“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod, it seemed, had a guilty conscience. He hated the fact that John had criticized has marriage, and wanted to silence that critique. But even once John was imprisoned he couldn't help but find him interesting. This was perhaps because John lacked much of a filter when it came to the truth. He was, no doubt, surrounded by people who told him mostly only what he wanted to hear. But John was different. Because he was a righteous and holy man he could not stop short of offering the full truth as he understood it to Herod, who, in virtue of being human, was entitled to that truth. He didn't condemn Herod simply for the sake of condemning him. He did it because then there might be the possibility, for change, transformation, and redemption. To hold out on the fullness of truth in such a case was in fact to deny him this opportunity.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias, however, did not find John interesting or appealing in the way that Herod did. To her, he was only an external manifestation of her own conscience condemning her for a marriage that was unlawful. She, perhaps, was less accustomed to people saying always and only positive things to her, and perhaps more ready to fight to obtain and maintain position in society. In any event, she wasn't interested in John enough to let him linger even in prison. His continued existence was a reminder of her sin. But she could not achieve her goal of destroying John through the persuasive power of reason. Rather, she used her ability to manipulate people and situations in order to accomplish it. She implicated her own daughter in the process, subverting the gift of the girl's talent and beauty into the locus of temptation for her own husband and his guests. Whether this girl felt as though she had no choice to participate or whether her mother had formed her in such a way that she did it willingly does not change the fact that it was primarily Herodias that was guilty. She demonstrated the ruthless drive to achieve her desire, no matter the cost.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
Herod had only a vague an noncommittal relationship with the truth. In some way he was still able to understand it. But he often favored his desires and proclivities rather than conforming to it when it made imposing demands on his lifestyle. Yet we can see from the effect of this dance that giving in to his desires did not make him free. In fact, doing so made him willing to surrender half of the kingdom over which he was sovereign to fulfill them. And this is how it always is with sin. It promises freedom, enjoyment, and delight. But these promises end up empty. We find ourselves deprived of the royal sovereignty we are meant to exercise over our own lives, no longed guided by reason, but chained to our desires.
There are two different angles by which way may apply this Gospel to our lives. The first is taking John the Baptist as an example of fearlessly speaking any truth that might be helpful for others even in spite of difficult consequences. The second is that we ourselves ought to strive to maintain our relationship to the truth as the guide of our actions, that we resist the temptation to act on our desires when we know them to be harmful and illicit. Though, from our first reading, we are reminded that even if we dos sometimes fail to speak the truth or resist temptation there is always forgiveness available, if we seek it.
The Lord forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.
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