Amos 7:7-15 Psalm 85: 8-13
Ephesians 1: 3-14 Mark 6: 14-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
What an awful story we get from Mark’s Gospel today! It’s awful because of its gruesome nature, to be sure. The head of John the Baptist on a platter. Yuck. But more than that, it’s awful because of the complete lack of integrity or honor present within the story.
And really, it’s a story worthy of reality television in its ugly nature. And, as with all stories, it’s helpful to understand the context of the story before attempting to understand how the story speaks to us today.
In today’s Gospel, Herodius is married to Herod Antipus, son of Herod the Great. It was Herod the Great who tried to kill all of the babies in order to kill the infant Jesus. Quite the family. Herodius had been married previously to Herod’s brother, Herod Philip, but he did not share her ambition for power. When she met Herod Antipus, they fell madly in love and she divorced Herod Philip, but only after they’d had a daughter together.
History tells us that John the Baptist had warned against the marriage. While he may or may not have thought this was somehow morally wrong, it is more likely that he’d witnessed the kind of havoc this divorce was wreaking upon this politically powerful family. And remember, John’s focus was on preparing the way for the Messiah; that would include precious little time for marrying one’s sister in law.
But marry they did, and the scene from Mark’s Gospel opens with John the Baptist in prison for what he’d spoken against – or some say that Herod Antipas had imprisoned him for his own protection. The text, after all, does say that Herod Antipas protected John. And it’s Herod Antipas’ birthday – he has gathered all of his best and worst buddies in to celebrate and the entertainment is his dancing step daughter, and trust me, this is no number from ballet class! And the costume, if there was one at all, would have required very little fabric.
Herod is so pleased with her dancing and so pleased with how his guests appreciate it, that he is quite full of himself and probably filled with some spirits as well, so he promises her, quite verbosely, anything she desires. She runs to her mother to ask what she should request and returns to her step father with the request: The head of John the Baptist.
And this is the critical moment. This is the moment when Herod Antipas will show his true colors. This is the moment where the rubber meets the road. Will he succumb to the manipulation of his wife and risk losing face in front of all the boys or will he do the right thing and stand up for the prophet whom he admires and whose words make him think?
As despicable as Herod Antipas is, I find myself with a very uncomfortable ability to understand how he feels. After all, no one wants to look foolish in front of their friends. And he did swear to the dancing daughter he’d give her whatever she wanted – even half of his kingdom. And you know, nobody wants to look like they aren’t a person of their word, right?
The prophet Amos, in today’s first reading, is bringing a word from God to the people. God shows Amos a plumb line. I wasn’t sure what a true plumb line is or what it’s used for, so I looked it up and I called on a contractor to loan me one. The dictionary tells us that the word plumb comes from the Latin word for the metal lead. A plumb line is a string or line from which a weight is hung. The weight is called a plumb bob. This plumb line is suspended from above to determine or test whether something below is or isn’t vertical, or upright. I would imagine, for example, that when this rock wall was being built, that a plumb line…like this one…was extended downward from the uppermost part at the time, to determine if the wall was straight or upright.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible God is shown as using a line or a plumb to measure, to determine what is upright and good from what is not. In 2 Kings, Isaiah, and Lamentations, God is shown drawing such a line. And here, in this reading from Amos, the prophet has a vision of God standing before a wall holding a plumb line. And the plumb line will again determine what is upright and good and what is not.
It seems to me that we all have a plumb line, a standard by which we determine what is upright and acceptable and good in our lives and what is not. There is some line, some measure, of determination. A woman I know speaks often of living each day as though it were her last. That is her plumb line. Another person tells of his efforts to do no harm in what he does, whether it is in action or inaction, in speaking or remaining silent. It is his plumb line. Another tells of doing the right thing, even if in the short term it will be unpleasant. These are admirable examples of personal plumb lines.
But what of people like Herod Antipas? What was his plumb line? Was it to save face? Was it to always look good? History tells us that his personal plumb line was likely power. To do whatever he could to have more power. We know folks like that….in politics, in the church, in our families. Other plumb lines include the accumulation of wealth…we know people whose plumb line is to amass as much money as possible. Other plumb lines that come to mind are always being right, or always being in the spotlight, or doing whatever feels good at that moment or only doing what is best for you and not for the whole.
Groups of people can have plumb lines, too. We have seen this all too clearly this week in the report of the numbers of people at Penn State who chose to protect the income generating football program over the lives of young innocent boys.
Your Church Council has a plumb line and that is to faithfully carry out the mission and ministry of this congregation.
But there are always those moments that are hinges in our lives. Those moments when our action or inaction defines what our plumb line is and where it falls.
The people of Israel were judged by God and found to be warped beyond correction. They had not lived in accordance to the standards God had set before them. This was the message of the prophet Amos.
John the Baptist, on the other hand, had lived exactly in accordance to the plumb line. His standard was to be the forerunner of the Messiah. He spoke the truth even when it put him in danger, or in prison. And ultimately, he paid with his life.
Herod Antipas was not able to live up to the plumb line, if it was righteousness. Instead he opted for power and the admiration of others, even if in so doing, he lost his connection to what brought him near to what was holy.
The letter to the Ephesians reminds them of their plumb line. It is their identity in Christ Jesus. With that identity comes redemption, forgiveness, and boundless grace. This eloquent opening paragraph is a thankful reminder of the riches of life lived in Christ Jesus.
Each of us has a plumb line, something that measures the upright and good places in our lives. And when we are faced with a decision to make or an action to take or a fork in the road, when we find ourselves, like Herod, faced with choosing what brings us power or choosing what brings life, let us, every time, choose life.
Thanks be to God.
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