Mark 6:17-29

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Mark 6:17-29

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison

on account of Herodias,

the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.

John had said to Herod,

“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Herodias harbored a grudge against him

and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,

and kept him in custody.

When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,

yet he liked to listen to him.

She 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’ 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.”

He even swore many things to her,

“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,

even to half of my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother,

“What shall I ask for?”

She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request,

“I want you to give me at once

on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

The king was deeply distressed,

but because of his oaths and the guests

he did not wish to break his word to her.

So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders

to bring back his head.

He went off and beheaded him in the prison.

He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.

The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about it,

they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, why do you permit the innocent to suffer? It is a deep mystery, too great for me to fathom. I do know that suffering and sacrifice can test and purify love. I humbly ask that you do not let me falter as you purify my love for you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Mission of the Forerunner: In many ways, John the Baptist is a forerunner of the Messiah. The angel Gabriel announced his birth six months before announcing Jesus’ birth. John, as the voice crying in the wilderness, prepared the people for the public ministry of Jesus. John’s message was about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus took up that same message at the beginning of his ministry. John called out the hypocrisy and evil of the Pharisees. Jesus will do the same. John gathered disciples and was eager to send them to Jesus when he appeared. John knew the Scriptures and preached about the coming Messiah and Mighty One of God. When Jesus appeared, John announced him as the Lamb of God. Finally, John gave the ultimate witness as the forerunner: he preceded the Messiah in his death. Just as John was innocent and yet condemned to death by Herod, Jesus was the innocent one put to death at the request of the religious authorities.

2. The Passion and Death of the Forerunner: “John’s execution foreshadows both the death of Jesus (Mark 9:12; 10:32-34) and the martyrdom of other believers in the early Church (Revelation 20:4; CCC, 523)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 75). Herod Antipas was one of the sons of Herod Great. After his father’s death sometime between 4 and 1 B.C., the Roman Emperor Augustus divided the kingdom in Palestine among three of Herod’s sons. Herod Antipas governed the regions of Galilee and Perea until A.D. 39. “His brothers Archelaus and Philip were apportioned the remainder of their late father’s territory” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 75). John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and executed because he publicly repudiated the illicit union of Herod Antipas and Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip. “According to Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21, the Mosaic Law forbids the union of a man with his brother’s wife when the brother is still living. Since Philip was alive and well, the marriage between Antipas and Herodias was no marriage at all – it was adultery” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 76). At the birthday banquet, Herod uttered a careless oath. He knew that John was innocent and that executing him would be a grave injustice. Giving in to the request of Heriodias’ daughter showed that he was weak-willed and cowardly, just as Pilate reluctantly gave in to the demands of the religious authorities who asked that the innocent Jesus be executed.

3. First Corinthians: Today we begin to read from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. The letter will be our First Reading for the next three weeks. In summary, “First Corinthians addresses several problems plaguing the Corinthian church. They competed with each other, engaged in sexual immorality, and at times treated the church like any other Greco-Roman social club. Paul calls them to recognize the unity of Christ’s church, to serve others in self-giving love, and to cultivate holiness through the Holy Spirit they received in baptism” (Prothro, The Apostle Paul and His Letters: An Introduction, 97). The community was divided and this division started to manifest itself in the celebration of the Eucharist. Some members continued their pagan practice of sacrificial meals. Some were taking their fellow Christians to be tried in pagan lawcourts. They were getting drunk at meals and leaving the poor to go hungry. Paul responds to these problems by speaking about the importance of the Cross and the Resurrection. He considers the role of the Holy Spirit in revealing the mystery of Christ, in sanctifying the faithful, and in endowing them with charisms. He teaches about Baptism and the Eucharist and ponders the mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit (see Montague, First Corinthians, 23). 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a child of your Father. I am a member of your Mystical Body. I am a temple of your Spirit. You are everything to me. I long to enjoy eternal life with you and be purified of all my imperfections. May I be holy and merciful as your heavenly Father is holy and merciful.

Living the Word of God: What can I learn from First Corinthians and how can I be less divisive as a member of the Church? What can I do to build up the unity of the Church?