Mark 6:14-29
I’m really glad to be here, worshipping with you, bringing God’s good news to you. I’m excited about the ministry we are going do together. But earlier this week, as I was reading these Bible texts, I thought, “I should have waited a week!” Who wants to preach about some guy getting beheaded or a prophet condemning Israel
So as I began to read more carefully and study this story about John, the lack of good news begged the question, what else is there? What’s the bigger story? What good, redemptive message is God bringing to us today?
The lectionary texts – these short lessons we read each week – all come out of a bigger story. The texts come from books of the Bible, which come from the whole Bible, which tells us a part of God’s story. So when we look at this story about Herod murdering John the baptizer because of his daughter’s fancy, we know that’s not the whole story.
John had been preaching in the countryside, and Herod liked to hear what he had to say. The problem was, Herod had married his brother’s wife, and John told him that this was unlawful. Herod’s new wife, Herodius, hated John because of what he said and she wanted him killed. But Herod was afraid of killing him – and he liked listening to him. So Herod refused to kill John, but he threw him in prison. Then, as we hear in the gospel story, Herod promises that he’ll give his daughter whatever she wants – and she asks for John’s head. So, Herod reluctantly has John beheaded.
So as I began to read more carefully and study this story about John, the lack of good news begged the question, what else is there? What’s the bigger story? What good, redemptive message is God bringing to us today?
The lectionary texts – these short lessons we read each week – all come out of a bigger story. The texts come from books of the Bible, which come from the whole Bible, which tells us a part of God’s story. So when we look at this story about Herod murdering John the baptizer because of his daughter’s fancy, we know that’s not the whole story.
John had been preaching in the countryside, and Herod liked to hear what he had to say. The problem was, Herod had married his brother’s wife, and John told him that this was unlawful. Herod’s new wife, Herodius, hated John because of what he said and she wanted him killed. But Herod was afraid of killing him – and he liked listening to him. So Herod refused to kill John, but he threw him in prison. Then, as we hear in the gospel story, Herod promises that he’ll give his daughter whatever she wants – and she asks for John’s head. So, Herod reluctantly has John beheaded.
All of that happened before the gospel story we hear today. Today, we hear that King Herod has gotten a report about what Jesus’ disciples are doing. Jesus had just called his disciples and sent them out to heal, to cast out demons, to preach. Jesus’ disciples do this with such authority and effectiveness that the king has heard about what they’re doing. And this is what causes King Herod to remember what he had done to John, to fear that John may have returned from the dead. In the gospel story, we get the benefit of remembering with Herod what he did to John the baptizer. And then, right after this, we hear about Jesus miraculously feeding 5,000 families.
John had been a prophet of God, a bearer of God’s word and wisdom. But John’s death did not stop God’s story. There were still disciples, still Jesus, to continue God’s work. People are still hearing about what God has done. John’s story was not God’s whole story. We hear more about God’s story in Ephesians. Through Christ, God’s plan is the redemption of all things. Paul writes that Christ is God’s plan “for the fullness of time.” God’s story holds the beginning of creation and the mending of all things in the end. And God’s story holds our stories – our joys, our expectations, our disappointments, and our pain.
Knowing the whole story is important. It gives us a better understanding of what’s going on. Have you ever gone to a 3-D movie and forgotten to pick up your red and blue glasses at the door? If you watch the movie that way, you miss part of it. You’re only getting a part of the story. I think that sometimes it’s fun to take off the glasses and watch the audience at a 3-D movie. They duck at flying asteroids and put their hands out to block them. But without the glasses on, you don’t know the asteroids are coming. You’re only getting part of the story.
I think that we often only get part of the story. For example, try listening to the news. On Thursday, my sister called me to find out what was happening with theBurr Oak Cemetery in Chicago Ohio
When we only have part of the story, we feel confused or scared or lonely. We may feel like God has abandoned us. How do you think John felt when he was alone and in prison? How do you think he felt as he was being bound, the sword above his head? I suspect he wondered what God was doing, where God was, if God even existed or cared anymore. I suspect he was afraid. But I also suspect that he knew God cared, and that this was not really the end.
You see, there is a freedom to knowing that we only know part of the story. There are times in our lives when we do wonder if God is there. There are times in our lives when God seems absent – when those around us leave us. There are times in our lives when our call to speak God’s good news seems too much to bear. There are times in our lives when it seems there is no good news.
But in those times, we can know that this is not the end. God’s story is bigger than our story. God is still working in us, in our church, in our lives. God has plans for us that we can’t see yet. Our story is only a part of God’s story. In good times and in bad, God is with us – working with us, working for us, to bring healing and peace – to us, to our church, to our world.
So, as we begin our ministry together now, we know that we can’t see the end of God’s plan for us. We can’t know for sure where our journey will take us. But we can know that God is here, with us. God is weaving our stories – yours and mine – into her story. God is working St. James’ mission, St. James’ story, into his story. And while we don’t know quite where that will take us next, we know how it will end. With God’s peace and healing and mending of the whole world.
Oscar Romero was an archbishop of the Catholic church. He, much like John, was killed by the government ofEl Salvador El Salvador
Knowing the whole story is important. It gives us a better understanding of what’s going on. Have you ever gone to a 3-D movie and forgotten to pick up your red and blue glasses at the door? If you watch the movie that way, you miss part of it. You’re only getting a part of the story. I think that sometimes it’s fun to take off the glasses and watch the audience at a 3-D movie. They duck at flying asteroids and put their hands out to block them. But without the glasses on, you don’t know the asteroids are coming. You’re only getting part of the story.
I think that we often only get part of the story. For example, try listening to the news. On Thursday, my sister called me to find out what was happening with the
When we only have part of the story, we feel confused or scared or lonely. We may feel like God has abandoned us. How do you think John felt when he was alone and in prison? How do you think he felt as he was being bound, the sword above his head? I suspect he wondered what God was doing, where God was, if God even existed or cared anymore. I suspect he was afraid. But I also suspect that he knew God cared, and that this was not really the end.
You see, there is a freedom to knowing that we only know part of the story. There are times in our lives when we do wonder if God is there. There are times in our lives when God seems absent – when those around us leave us. There are times in our lives when our call to speak God’s good news seems too much to bear. There are times in our lives when it seems there is no good news.
But in those times, we can know that this is not the end. God’s story is bigger than our story. God is still working in us, in our church, in our lives. God has plans for us that we can’t see yet. Our story is only a part of God’s story. In good times and in bad, God is with us – working with us, working for us, to bring healing and peace – to us, to our church, to our world.
So, as we begin our ministry together now, we know that we can’t see the end of God’s plan for us. We can’t know for sure where our journey will take us. But we can know that God is here, with us. God is weaving our stories – yours and mine – into her story. God is working St. James’ mission, St. James’ story, into his story. And while we don’t know quite where that will take us next, we know how it will end. With God’s peace and healing and mending of the whole world.
Oscar Romero was an archbishop of the Catholic church. He, much like John, was killed by the government of
It helps, now and then, to take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are all about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter
and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are all about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter
and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Romero’s words remind us that whatever our lives together may hold, God’s story is always bigger. Thanks be to God.
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