who Jesus is.

Mark 6.14-29

Fear and Power

Fear and Power.

The story told in the 6th chapter of Mark begins with the dilemma of who Jesus really and truly was. People just didn't know what to do with all the stories they had heard, and possibly even the healings and miraculous feedings they had observed. Who is this man of Nazareth called Jesus?    'Some say Elijah or one of the prophets of old,' we are told.  

But Herod was sure it was John the Baptist, raised from the dead.  And Herod was afraid.  The big guy was afraid.  So much power, so much fear.

You see, for a man with so much power, Herod spent a great deal of energy being afraid.  He was afraid that one of his sons would gain too much power and overthrow him (so he had them killed).  He was afraid that Rome would throw him out of office.  He was afraid that John the Baptist was preaching the truth about his marriage/morality and folks would listen to him, a rebellion would break out and undermine his power. He was afraid that John the Baptist was, in fact, a prophet (for Herod recognized him as a holy and righteous man) and there might be cosmic consequences for his actions. I believe in some corner of Herod's heart (a corner he apparently assiduously ignored) Herod was afraid of God.

It all started at a lavish banquet complete with a dancing girl where Herod was afraid of looking weak in front of his rich acquaintances at his birthday feast. I imagine a large quantity of alcohol in an atmosphere of seduction led to his foolish promise, but now, Herod is haunted by that night.  'I will give you whatever you ask even to half of my kingdom" he promised.  She wanted John's head.  On a platter.

This is a young girl who will soon be married off to whomever pleases her parents.  In most situations, she is counted among the powerless.  But not that night.  That night she had Herod right where she (or probably more accurately, her mother) wanted him.  She was powerful because Herod was afraid.

Fear and Power.  Power and fear.  Did I mention they go together like hand in glove?

Mark 6.14-29

Power and fear

Seems they go together like hand in glove.  Power generates fear; fear gives space for power.

I mention this because the story of Jesus of Nazareth should never be read in a vacuum.  Jesus, like his cousin John before him, lived, worked, taught, preached in an atmosphere of fear thanks to the power of the ruling Roman Empire.  Remember always to read those sweet Sunday School Bible stories with a fully armed and underpaid Roman Soldier standing at your shoulder.

(As an aside, consider the long list of potential sources of power:  political, economic, gender, race, military, public reputation, sexual, even, my friends, religious.  There are many empires with power over our comings and goings.)

I mention this because this week John the Baptist loses his head.  Actually it had happened in a previous episode and we are getting a flashback from Herod, but this is the point in the gospel story according to Mark that we actually learn about it.

Some will say that John lost his head even before that terrible moment in the castle dungeon.  He insisted on calling Herod out on his ill-advised marriage to his brother's (I assume she is now his ex) wife.  Herod prided himself on his Jewish connections and the Torah is clear about this particular situation; you can not marry your brother's wife.  Simple as that.

John kept pointing this out.  Publicly. Embarrassing?  Annoying for sure.  Particularly since Herod recognized John as a holy and righteous man, and thought a conversation with John might do him some good.  So he arrested him which accomplished two things:  no more public pronouncements about Herod's morality and Herod could always find John for a quiet conversation any time of day or night

When you think about it, it's a pretty strange situation.  On the face of it, John had no power over Herod at all and yet Herod hesitated to silence John because he feared ......what?  Public backlash? His own conscience?  God?

This powerful and brutal man hesitated because of a still, small voice?

Hmmm.  Power and fear lead us to do curious things.


Mark 6.14-29

John the Baptist .....who is this guy?

We welcome Bishop John Macholz today as he reflects on John the Baptist and his appearance in Luke's story.  Luke 3.1-6 John has always been an odd ball character to me. If one reads through the first chapter of Luke and the song of Zechariah which brings it to a close, one discovers that after Zech is done singing, John disappears into the wilderness and  "he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel." Was he alone? What was he doing? Did he have any physical contact with anyone? How many years did he spend there? All questions without answers.  But then he arrives on the scene, in the same wilderness, and begins to proclaim a baptism of repentance; a turning away from sin and turning toward God. We'll hear more from him next week and his language will become a bit, well, abrasive and more personally focused. And therein lies my concern, he seems to be speaking directly to me. In fact, he seems to know me a bit too well! Maybe he doesn't know my sins specifically, but it's pretty clear that he knows I'm a sinner and in that, I am convicted.  When I was growing up, Advent was purple in color and penitential in nature. Sometime, long ago, it seems, it shifted in color and somewhat in nature but not completely; there is still that call to repentance that reminds me who I am and what I have done as John calls me back to the recognition that I am, plain and simple, a sinner in need of changing. And then I realize I cannot do that alone, by myself, left to my own devices.  Which is when the hope and promise of the season arise and arrive as I realize that I can't do it on my own but, the Dawn from on High that breaks upon us can! John is preparing a way for the Coming One by preparing our hearts to recognize that we are desperately in need of this One promised long, long ago. And in that moment of recognition, forgiveness, mercy and hope flood into the darkness of life and bring with it the brightness of a new light and the hope we so desperately need.  John is still a bit odd in my mind but then again, it often takes 'odd' to get me to recognize what is right before my eyes-the need for this Savior and his love and life. Prepare the way!  Many thanks to our guest blogger Pr. John Macholz

Holy Space

The Angel of the Lord (seems that is a title which begs to be capitalized) met Zechariah in the sanctuary - an inner portion of the temple that could be entered only by a priest because it was holy.

Holy means "to be set apart for the service of God."  The sanctuary was a holy space, and in this holy space God set in motion the divine plan for the redemption of creation. "Zechariah," the angel said, "Elizabeth will bear a son and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit."  A divine announcement in a holy space.

This child, to be named John (God is gracious) was to grow in the womb of a barren woman.  God creates in Elizabeth a holy space where her prayers were to answered, where a prophet would grow, where the divine plan could literally take form. 

John will become God's holy space among God's people, reminding them of the God who has remembered Israel, and carving out a space - a holy space - for Israel to become a part of the divine plan just now being revealed.

Advent is the perfect time to carve out a holy space in your days, in your prayers, in your family time so you too might prepare yourself for the coming Savior.  Press to the side all the other things which clamor for your attention, clear out the 'musts' and 'shoulds' and open a space for the Word of God to come into your life.  When your thoughts and heart are a holy space for God's work in you, all the other preparations of this season are but window trimming.

Who do people say that I am?

          

This is the crux of the issue:  who exactly is this Jesus?   The disciples answered, "John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets."  We are no more agreed on the answer today than the people were of his time. 

Christians have proclaimed this Jesus to be : Christ, the King (Chi Rho),  the Alpha and Omega (God's first and last), and, using the fish symbol Jesus, the Christ, God's son, Savior.   [that is what these symbols for Jesus Christ mean.]

Every believer needs to answer that question for themselves.  Who is this Jesus?  What is Jesus' relationship to the Creator God?  What benefit is there for me in the life, ministry and death of this Jesus?  How is my life changed by this one called Jesus?

Yes, the Church can give you answers, as the symbols above attest.  But, it seems to me, until you wrestle with this question yourself those answers have little traction in your life.  And as Jesus will begin teaching his disciples, without the cross, those answers mean nothing at all.

Bless us in our seeking O Lord.  May we see your presence each day.  AMEN

Prophet's work: speaking truth to power

A prophet's job is to speak the truth to those who are in power.  All is well when the truth you are speaking coincides with the interests of those in power.  When the truth you hold confronts the practices and attitudes of those in power, then you better duck.

No one wants to hear that their behavior is inappropriate, arrogant, greedy, nasty, oppressive.  No one.  You didn't like it when your mother told you to 'straighten up' nor when a teacher called you on some behavior.  Consider our tendency as teens to 'mouth off' (however you might define that) and the sting of being called on our disrespect.

So we are all familiar with the emotional experience of being called out by another.  Therefore when we look at a story where a prophet challenges a king because the king is acting poorly, we can understand how the king might feel.

But few of us have ever had the power to silence the speaker - destroying both message and messenger.  For most of us the closest we come to that experience of power is in our relationships with our children.  With only a little imagination we can take the role of the mis-behaving king while our children speak the uncomfortable truth to us.  Not all of us have reacted kindly.

That is what makes the prophet's calling so dangerous.  A prophet (that is, one who speaks the mind of God) is only called in when there is bad news to report - bad news that will leave folks feeling shamed, angry, embarrassed.  And who knows what the king will do next?

This Sunday we have the prophet Amos going head to head with King Jeroboam and his chief counsel, Amaziah, and John the Baptist at the mercy of King Herod.  Only Amos gets out of these encounters with his head still in tack. 

BTW, we who follow Jesus are called to speak God's truth as well - especially for the sake of the oppressed, specifically to those in power.  For Jesus, this led to a cross.  Where will it lead us?