[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
29 August 2013, Thursday, The Passion of St John the Baptist
RULED BY TRUTH AND LOVE, NOT BY FEAR
SCRIPTURE READINGS: JER 1:17-19; MK 6:17-29

It is significant that the martyrdom of John the Baptist is celebrated as the “Beheading of John the Baptist”. Many saints have died in martyrdom, but they are not given such titles. Perhaps the Church wants to illustrate the special quality of John the Baptist, which is his courage to proclaim the truth at any cost, even at the risk of his own life. The death of John the Baptist might seem tragic to us, yet for himself, he did not die in vain. Even in death, he continues to live in our hearts.

This was because throughout his life he was ruled by truth and love. John was a man who was true to himself, to his fellowmen and to God. He was true to himself because even in the face of opposition, he spoke the truth. Without fear of the powerful or for his own life, John reprimanded Herod, “It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.” Perhaps the only fear John had was the fear of not speaking the truth.

But if he spoke the truth, it was because he wanted to be honest with his fellowmen. Truth is intrinsically related to love. Love and truth go together. Truth cannot exist without love, and true love is always truthful. For if we are really true to our fellowmen, then we would want only what is good for them. If we truly love a person, we would want to tell the person the truth for his own good. Indeed, if we know that something is wrong and we do not speak up, then we are doing injustice to that person. By not correcting the person, we live in falsehood and that is not love, because that person will destroy himself in the long run. So true love means that we will do anything for the good of the person; even at the risk of losing the friendship. We deceive our friends when we fail to reveal the truth to them. This is because we love ourselves more than we love them.

If we were to be true to our fellowmen, it also means that we must seek justice for those who suffer, and not only those who live in falsehood. Hence, we can understand why John the Baptist was not only intent in helping Herod to come to his senses, but he also felt the need to speak on behalf of Herod’s brother, Philip. By taking Philip’s wife, Herod was betraying his brother. It was an act against justice and love. He spoke out even though he was never thanked for what he did.

Finally, if he was true to himself and to his fellowmen, it was because like Jeremiah, John was true to God. He surrendered his life to God and would only do what the Lord commanded him. He was fearful of being irresponsible to the call God entrusted to him, for he knew that betraying God’s call in the final analysis was to betray himself and his people.

In contrast, Herod’s life was driven by a different kind of fear, instead of being ruled by truth and love. Herod feared John because he knew that he was a prophet of God. The gospel says, “Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.” Herod feared God because his conscience troubled him. He knew that what he did was wrong, yet he still went ahead. Indeed, in Matthew’s gospel, we are told that Herod continued to be haunted by guilt for executing John.

Not only did Herod fear John and God, but he also feared Herodias. His life was totally under her control. By marrying her, he had given up his freedom in some ways. Herodias must have been a very vindictive, cunning and scheming woman. So instead of finding love in Herodias, he found fear. Herod was also fearful of his reputation and social standing. Because he had no inner freedom, he made rash promises and having made them, he was too proud to retract his word, even when the request was immoral. Yes, the gospel recounts that Herod “was deeply distressed, but thinking of the oaths he had sworn and his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her.” His fear of losing the respect of others prevented him from discerning and acting right.

For such a person, it is difficult to speak of true freedom. Herod was a king, but he acted more like a slave of circumstances and to other people in his life. He was a puppet to social acceptance. Indeed, this is always the temptation of those in authority. When we hold power, we are always tempted to pursue popularity, to do what will make us loved and liked, rather than to do what is truly just and good. Because we are not true to ourselves and we do not have the capacity to love authentically, we lack the courage to exercise our authority for good. Instead, we pander to the whims and fancies of our subordinates in order to stay in power. We become puppet rulers.

This explains why the weakness of Herod is also seen in Herodias and her daughter. Herodias too, was ruled by fear. Having betrayed Philip, she became fearful that Herod might in turn betray her. That is why she controlled Herod tightly. How ironic life is! The price we pay for being unfaithful to those we love is living in fear that others will be unfaithful to us. The one who betrays will most likely become suspicious that others will also betray him. Herodias hated John the Baptist, for she saw in him a potential threat to her happiness.

Such fear also rubbed onto Herodias’ daughter as well. Having come from a dysfunctional family and having lost her father already, she too must have suffered the fear of losing her mother. This could explain why she obeyed her mother unquestioningly, when she was asked to perform an immoral and evil act by her mother. Fear hardens the heart of a person from feeling for others. When we are frightened, we can only think of our own needs and interests. Fear will make us act impetuously without thinking. Fear will make us act just to save ourselves, regardless of the morality of the action.

When we are ruled by fear, we seek security in popularity and reputation. When we are ruled by fear, we seek acceptance in possessions and impressions. As a result, like Herod, our fears prevent us from heeding the dictates of our conscience. Fear drives us to play to the crowd and to fawn on our superiors and the authorities. There is no real peace in such a fear-filled life. Indeed Herod was ruled by others. He could not take a strong stand on what he knew to be right. By aligning with evil, it showed his utter powerlessness, weakness and cowardice. We must heed the warning that God spoke to Jeremiah, “Do not be dismayed at their presence, or in their presence I will make you dismayed.” In other words, if we give in to our fears, they will destroy us. Instead of saving ourselves and freeing ourselves for life and love, we surrender our freedom to be their prisoners.

So if we want to save ourselves from fear, we must ask ourselves how John the Baptist found his strength and conviction. Primarily, it was because he knew the meaning of solitude. He had spent many years in the silence of the desert to hear the voice of God. Being rooted in the Word of God, he was given the truth about life and love. At the same time, he was assured of God’s love and protection. He heard the Lord saying, “They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you.”

Faith comes from being enlightened in the truth and assured of His personal love for us. Faith is therefore knowledge and trust. It was with such faith in God and His promises that John felt vindicated by the Lord. Even if Herod could get rid of John, he could not escape sin and condemnation of himself. He might have gotten rid of John’s body, but not his spirit that continued to haunt him. Indeed, when we are faith-filled, we have no room for fear. When we are focused on God and His glory, there is no need to hanker for the glory of man. John certainly suffered a brutal death, but his heart was at peace with the Lord.

Today, we need to pray for the same power, boldness, and courage to witness to Jesus Christ and to the truth of the gospel. We must seek Christ in solitude, listening to His word and being filled with His Spirit of love, so that we can be like St John, pointing to Christ as the Lamb of God not just by our words, but also by our lives. With His love, we do not need to fear those who oppose us and the gospel, because the love of Christ is stronger than fear and death itself. His love conquers all, even our fears and timidity in the face of opposition. It is in His love that fear can be driven out from our lives. As St John the Evangelist tells us, perfect love conquers fear and death.