In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”
A saying often mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare, but in fact was first published by Sir Walter Scott in the poem, “Marmion” in 1808.
A phrase which speaks of betrayal, and is indeed deeply tragic when applied to someone who is completely trapped in a web of sin of their own making.
In our gospel, which certainly isn’t one of the easiest to hear or even preach on, we encounter Herod who sadly embodies that quote rather well.
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great, the ruthless King who was in power when Jesus was born, the very one who had the children of Bethlehem, the holy innocents, murdered because he feared that his power was going to be compromised.
Herod Antipas sadly followed in his father stead and began weaving his web of deceit and betrayal at an early age seeking to be named king. Instead, he was banished to Palestine where he built his capital city, Tiberias on an ancient burial ground, thereby showing his contempt for Jewish religious practices.
Later on a visit to Rome, Herod met Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. He murdered his brother Philip, divorced his wife and married Herodias before returning to Palestine with her daughter, Salome. It was here that John encountered them and issued a judgment against them because of what they had done.
It was because of this public denouncement of their marriage, Herodias hated John and wanted him killed; but, Herod took him into protective custody. Sadly, at this point the web had already been woven.
In many ways this piece of scripture could easily be likened to a mix of two of the great Shakespearian tragedies, Macbeth and Hamlet, because as the stage is set, and the web woven, St Mark begins unravelling the story of the demise not only of John but also of Herod.
Herod learned a very important lesson on his birthday, because when Salome danced for him and his guests, he made a very dangerous proclamation, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’
It was a promise that he was going to immediately regret, because he thought she would ask for material goods, but she didn’t. Instead she fell under the influence of her mother’s lust for revenge, and instead we heard that cold and calculated request, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.’
I wonder how Herod felt at that moment, did the room fall silent as it recognised in horror what had just been asked by this young girl.
There are times in all of our lives when we have spoken words, that we wish we could simply take back because we regret the promise we made. We rush to empty commitments; shallow promises or strike bargains we have no intention of keeping.
More often than not it’s little things, but Herod had just come face to face with the realisation that he is now left with an awful choice, and the choice will result in a lose \ lose situation.
Herod had to either go back on his word, and face the fallout of the broken promise made in the presence of so many, or he would have to do that which was in his power, and end this prophet’s life.
Entangled in the web of unhealthy relationships and people-pressure, Herod was pushed into doing something he really didn’t want to do. He thought more of his drunken oath and his honour before his guests than he did of the life of another, of John.
Herod was more concerned with how others regarded him and what they may think of his actions than standing up for what was right.
Sadly, this is echoed through the ages, and is still seen clearly in the actions of many today, the position we attain, the glory that is given by others for some is just too much of a pull, and it detracts us from our faith and commitment to God and following a right path of life.
No one came to his aid, to act as a moral filter to prevent him from doing something stupid – no one said to him, Hey Herod, have you really thought this through?
Herod’s story was one of impulse, pride and stubbornness, if he had done anything less, then he would have been seen as weak, his love of power overruled his principles, his concern was for how he was perceived, holding onto his reputation, which meant he ended up having little regard for truth, integrity or morality.
But this wasn’t the end of the web, because there was something else in this scripture, unwritten, but something which was just as unsettling in this encounter. The silence of the guests.
The scripture stays silent just as the guest did. Perhaps it was because many of them had been invited out of protocol, distinguished people from that region, who didn’t know Herod outside of their professional dealings, but it was his birthday party, so we would imagine that there would also be his friends in attendance, those who were trusted by him to advise, those who had Herod’s ear as it were.
Yet not one person spoke up. No one tried to stop Herod from doing something that would make him look foolish. Not one person advised him, they remained silent in the face of something that they knew was morally wrong and could easily have caused the relationship between the faithful Jewish population and Herod to become even more strained and difficult.
Instead, they kept silent when Herod gave the order, “to bring his head”
There are situations when it is easier to be silent than to speak up, because there is the danger that we are pulled into something that we don’t want to be involved in. Even worse we can at times give blind support out of loyalty, which can inflame a situation further, and we plunge deeper into that which the world expects us to be, and whilst there are many good elements to social media, I’m sure any of us who use it, can also see this inherent danger at work in simply typing a comment into a faceless computer screen, and the consequences that can follow.
There are also times when we respond to injustice with silence, giving in to the pressures of other people or the world, and as a result our silence can cause us to unwittingly become complicit in that which we would not want to be associated with.
As people of faith, we must always remember that our focus should be heavenward, striving to follow the will of God rather than the will of the world, and this is a difficult choice because when we follow that path it can make us unpopular, sometimes misunderstood.
However, we have a role model in Christ, He never worried about what other people thought. He had a clear understanding that his mission was to do God’s will, whatever the cost, at Gethsemane his words weren’t ‘I don’t want this cup’, He said clearly ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’
Christ knew that if he was going to be faithful to His Father, then he had to do that which wasn’t easy or straightforward. Living in our stressful, pressure-filled world, we must be careful and diligent in discerning and doing God’s will, even when it may not be the most popular thing to do.
Each of us has to make this choice daily, we can be like Herod, easily tempted and manipulated by others, seeking power, wealth and all the trappings of this worldly existence, or, we can keep our eyes firmly fixed on Christ, The Way, the Truth and the Light.
Amen.
