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St Matthews Anglican Parish Cheltenham

The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost 11 July 2021 The Rev’d Colleen Clayton

Texts:

Mark 6.14-29

May I speak in the name of the Holy & Blessed Trinity, One God in three persons.

The thoroughly unpleasant Gospel story we have heard today connects two pairs of men and a pair of women. Much has been written and imagined about the women but today, it is the two sets of men on whom I want to focus: John and Jesus, Herod and Pilate.

The first character we meet in Mark’s Gospel is John the Baptizer (Mark 1.4). He is announced as the messenger, going ahead of the Messiah to prepare the way. And yet, he is much more than a warm-up act for Jesus.

Because Mark’s Gospel does not include an infancy narrative (no inn, no manger, no shepherds; no star, no angels, no kings) we do not hear from Mark that Jesus and John are cousins. It is Luke who tells us of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and of the not-yet-born John leaping in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.

Grown up, John and Jesus seem to have been quite different men. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke write, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Matthew 11.18-19; Luke 7.33-35) Yet despite these differences, they were at heart, very close to each other. Each is introduced to us as a young man, passionate for religious reform, proclaiming a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

All four Gospel writers introduce Jesus through John, Mark bringing them together when John baptises Jesus in the Jordan River, the moment at which Jesus receives the heavenly authority for his ministry.

For John and Jesus, their ministries lead them to tragic, violent deaths, instigated by the other pair of men central to today’s story.

While Pilate himself does not appear in the story of John’s execution, there are many parallels between Pilate and Herod, and John’s fate

foreshadows that awaiting Jesus. Herod would rather not have authorised John’s execution, so too with Pilate and Jesus. Herod is drawn first to John the Baptist and later to Jesus. Pilate too is intrigued by the man who stands silently before him. Herod and Pilate each worry about what the consequences of executing their prisoners will be but ultimately, they make the most expedient choice, putting John and Jesus to death.

Who are John and Jesus? What is it about them that is so fascinating to Herod and Pilate? Two powerless, poor, itinerant teachers and two cynical rulers. The message that John and Jesus preach, of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, must speak at some level to a need in the hearts of Herod and Pilate.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that Herod tried to protect John because he knew that he was a righteous and holy man and that, although he was perplexed by him, Herod liked to listen to him (Mark 6.20). Later, at Jesus’ trial, Luke’s Gospel tells us that Herod has heard about Jesus and has been wanting to see him for a long time, hoping he might perform some sign (Luke 23.8).

Pilate too is reluctant to have Jesus put to death, realising that it is out of jealousy that the chief priests have handed him over (Mark 15.10). Luke’s Gospel tells us that Pilate, having found no fault with Jesus, sends him to Herod, perhaps playing for time, perhaps to escape his own responsibility, perhaps still hoping that the ruler from Jesus’ local area might be able to save him.

Whatever the reason, Herod finally gets his wish and meets Jesus, however the meeting is a disaster. Jesus refuses to answer Herod who sends him back to Pilate and history repeats itself. In order to save face in front of his guests, Herod orders John’s execution and now, Pilate’s sympathetic attitude towards Jesus is not enough to save him from the hostile crowd and Pilate sends him to be crucified.

In these stories, John and Jesus are silent, holy and righteous before their accusers. Herod and Pilate, the ones with all the earthly power, squirm as they look for a way out, a way to avoid making the choices for which we still remember them.

Today’s Gospel reading interrupts the account we had last week of Jesus sending out the twelve to cast out demons, and heal people. The story of John’s execution is told retrospectively. Herod hears about the works of

Jesus and his disciples and he wonders who Jesus is, thinking that perhaps he is John, risen from the dead. “Who then is this?” is, as we know, the key question of the first half of Mark’s Gospel. The question we have heard repeated by different people over and over again.

Who then is this? This is the key question, not just of the first half of Mark’s Gospel but of our lives. Who is John, who then is Jesus? Whose voice is it we hear when we listen to them? Whose hand is at work through them?

The story of these four men demands again that we answer those questions. Perhaps Mark interrupts the sequence of the sending of the twelve with this confronting story, to impress on his readers that there is a cost to proclaiming the Gospel; that there are choices to be made in our lives.

These are the questions I hear:

· Will I pay the price of proclaiming God’s message of repentance for the forgivenesss of sins or will I, like Herod and Pilate choose expediency?

· Will my fascination for Jesus grow into a strong commitment to him, or will it remain simply an interesting byline in my life?

· Will I stand up for truth or will I aquiese to the expectations and demands of the world?

· Will I choose self-denial or self-interest?

· In the end, how will I answer the question, ‘Who then is this?’

The Lord be with you.