July 14, 2024
St. Raphael’s Episcopal Church
Submitted by Janet Knipfing-Schult, Chronicle Contributor
Mark’s Gospel (6: 14-29) for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost tells ofJohn the Baptist’s death, ordered by Herod at the request of his stepdaughter. Herod admired and feared John, but his wife, Herodias, hated him, because John told Herod his marriage to his brother’s wife was unlawful. Herod knew John was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.
Herod threw himself a birthday party, inviting his courtiers. His stepdaughter was the featured entertainment. Her dancing so pleased everyone that Herod promised to give her anything she wanted. She asked her mother what she should request, and Mom said to ask for John’s head on a platter. Herod didn’t want to kill John, but he also didn’t want to look like an idiot to his party guests, so John was beheaded. In his sermon, Fr. Tom Schneider preached that John’s execution foretold Jesus’s crucifixion, and so it does.
