8 Pentecost Cycle b proper 10 July 15, 2018
Amos 7:7-15
Psalm 85:8-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Perhaps it is time to offer a eulogy and obituary for John the Baptist since we have read the account of his death today from the appointed Gospel. John was in the lineage of those "plumb" crazy prophets like Amos; those prophets had a vision of what was plumb or perfectly upright for their worlds and they spoke about everything which did not line up with their vision of what was "plumb" in what they believed God ask for people in their behaviors.
I would like to offer these words of thanksgiving and celebratory remembrance for the life of John the Baptist. In his life, one might say that even though he was not a Christian, he was proto-Christian and his ministry resulted in the arising of a community of followers which might be called the "proto-church."
Our dear John, has been extolled widely in the main text books of the church, in the Gospels. The Gospels are the good news about Jesus, but they also include lots of news about the life of John the Baptist. For good portions of the Gospel writing John is given almost a parallel status with the surpassing figure, Jesus Christ.
What kind of birth did John the Baptist have? In the biblical birth traditions John the Baptist had a marvelous birth. His birth was like the births of Isaac and Samuel, in that he was conceived in a woman of elder age or who was declared barren, certainly of post-menopausal age. The birth of Jesus is called miraculous because his conception is attributed to his Mother Mary being over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit.
John was probably six months older than Jesus. When Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, during their pregnancies, we are told that the gestational John did some flips in his mother's womb signifying in the early church that John recognized Jesus the Messiah even when he was in still his mother's womb.
John was born to the elderly Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest, meaning that he was probably a Levite and a Sadducee. John the Baptist had priestly lineage but the rite that John is most associated with is baptism. John did not follow in the profession of his father.
John was likely one who was committed by his parents to the vow of the nazirite, like the famous Judge Samuel. A nazirite drank no wine and did not cut his hair as signs of his vows. John's camel hair tunic and belt did not make him a GQ man, and with his diet of grasshoppers and honey, he was more of a wild man spectacle. When a child was such an unexpected marvelous gift of God, the parent reciprocated by giving their child to God's special calling for his life. However, John apparently did not study in the Vatican equivalent in the Jerusalem Temple. He spent time in the wilderness and perhaps learned from the semi-monastic Essenes who inhabited the Jordanian wilderness. They were a sect of Judaism with apocalyptic beliefs about divine intervention to end life as it was known. John, in his ministry, warned his audience about fleeing from the wrath to come. A big wrath hung over all of Palestine in the form of the Roman Empire. The oppressed Jewish people in Palestine had developed some political structures to negotiate a way to survive the occupation of their land. So rightly frightened they were about assimilation through compromise with the Gentiles, they had to double-down on their purity codes to keep themselves distinct. But in making the purity code so rigid, they left lots of Jews who were condemned by not being properly observant Jews. And if you weren't a completely observant Jew, you were a defiled sinner. John the Baptist and Jesus tried to straddle the border between observant Judaism and the Jews who were not observant; they appealed to both classes of people.
When John came to public attention, he was a wilderness preacher by the Jordan River and his great innovation was the baptism of repentance. The Jews practiced a water baptism, a mikvah, for non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism. John required baptism in the Jordan River for everyone who wanted to associate with his prophetic perspective; he required observant Jews and non-observant people to undergo the rite of baptism. John challenged that the Jews could be automatically chosen people of God, just because of their birth. Every person had to authenticate being chosen by God through repentance. Jesus, his younger relative identified with the message and ministry of John by undergoing the baptism of John in the Jordan. By so doing, one could note that Jesus had the upmost respect for John and regard for this prophet and rabbi colleague.
John the Baptist had a reputation which rivaled the reputation of Jesus. Some people speculated that he was the return of Elijah. Even Jesus said that he had the "spirit" of Elijah, even being a kind of reincarnation of Elijah. Others said that he was the Messiah. Herod believed that Jesus was the resurrection of John the Baptist, so even the wicked Herod believed that John and Jesus were very close in their ministries.
John was a hermit and stood aloof from people. Jesus ate and drank with sinners. Jesus had many friends. Jesus had women friends. John as hermit did not try to please people; he was an unbribed soul. He was like an uncensored "Tourette syndrome-like" speaker. He said what came to his mind. He called the Jewish religious leaders a brood of vipers who were hell bound. When he criticized King Herod for marrying his brother's wife, John angered Herod and his wife. He was thrown into jail. In prison, he still had contact with his disciples and he had some doubts and sent word asking about Jesus and his ministry. King Herod's wife did not think imprisonment was enough for John's meddling; she tricked her husband to kill John the Baptist, using her daughter Salome as the lure. The young Salome danced for the party; Herod was pleased and told her to make a wish. Herodias told Salome told her to ask for John's head. And Herod was trapped. He had John decapitated in prison. John's life was made into a trivial party trick, exemplifying that in freedom, evil wins over and over again in the ascendency of tyrants.
Our eulogy for John should also contain the afterlife of John the Baptist. The afterlife of John is the same as his former life. Why? The afterlife of John is the recorded testimony found in our Gospels. The Gospels represent the writings of the early church to present the life of Jesus Christ. They gave context for the life of Jesus and John the Baptist was very important in understanding the context for the life of Jesus. John the Baptist was a mentor for Jesus who realized that his student had graduated and surpassed him. So, John the Baptist, graduated his own students and sent them to the post-graduate school of Jesus. He believed that Jesus could take them further. John said, "I baptize with water; Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Jesus was a Trinitarian figure with the Father and the Holy Spirit; he was the one who gave orientation into God as Father and God as Holy Spirit. About Jesus, John the Baptist said, "He must increase; I must decrease....I am not even worthy to tie the thongs of his sandals." John was totally self-deprecating when he spoke about Jesus. He was in total admiration and reverence of Jesus and he recommended all to be the same. John the Baptist is presented as the ultimate set up person for Jesus Christ. John's tragic and unfortunate death, became a milestone in the elevation of Jesus to be the sole leader of the former disciples of John the Baptist and the one who would surpass John in his life, death and resurrection.
Today, we honor John the Baptist with appreciation. The Gospel witness of John the Baptist is the model for us too. We need to be set up people for Jesus Christ. We don't preach ourselves. We preach Jesus Christ. We embrace the reality that Christ has been born within us and we have the power to check our egos at the door and let the life of Christ come to the increase in our lives as we pursue lives of peace, love, justice and faith. Let us mimic John the Baptist in being able to say about the Christ Nature within us: "He must increase; I must decrease." Amen
I would like to offer these words of thanksgiving and celebratory remembrance for the life of John the Baptist. In his life, one might say that even though he was not a Christian, he was proto-Christian and his ministry resulted in the arising of a community of followers which might be called the "proto-church."
Our dear John, has been extolled widely in the main text books of the church, in the Gospels. The Gospels are the good news about Jesus, but they also include lots of news about the life of John the Baptist. For good portions of the Gospel writing John is given almost a parallel status with the surpassing figure, Jesus Christ.
What kind of birth did John the Baptist have? In the biblical birth traditions John the Baptist had a marvelous birth. His birth was like the births of Isaac and Samuel, in that he was conceived in a woman of elder age or who was declared barren, certainly of post-menopausal age. The birth of Jesus is called miraculous because his conception is attributed to his Mother Mary being over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit.
John was probably six months older than Jesus. When Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, during their pregnancies, we are told that the gestational John did some flips in his mother's womb signifying in the early church that John recognized Jesus the Messiah even when he was in still his mother's womb.
John was born to the elderly Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest, meaning that he was probably a Levite and a Sadducee. John the Baptist had priestly lineage but the rite that John is most associated with is baptism. John did not follow in the profession of his father.
John was likely one who was committed by his parents to the vow of the nazirite, like the famous Judge Samuel. A nazirite drank no wine and did not cut his hair as signs of his vows. John's camel hair tunic and belt did not make him a GQ man, and with his diet of grasshoppers and honey, he was more of a wild man spectacle. When a child was such an unexpected marvelous gift of God, the parent reciprocated by giving their child to God's special calling for his life. However, John apparently did not study in the Vatican equivalent in the Jerusalem Temple. He spent time in the wilderness and perhaps learned from the semi-monastic Essenes who inhabited the Jordanian wilderness. They were a sect of Judaism with apocalyptic beliefs about divine intervention to end life as it was known. John, in his ministry, warned his audience about fleeing from the wrath to come. A big wrath hung over all of Palestine in the form of the Roman Empire. The oppressed Jewish people in Palestine had developed some political structures to negotiate a way to survive the occupation of their land. So rightly frightened they were about assimilation through compromise with the Gentiles, they had to double-down on their purity codes to keep themselves distinct. But in making the purity code so rigid, they left lots of Jews who were condemned by not being properly observant Jews. And if you weren't a completely observant Jew, you were a defiled sinner. John the Baptist and Jesus tried to straddle the border between observant Judaism and the Jews who were not observant; they appealed to both classes of people.
When John came to public attention, he was a wilderness preacher by the Jordan River and his great innovation was the baptism of repentance. The Jews practiced a water baptism, a mikvah, for non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism. John required baptism in the Jordan River for everyone who wanted to associate with his prophetic perspective; he required observant Jews and non-observant people to undergo the rite of baptism. John challenged that the Jews could be automatically chosen people of God, just because of their birth. Every person had to authenticate being chosen by God through repentance. Jesus, his younger relative identified with the message and ministry of John by undergoing the baptism of John in the Jordan. By so doing, one could note that Jesus had the upmost respect for John and regard for this prophet and rabbi colleague.
John the Baptist had a reputation which rivaled the reputation of Jesus. Some people speculated that he was the return of Elijah. Even Jesus said that he had the "spirit" of Elijah, even being a kind of reincarnation of Elijah. Others said that he was the Messiah. Herod believed that Jesus was the resurrection of John the Baptist, so even the wicked Herod believed that John and Jesus were very close in their ministries.
John was a hermit and stood aloof from people. Jesus ate and drank with sinners. Jesus had many friends. Jesus had women friends. John as hermit did not try to please people; he was an unbribed soul. He was like an uncensored "Tourette syndrome-like" speaker. He said what came to his mind. He called the Jewish religious leaders a brood of vipers who were hell bound. When he criticized King Herod for marrying his brother's wife, John angered Herod and his wife. He was thrown into jail. In prison, he still had contact with his disciples and he had some doubts and sent word asking about Jesus and his ministry. King Herod's wife did not think imprisonment was enough for John's meddling; she tricked her husband to kill John the Baptist, using her daughter Salome as the lure. The young Salome danced for the party; Herod was pleased and told her to make a wish. Herodias told Salome told her to ask for John's head. And Herod was trapped. He had John decapitated in prison. John's life was made into a trivial party trick, exemplifying that in freedom, evil wins over and over again in the ascendency of tyrants.
Our eulogy for John should also contain the afterlife of John the Baptist. The afterlife of John is the same as his former life. Why? The afterlife of John is the recorded testimony found in our Gospels. The Gospels represent the writings of the early church to present the life of Jesus Christ. They gave context for the life of Jesus and John the Baptist was very important in understanding the context for the life of Jesus. John the Baptist was a mentor for Jesus who realized that his student had graduated and surpassed him. So, John the Baptist, graduated his own students and sent them to the post-graduate school of Jesus. He believed that Jesus could take them further. John said, "I baptize with water; Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Jesus was a Trinitarian figure with the Father and the Holy Spirit; he was the one who gave orientation into God as Father and God as Holy Spirit. About Jesus, John the Baptist said, "He must increase; I must decrease....I am not even worthy to tie the thongs of his sandals." John was totally self-deprecating when he spoke about Jesus. He was in total admiration and reverence of Jesus and he recommended all to be the same. John the Baptist is presented as the ultimate set up person for Jesus Christ. John's tragic and unfortunate death, became a milestone in the elevation of Jesus to be the sole leader of the former disciples of John the Baptist and the one who would surpass John in his life, death and resurrection.
Today, we honor John the Baptist with appreciation. The Gospel witness of John the Baptist is the model for us too. We need to be set up people for Jesus Christ. We don't preach ourselves. We preach Jesus Christ. We embrace the reality that Christ has been born within us and we have the power to check our egos at the door and let the life of Christ come to the increase in our lives as we pursue lives of peace, love, justice and faith. Let us mimic John the Baptist in being able to say about the Christ Nature within us: "He must increase; I must decrease." Amen
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