BEADS OF JOY 07-30-16
“Death of John The Baptist”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s
Gospel: Matt 14:1-12 (Death of John The Baptist)
“ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him." For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." And the king was sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.”
“ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him." For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." And the king was sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.”
Reflection:
John’s boldness against the sins
of Herod eventually caught up with him. Herod did respect and fear John. But Herod’s
wife was angry and when she saw the opportunity to direct her daughter’s
decision, she decided she couldn’t take it anymore. Did John overdo it? Was he too personal
calling out their sins? If John were to do that in today’s society would he
suffer similar consequences? These questions do make us think of how far should
anyone can take judgement against another.
John The Baptist is from the Old Testament
and the ways of the Old are different than the ways of the New. When Jesus came
into the world, there was repentance and forgiveness. No one judged another but
God alone. Remember when they wanted to stone the woman accused of adultery? Here
is that scripture:
John
8:2-11
“At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus has taught us a tremendous
lesson is forgiveness and to never judge another. No matter what others have
said about another person; it is not our place to judge someone. God alone (“Let
any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at
her.”) is the only judge. We trust
in His judgement. We do all we can in this life to encourage and direct and
lead others to Jesus. We can teach and preach and show them the way. But if
they so choose to have a life that excludes Jesus, all we can do is pray for
them and ask Jesus to touch their hearts. Never give up on anyone, never judge
anyone; just keep praying for them…
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
