Grandmaster Flashback

Feb 3: Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Feb 03, 2023

Today is a day for looking back, narratively and historically.

Reading 1

Heb 13:1-8

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. Let marriage be honored among all
and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you. Thus we may say with confidence:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

The Lord is my helper,
and I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?

Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Accidentally hosting angels is something that comes up surprisingly often in the old testament—Abraham, Lot, Gideon, Tobiah.1 And don’t forget the disciples on the road to Emmaus!2

We should treat each other that way, whether we’re dealing with a traveler, a prisoner, or a spouse. We can’t see with the eyes of God, but we can still try to treat them as God treats them. In that way, we can spread the good news to others. Be God’s instrument of goodness, so they know He hasn’t abandoned them.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc

R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
For he will hide me in his abode
in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me in the shelter of his tent,
he will set me high upon a rock.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

So, this is obviously the Psalm referred to in the reading from Hebrews. While that passage was telling us how to treat each other in this world, this one gives us hope for the next. Do not be afraid, because God will be there for you, one way or another.

Alleluia

See Lk 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart,
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Taken in context, “they who have kept the word” is referring to people who hear the gospel and follow it.

But I think it’s also an ironic pun on “keeping your word,” considering what happens in today’s gospel..

Gospel

Mk 6:14-29

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him." Others were saying, "He is Elijah"; still others, "He is a prophet like any of the prophets."

But when Herod learned of it, he said, "It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up."

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He even swore many things to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."

She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist." The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."

The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

I don’t know how I never noticed before, but the whole story about the beheading of John the Baptist is told in flashback. Herod just says, “It is John whom I beheaded,” and you’re like, wait, what?

Cut to Pulp Fiction-style title card:

Herod is a good, if extreme, lesson for all of us. Herod divorced his first wife and unlawfully married his sister-in-law. John the Baptist criticized this public immorality, and so Herod had the good man imprisoned. In fact, he’s so mad that he wants to kill John, but only doesn’t because he’s concerned about his reputation with people who aren’t so great themselves.

Then he has his step-daughter “dance” for him, and he was so “delighted,”3 he offered her anything she wanted. She asks for John the Baptist's head, and again, worried about his good standing among bad people, he agrees.

First you’re eying your half-brothers wife, next thing you know, you’re murdering a prophet of God. One sin leads to another, and you never know how or why it’s going to happen.

I kinda wondered how this was related to the other readings today, until I picked up on the last line from Hebrews: “Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Hebrews was written in the latter half of the first century, after many of the original twelve apostles had died. And when he writes the “outcome” of their lives, he’s not talking about dying peacefully in bed, surrounded by loved ones.

Early Christians, including John the Baptist had it rough. That’s why Psalm 27 is good to keep in mind—