July 11, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Mark 6:6, 14-29[1]
This
passage also foreshadows the answers that the disciples will give when Jesus
asks them “Who do people say that I am?”[2] They answer: John the Baptizer, Elijah, or
one of the ancient prophets. King Herod concludes that it must be that “John,
whom I beheaded, has been raised.”[3] When Peter answers, later in Mark’s gospel,
he declares “You are the Messiah.”[4]
Second,
this story illustrates a contrast between the ways of wealth and power, in that
time and in ours, and the alternative way of Jesus. As the Rev. Michael Anthony
Howard wrote in a reflection on this text, “Where the banquets of empire are
feasts of fear, scarcity, and death, the followers of Jesus partake in the
feast [of] love, abundance, and life!”[5]
This
story has a convoluted beginning. Essentially, King Herod had married his
brother’s wife, Herodias. John pointed out to Herod that this was not lawful,
according to Leviticus 20:21. John, being a prophet, probably said this in a
public setting, embarrassing Herod and Herodias. This causes Herodias to want
to kill him, but Herod doesn’t because he was a public figure known as a holy
man, and because “he liked to listen to him.”[6] So, Herod only had him arrested.
This
brings us up to the banquet, a lavish birthday celebration for King Herod, with
all the most important, wealthy, and powerful people attending. A bit of
background might be helpful here.
The
ruling class of Judea held power because of their submission to Roman rule. Roman
power, exerted through the threat of violence, pervaded every aspect of
society. The local elites curried favor from Rome through an extensive building
campaign begun under Herod the Great. After his death, Herod Antipas, the King
Herod in this story, funded a massive twenty-year, empire-city-building tribute
to Rome.[7] Through taxes, forced labor, and the
ever-present threat of violence, Herod held more power than any besides the
Roman officials themselves.
At
the same time, Herod’s position was weak. At any moment, Rome’s displeasure
with him could find Herod replaced. The courtiers, officers, and leaders of
Galilee knew this. They may have shown public deference to the king, but each
would be watching for their chance to knock him down and take his place. Herod
also seems easily manipulated by his wife, Herodias, who keeps her eyes open
for any opportunity. He had reason to fear rebellion, too, which was one reason
he had not executed John.
Into
the midst of the banquet dances the child of Herod and Herodias. “She pleased
Herod and his guests,”[8] and, in a soft-hearted gesture, Herod
promises to give her anything she might ask for. He even, foolishly, swears to
give her even half of his kingdom. When the girl consults her mother, Herodias
sees her moment to strike. The child, in front of a room of powerful, greedy
men, asks for “the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”[9]
The
king is stuck. He has made a bold promise in front of these powerful people who
will use any misstep against him. He must fulfill his daughter’s wish, or be
seen as weak. He gives the order, out of his own fear of losing power, or
losing face in front of the powerful, and the violence of the state is unleashed.
This
scene is, unfortunately, not unusual. It was, and is, common for the powerful
to fear the loss of power, and to feel the need to show others just how
powerful they are. Those who rule through violence find reasons to use that
violence; and it is those who try to hold power to account, the prophets, the
oppressed, the innocent, the poor, women, and children who are most often on
the receiving end of that violence.
This
is the world into which Jesus walks, bringing a very different message, and a
different kind of banquet. When people gather around Jesus, there is healing,
learning, compassion. The people who gather to eat with Jesus, it’s not the
wealthy and powerful but sinners, some fishermen, and crowds of ordinary folk.
The women around Jesus are not there to serve and entertain, but to be equal
partners in bringing the realm of God to life. As the author Rachel Held Evans
once wrote, “The church is God saying, ‘I’m throwing a banquet, and all these
mismatched, messed up people are invited. Here, have some wine.”[10]
When
Jesus held a banquet, it wasn’t the local elites who gathered to dine. “As he
sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also
sitting with Jesus and his disciples.”[11] When asked why he would eat with such
people, Jesus said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”[12]
He
became so popular so quickly that while trying to eat a meal in Nazareth, “the
crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.” The meal would
have to wait, there was teaching and healing to be done.
A
great crowd followed him to a deserted place, and stayed listening to him well
into the evening. The disciples thought to send the crowd away to find
something to eat, but Jesus answered them, “You give them something to eat.”[13] With five loaves and two fish, all ate and
were filled.
The
disciples, humble as they were, did seek for power. Once as they walked along, they
argued with one another about who was the greatest. Rather than show of his
power and strength, Jesus taught them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last
of all and servant of all.”[14] Jesus didn’t come to rule like a king, but
rather to rule in the hearts of the people.
At
the end, when he knew the end was near, they gathered in an upper room. Jesus
didn’t offer them wealth or power; he didn’t demand the death of his enemies.
Instead, he gave them himself, willingly going to his fate, becoming so much
more than a provincial ruler in an empire built on violence.
While
they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it,
gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and
after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said
to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly
I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day
when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”[15]
We
choose the kind of banquets we attend. We can dine on wealth and power, using
violence and fear to control others. We can serve a meal of greed on a platter
of death. We can participate in the banquets of empire. But Jesus offers a
different way.
Let
us dine on service and self-sacrifice. Let us use kindness and love, not to
force, but to guide others to a better way of life. Let us serve a meal of
gratitude for all that God has provided that gives life. Let us eat at Christ’s
table, welcoming everyone, healing each other’s wounds, binding up broken
hearts, and joining in the covenant of love.
Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Mark
8:27-30.
[3]
Mark 6:16.
[4]
Mark 8:29.
[5] Michael
Anthony Howard, “Weekly Seeds: The Banquet of God (Lavishing Grace)” for
Sunday, July 11, 2021 on https://www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds/the-banquet-of-god-lavishing-grace/.
[6]
Mark 6:20.
[7] Richard
A. Horsley, Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), 32-33.
[8]
Mark 6:22.
[9]
Mark 6:25.
[10]
Rachel Held Evans, Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the
Church (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015).
[11]
Mark 2:15.
[12]
Mark 2:17.
[13]
Mark 6:37.
[14]
Mark 9:35.
[15]
Mark 14:22-25.
