The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us of the exhortations to live a good life that are rooted in our life experience with truth and beauty.
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us to service that is well-pleasing to God.
* [13:1–16] After recommendations on social and moral matters (Heb 13:1–6), the letter turns to doctrinal issues. The fact that the original leaders are dead should not cause the recipients of this letter to lose their faith (Heb 13:7), for Christ still lives and he remains always the same (Heb 13:8). They must not rely for their personal sanctification on regulations concerning foods (Heb 13:9), nor should they entertain the notion that Judaism and Christianity can be intermingled (Heb 13:10; cf. notes on Gal 2:11–14; 2:15–21). As Jesus died separated from his own people, so must the Christian community remain apart from the religious doctrines of Judaism (Heb 13:11–14). Christ must be the heart and center of the community (Heb 13:15–16). (Hebrews, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)
Psalm 27 is a triumphant Song of Confidence.
* [Psalm 27] Tradition has handed down the two sections of the Psalm (Ps 27:1–6; 7–14) as one Psalm, though each part could be understood as complete in itself. Asserting boundless hope that God will bring rescue (Ps 27:1–3), the psalmist longs for the presence of God in the Temple, protection from all enemies (Ps 27:4–6). In part B there is a clear shift in tone (Ps 27:7–12); the climax of the poem comes with “I believe” (Ps 27:13), echoing “I trust” (Ps 27:3). (Psalms, PSALM 27, n.d.)
The Gospel of Mark details the death of John the Baptist.
* [6:14–16] The various opinions about Jesus anticipate the theme of his identity that reaches its climax in Mk 8:27–30.
* [6:14] King Herod: see note on Mt 14:1.
* [6:17–29] Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46).
* [6:19] Herodias: see note on Mt 14:3. (Mark, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Suzanne Braddock comments that the reading from the letter to the Hebrews spells out several admonitions designed to let us live a just life free of fear and secure in the Lord’s love.
In response to the readings, I ponder how I can live up to the admonitions Paul outlines for us –“ let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” – are just the first of many good rules for living. In this time of pandemic it may be hard for me to entertain visitors, but I can greet all I meet with a smile and a kind word. I can ask their name and use it. Perhaps the bus driver, the fellow parishioner, the nurse in the doctor’s office, the man who hauls garbage, the night cleaning person in my office. So many unnamed people who can be warmed by a little recognition of their worth. And make my promises sincere and follow up on them! (Braddock, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Weakness of the Tyrant and the Power of the Beheaded,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder - for fear was disturbing Herod's conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles (Mark 6:14-16)! In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother' (Mark 6:18). And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place... even to the very ends of the earth, you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time." (excerpt from ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:14-29 asks us to imagine being a guest at a very different feast. This banquet’s host is Jesus, and it takes place every time his people gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Unlike Herod, Jesus is not honoring himself. He is honoring us with the gift of divine life.
At every Mass, Jesus spreads a banquet table for you. He invites you to feast on his word in Scripture and on his own Body and Blood. Ever the attentive host, he goes out of his way to make sure you are made to feel welcome and cared for. Then he asks you to go out into the world ready to show just as much care and concern for everyone around you. Or, to put it another way: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
“Jesus, thank you for inviting me to your banquet of life!” (Meditation on Mark 6:14-29, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the parenesis that concludes the treatise of Hebrews exhorting readers to live in kindness, brotherly love and faithful marriage.Herod’s fascination about and Herodius hatred of John the Baptist is resolved in weakness to save face. Friar Jude notes the faith and prayer that icons may invoke.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that in her Loving the Two Halves of Life talk, author and poet Edwina Gateley tells of the secure attachment to God she experienced as a child, a result of her first-half-of-life container. Gateley reminds us that while our experience of faith changes, God’s love remains steadfast throughout our lives.
But it is important for us to know that no matter how much life and circumstances may batter and bruise us on this journey of life, the God of our childhood is also the God of our adulthood and is also the God of our old age. God is faithful on this developing journey, ever seducing us along the way to remember who we are and from where we come. Who we are, the daughters and the sons of God, called to reflect the face of God in a suffering world. (Rohr, 2023)
We ponder the tension on our journey between acting on the prompting of the Spirit and settling for a path that does not rock the boat.
References
Braddock, S. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020323.html
Hebrews, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/13?1
Mark, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?
Meditation on Mark 6:14-29. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/02/03/600266/
Psalms, PSALM 27. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/27?1
Rohr, R. (2023, February 3). A Secure Attachment to God — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-secure-attachment-to-god-2023-02-03/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Herod's Guilty Conscience. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=feb3
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