By JonPaul Dragseth, Pastor at Spirit Lutheran Church
My first year of seminary, I had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in the country of Guyana. Guyana is a country that sits on the North-East coast of South America. It is a small country (about the size of Indiana) with a relatively short coastline, but stretches inland. Here in the US, Guyana is most famous for Jonestown and the events that happened there with Jim Jones and his cult in 1978. But, as any Guyanese person will tell you, that was an American problem that came to their country.
Anyway, Guyana’s history, much like our own, is marred with the history of the African slave trade. Guyana is known the world over for its sugar cane, a cash crop that is harvested by hand. The byproduct of the refining process of sugar is molasses and molasses is a primary ingredient in making rum. All of this served to enrich the wealthy land-owners, and African slaves were brought to work the sugar cane fields.
When slavery was eventually outlawed, plantation owners, still needing people to work the fields, turned to the indentured servant market out of India. These servants, just slaves by a different name, were brought by the thousands from India to Guyana.
Today, Guyana is made up of 3 primary ethnicities: ethnic Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese, and Indo-Guyanese. And, as you can imagine, the cultures and practices of Guyana have deep roots in African and Indian culture and religion. However, because they were a long-time British colony, 2 things span their ethnic differences: soccer and cricket.
While I was there, I was invited to the home of an Indo-Guyanese family to celebrate a house blessing. I was accompanied by my host family, Mr. and Mrs. George, both of whom were Afro-Guyanese and practicing Christians. As we entered their yard through their front gate, the first thing I saw was hundreds of beautiful flowers everywhere. The parents and children were dressed in brightly colored robes with flowers in their hair. I could smell the beef and chicken cooking, meat from animals slaughtered earlier that morning.
We were asked to remove our shoes before entering the gathering. The other attendees, family and friends of this couple, were also dressed brightly and sitting on the ground in a semi-circle pattern around the family..
Because we are not Hindu, we were invited to sit along the edge of the gathering. The Hindu priest, speaking a language I did not know, made a mixture in water with aromatic spices and flowers. Then, taking a leafy branch of a tree, he used it to bless the house, the property, and the family. The priest then made an offering of incense, fanning the smoke to once again bless the house and family. All the while, the priest chanted in their religious language, asking their gods for blessings on house and family.
After the blessings were finished, we ate. The food was delicious and served on a large, thick green leaf. We picked up the meat with “roti,” which is basically a tortilla made from chickpeas. It was incredible. And then there was dancing. It started with the daughter of the couple. Traditional Indian music was played and she began dancing; slowly at first moving and spinning around the middle of the room. As the tempo of the music increased, she didn’t miss a beat dancing, singing, clapping, and laughing as she continued to move.
After the first song, her 2 sisters joined her and they danced in celebration of this house blessing. Now, I don’t know anything about traditional Indian music and dancing. But, the look of joy on the girls’ faces, the clapping and cheering of the family and friends gathered, and the smile on the priest’s face were enough to tell you that they had done an exceptional job.
This was a feast. A feast of celebration. A feast of joy. A feast of family and friends.
In today’s Gospel from Mark we get a glimpse inside the household of Herod. Herod was the son of Herod the Great, who died a few years before Jesus was born. The Herod who is ruling during the time of Jesus is what is known as a Tetrarch. Basically, he’s a Roman puppet. A powerful, wealthy puppet who can do basically whatever he wants. Herod has absolute power and authority over this region and will remain in power as long as he keeps Rome happy.
Now, in a story fit for a soap opera or Jerry Springer, Herod and his brother Philip were both married. But, Herod fell in love with his brother’s wife. So, Herod divorced his wife and Herodias divorced Phillip, freeing Herod and Herodias to marry one another. But, according to Jewish law and custom, this was forbidden.
And John the Baptist had been preaching against this marriage, and doing so quite publicly. When word of John’s preaching reached Herodias, she became so angry she wanted John dead. To appease his wife, Herod did have John arrested. But, Herod kept John alive, though in prison, because John was righteous and holy. Herod was actually afraid of John, yet liked to listen to him.
And then Herod’s birthday comes along and he throws a gigantic feast. This is a man of power and wealth and influence. And he invites a crowd of the powerful and wealthy. Herod has mounds of delicious food made, more food than this group of people could possibly eat. The best wine is brought out and flows all night. The best musicians entertain the crowd. This is a feast celebrating Herod’s power, wealth, and influence.
As part of the feast, a young girl is brought in to dance for the crowd. She must be an incredible dancer for such a young girl. People have tried to claim this was some seductive dance, but the language for this girl here, the word used to describe her, is “talitha” or “little girl.” You might remember this word from a few weeks ago when Jesus raised the child from the dead by saying “Talitha cum,” which means “Little girl, get up.” This is a child, a young girl, most likely the daughter of Herodias and Philip (so, Herod’s step-daughter) with a talent and a gift for dancing.
Late in the night this young child was forced to become a spectacle for Herod’s intoxicated, powerful, wealthy friends as a way for Herod to show off. This is a feast of exploitation. Herod shows his pride, his arrogance, and his foolishness by offering this child whatever she would ask for, even half his kingdom. But she is a child, hardly able to answer that question for herself. So, of course, like any child, she goes to her mother. And instead of doing something for her child, instead of asking for something that could ensure her daughter’s care, or her position, or her education, or her daughter’s future, she asks for John’s head.
This mother uses her daughter to settle a score. She uses her daughter to get revenge. And on a silver platter, the head of John the Baptist is given to a child. This is a feast of manipulation and death.
On January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut, wrote the following:
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.
A wall of separation between Church and State. We’ve all heard this before, right? We’ve heard this used to say the Church needs to stay out of politics. We’ve heard this used to say the Church has no right having opinions and positions that sound political.
Now, I’m not a political scientist (though my wife is), nor am I a lawyer, nor am I an expert on the writings of Thomas Jefferson. But, given his reference to the First Amendment to the Constitution, specifically the “Establishment Clause,” the wall to which Jefferson refers is to keep the Government out of the business of Religion, not to keep Christians from being engaged in politics.
The word “politics” comes from a Greek root: polis. Polis simply means city or town or state. You hear it in our word “metropolis.” In Greek, politeia is translated as “citizen.” To be a citizen, in the minds of the writers of the Bible, necessarily means you are engaged in the politics of the city and state.
And Jesus, the disciples, and John the Baptist knew and understood the importance of engaging in the political and religious culture of their day. It’s why, throughout the Biblical narrative, the political and religious authorities continually make an appearance to test or trap Jesus by what he says and does. Because the things that Jesus says and Jesus does have political and religious consequences.
Let me give you one example: The Roman Emperor had specific titles that were reserved for only him—Lord and Son of God. When the early followers of Jesus call Jesus by the titles Lord and Son of God, they are reframing the political environment in which they live. Because if Jesus is Lord and Jesus is Son of God, then the emperor is not. And that is a profound political statement.
John the Baptist boldly preached into the world in which he lived. Jewish law and custom forbid the marriage of Herod and Herodias. John, as a faithful witness to the ways of God, spoke truth—even to those in power. Even knowing it could cost him his life. Because he was a faithful witness of God, engaging the political powers and systems of his time, he ended up thrown in jail and executed.
The Word of God, the way of Jesus, inevitably runs counter to and up against the ways and the powers of this world that rebel against God. As the Christian Church, I think we made a mistake. We too heavily leaned on the belief that what Jesus provides for is a place to go after you die.
Faith in Christ most certainly leads to life beyond death’s door. But the heart of the Biblical message is not about escaping this world for some other place, but the Kingdom of God entering here. The horizon of the Biblical narrative is always pointing to God’s redemption of this place and these hearts and these relationships.
The way of Jesus is not disengagement from the world in preparation for Heaven. The way of Jesus is a deeper connection to and love for the things and people of this world. The way of Jesus is about life lived now. The way of Jesus is about Good News today. The way of Jesus is about healing and forgiveness for the brokenness of this world, today. And that Good News will almost always run counter to the ways of this world.
Because the powers of this world always seek to maintain their power. The powers of this world benefit from things staying exactly the way they are. And, too often, the powers of this world will use extraordinary and manipulative ways to maintain that power. Because, if God’s Kingdom is coming, then the kingdoms of this world will necessarily need to be transformed.
- The systems and structures of this world that trap people in poverty must be transformed.
- The ways of this world that keep access to healthcare restricted must be transformed.
- The ways of this world that oppress those who are different must be transformed.
- The ways of this world that let fear drive us to violence must be transformed.
- The ways of this world that hoard wealth and power for their own sake must be transformed
The kingdoms of the world must be transformed by being held accountable for their actions. And this is a profoundly political calling of God’s people.
As followers of Jesus, baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, we have assurance of life lived beyond the confines of death. With that assurance, you and I are called, like John the Baptist, like Jesus, like those first disciples, to participate in God’s transformation of this world. I think that’s why Mark tells this story right in the middle of another.
Last week, Jesus sent the disciples out into the world to preach, heal, and cast out demons. He sent them out in pairs to be envoys for the Kingdom of God. Next week, they will return to Jesus and tell him what they have seen and experienced and done. In that time, between their departure and their return, they will come up against the ways and powers of this world that defy and rebel against God. Up to this point in Mark’s gospel, those powers and those forces have been demons and illnesses and death. But today, Mark adds another source of those powers and systems that defy God in Herod’s feast.
It isn’t just in our spiritual lives that we encounter powers that defy God. It isn’t just in our hearts and minds that we are tempted away from following Jesus. There is brokenness and sin in our homes, in our hearts, and in our communities. And there is sin and brokenness in our politics; in the ways we govern and the people we elect to do so.
As followers of Jesus, with assurance of life in Christ, you and I are called to be uniquely political. We are called to be more deeply engaged in the ways of this world. We are called to be more deeply committed to the broken and hurting. We are called to be more deeply loving of those who are too often unloved. We are called to feed the hungry, care for the poor, comfort the sick, and accompany the lost. We are called to welcome the stranger, embrace the immigrant, and love the gay and transgender of our community. We are called to hold our leaders accountable, no matter what their party affiliation might be. We are called to live into God’s Kingdom, today.
Now, we will not always agree in our political commitments. And that is good. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We are supposed to disagree so that we can have healthy debate and work together to face the challenges in our homes, our communities, our nation, and our world.
So, the problem is not when followers of Jesus are political. The problem is when the church becomes partisan, and supports a particular candidate or party. The trap is thinking that by aligning ourselves with a party or a person, that will somehow save us. When we do, we turn our partisan beliefs into idols and false gods.
The role of the Church, of the disciples of Jesus Christ, is to engage in the ways of this world, even her politics, so that all might come to know the love and salvation of God in Jesus Christ.
A feast is being prepared. It is not the feast of Herod. It is not a feast of power and manipulation and coercion. It is the feast of Jesus’ Everlasting Kingdom. And you are invited to come, bringing with you the lost, the hurt, and the broken. Because at this feast, all are welcome and all will find life and salvation. Thanks be to God.