Sunday Homily - July 15, 2018 - Here Comes Trouble
The Beheading of John the Baptist
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
1913
I.
Most of us I believe,have that one friend in our lives,
that when our family members saw y’all together
said to themselves:
“Well, here comes trouble.”
Here comes trouble:
in the form of loud laughter and jokes,
maybe the occasional mischievous act.
I certainly have friends in my adolescent life,
that I could say this about even to this day:
When we got together,
here comes trouble!
There was one Fourth of July
not too many years ago
where friends and I decided
to have a Roman Candle firefight.
Trouble.
We would get into the weeds with Christian Theology
and stay up way too late debating the finer points
of what exactly St. Thomas Aquinas was saying.
Trouble. (Yes, even groups of Episcopal clergy can be trouble)
But what happens when you need Trouble?
What happens when things need
to have someone stir the pot a little bit?
What happens when Trouble becomes Holy?
And what happens when Trouble becomes Sacrifice?
II.
Because, if you look closely today at our Gospel,we have a story of a pair of troublemakers:
Jesus, and his Holy partner in crime,
John the Baptist.
Now, often what is lost about Jesus and John the Baptist,
is that not only were they connected by vocation:
John the Baptist, the voice in the wilderness
preparing the way for our Lord Jesus.
But they also, according to Holy Scripture,
were part of the same extended family!
According to the Gospel of Luke,
Elizabeth, John’s mother, and the Blessed Virgin Mary,
were relatives.
When John and Jesus were growing up,
because of family units of this time period
often living in close proximity,
John and Jesus knew each other. (See Oxford Commentary on the Bible)
But that’s not the only connection that John and Jesus had.
No, they also shared in a common mission:
making trouble in the name of God
the Father Almighty.
And because of that common mission,
John and Jesus got confused for each other!
In the beginning of St. Mark’s Gospel,
The Pharisees and scribes went all the way
out to the wilderness to ask John
if he was the Messiah!
And in our Gospel today,
a local politician is convinced,
that John the Baptist had been raised
from the dead
when he hears about Jesus.
Because you heard the Holy Scripture this morning.
And let’s be honest with each other:
it should be SCARY to say our Gospel response,
“The Gospel of the Lord,
Praise to you, Lord Christ”
after a Gospel like that.
John the Baptist, not one to shy away from speaking the Truth,
chastises King Herod for breaking the Law of Moses
through having an affair and marrying
his brother Phillip’s wife, Herodius.
And you know what happens next?
Herod decides to have a lavish party,
with all his friends, gets drunk
while lusting after his dancing niece,
and ends up giving Herodius
just the excuse she needs.
(See Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament: Craig Keener)
John’s head, literally, on a platter.
And all for speaking in the name of Truth.
And Jesus Christ Our Lord,
would himself soon be put to death
by another politician trying to please the crowd.
John the Baptist
the preparer of the Way for the Lord,
suffers the same category of physical death,
as Jesus Christ,
who is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life. (Bible Background Commentary: Keener)
John and Jesus both are killed
as troublemakers,
rabblerousers.
John, for the sake of Truth,
And Jesus, because He is the Truth.
Perhaps some of the incredible tragedy of these facts,
is taken away because we know the ending of the story:
not even death can defeat Jesus Christ.
And in fact, it was through Death itself
that Jesus’s atoning sacrifice
was accomplished.
But, for today’s Gospel reading,
that reality has not happened yet.
the happy ending is nowhere in sight,
and John, Jesus’s partner in crime,
is dead at the hands of Herod.
Politics at its worst...
III.
What kinds of trouble
are you willing to get into
on behalf of Truth?
And I ask that in all seriousness,
because Christians throughout the past 2000 years
have had to ask this same question
in very challenging,
very difficult circumstances.
When Jesus says, “Blessed are you
when you are reviled for My Name’s sake,”
do we have the courage to stand for the Truth,
even when it may mean that persecution
comes our way?
When Jesus says, “If anyone desires to follow me,
let them deny themselves,
take up their Cross,
and follow me,”
can we have the Faith to actually
walk that path?
I’ll be straight up with y’all:
I often lack the unshakable courage of superheros.
I often lack the solid faith that other people have.
But here is what I can do:
I pray every day that I will be given just enough courage,
just enough faith,
to follow Jesus into His will
in the small things each day.
There are few things I can guarantee you all as your pastor.
But, here’s what I promise you:
Even though you may not have courage,
even though you may not have faith,
God always provides.
When you don’t have the courage
to stand up for the troubling cause of Truth,
God gives you courage.
When you don’t have the faith,
the faith that the Truth is worth the trouble you cause?
God gives you the Faith.
Because, friends:
Truth is not a concept:
Truth is a Person.
When Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,”
that’s not just a metaphor for us.
That is a description of actual reality.
When Jesus says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life,”
that’s the actual, real hope that we have:
that though we may die, we shall live
for it is no longer we who live,
but Christ who lives within us.
Since this is our reality,
since this is our saving Faith:
What kind of trouble
are you willing to get into
for the sake of the Kingdom of God
and the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
In the Name of the + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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