Several weeks ago, when I pulled into the parking lot of the office complex where my dentist works, there was a line of people looking toward the street. A young 24-year-old man riding a motorcycle was hit by a car turning onto the street and his dead body lay in the middle of the street covered by a black tarpaulin. There was an eerie hush among the bystanders; some were weeping. An otherwise sunny and carefree day suddenly took on a mournful tone. We started realizing that just minutes before, this young man was enjoying the feeling of riding down an open road. Then within minutes, his life came to an end. Even in the dentist office there was an unusual silence as we came to face the reality of death amid the fragility of life.
Today we read one of the strangest stories recorded in the gospel, a striking contrast of superficial life and a sudden death. It tells of the beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-29),
King Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist for exposing the sin of adultery between the King and his brother’s wife. To celebrate his birthday, he through a big party for himself,
“…a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod, and his guests.”
What a happy time they were having. Wine, food, laughter, entertainment, and cheers for the crowd-pleasing King. He was so elated that he said to the dancer,
“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.”
A tone of suspense must have filled the air as the crowd waited to see what the girl would ask for.
What stands in contrast to this scene is prison life just a short distance away. The holiest, most courageous man in Israel, was locked in the demeaning squalor of a prison. The festivities blinded the people to the evil that was taking place within a stone’s throw away.
Then death suddenly entered. Herodias coached her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. An executioner was dispatched to the prison cell to behead this man of God.
“He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.”
Can we imagine the abrupt change of mood that took place in that room? Frivolity gave way to the horror of human butchery, as the bloodied head of the Baptist was brought in, on a dinner plate, of all things. We can imagine how the laughter suddenly died down and terror filled the hearts of those present. Each of them must have been confronted with their own impending deaths.
Just as it took the death of the young man on the motorcycle so shocked us into an awareness of the reality of death, so it took Herod’s act of vengeance to reveal his true character and how quick he was to wield power over death.
Beneath the frivolity of our culture are evils we’d rather not think about—the daily killing of unborn children, the evils of human trafficking, the horrors of war. As we go about our day-to-day activities, let us not lose perspective on the realities that lie behind the scenes. Let not tragedy be what it takes for us to turn our lives over to Jesus.
