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John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
John was not a saint because he was tactful or because he changed his approach when he found that his message was making people mad. Nor did he alter his course for the sake of his own freedom or the preservation of his life. No, rather, he could not help but speak the truth, whether it seemed effective or not, whether it seemed advantageous or not. But, to be clear, he didn't do it because he enjoyed a self-image of boldness or one of superiority to those whom he spoke. If there had been any hint of condescension in his message it would have hit differently. Yet, as it was, Herod couldn't help but know that he was a righteous and holy man. It upset his assumptions about reality, and yet, though perplexed, he liked to listen to him.
John might have attempted something more strategic, realizing that wasting away in Herod's prison wasn't doing much to advance his message. Having borne witness to the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, having baptized him, and having heard the message of the Father about his Son, would he now end his course because of this instance of marital issues which was apparently trivial by comparison?
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
John was not the type to back down from the truth just because of external pressure. Had he been so he never would have had the successful career as a prophet that he did. Even here in this prison his refusal to tolerate any inconsistency in himself or others spoke volumes about the credibility of everything he said. Because he would never betray any specific truth he was more trustworthy when he pointed out the one who was Truth itself.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
Herod, by contrast to John, changed his priorities moment by moment. He did not possess consistency or integrity that could anchor him amid changes circumstances. That meant he tended to seize upon whatever felt best in a given moment. Sometimes, perhaps, that was listening to John. But in a given moment the words of an imprisoned prophet would be less appealing than the alternative. This was certainly the case when the dancing girl made him forget John and whatever concern he made have had for him entirely.
“I want you to give me at once
on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
Because Herod didn't have the anchor of firm commitment to virtue there was nothing to prevent him giving away even pieces of his very soul "even to half" of his kingdom. But this is how it is with sin. It seems so appealing in a given moment that if we don't have practiced habits of choosing the good to steady us then common sense and concern for our own free and rational agency won't be enough to tether us in the moment.
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
Once we do choose sin instead of standing firm we begin to find ourselves less and less free because of it. It gradually changes from something intoxicating and enchanting to something that we only continue to engage with sadness and because we feel that somehow we must. And this is because the alternative, choosing the good, feels still more distant and impossible.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
It doesn't always seem practical or fun to choose the path of John the Baptist, as we can especially see today when we commemorate his death. And yet, hopefully we can see that we would do well to embrace more John and less Herod in our lives. Our approach to truth might be more the curious interest of Herod than the commitment of John. John's boldness might seem almost unapproachable. But we can approach it, little by little, choice by choice. He invites us to do so, both by his example and his prayers.
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