The Cautionary Tale of a Disastrous Birthday Party - Mark 6:14-29

I’m a little late in saying this, but I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July. We missed it this year, since the extended Alexander family was on a trip to Quebec City. We had a BBQ on the 4th but it wasn’t quite the same without the Midland Hills parade in Hillcrest and all the fireworks. We were also there for Canada Day on July 1st, which is like a more introverted version of the 4th of July. Everyone was invited to a city plaza for a slice of sheet cake. Locals told us that Canada Day isn’t a big deal in Quebec, because French speaking Canadians are ambivalent about still being part of Canada. For us, it felt like being on the sidelines of two national celebrations in the same week, and we missed the patriotic fanfare.

The week before that, I had the privilege of serving as a clergy deputy to General Convention in Louisville, KY. The Episcopal Church gathers every three years to govern ourselves by passing legislation in the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. Our church has a bicameral legislature, much like our American system of government. That’s no accident, of course, as our church and state share some of the same architects. Our prayer book, which was derived from the English one under state religion, has plenty of beautiful prayers for the county and national life, minus any for the monarch. It’s easy for us to slip into thinking of the Episcopal Church as an American institution rather than the international body that it is. At convention, deputies from other countries were quick to point out any American-centric resolutions and comments. It was a helpful de-centering, maybe especially in an election year, when church and state get so blurred together. Voting for one candidate or another can be seen not only as a political selection, but also a religious or spiritual one.

One of the topics that bishops and deputies discussed is the rise of Christian nationalism in American politics, or the blurring of church and state. As much as I’d like to believe that Jesus would vote the same way I do, we all need to be reminded that the Gospel is not bound to any earthly kingdom or government or party. It cannot be conflated with human institutions. That message is at the heart of today’s strange story about Herod’s disastrous birthday party in the Gospel of Mark.

I hear that Hannah did a great job explaining “Markan sandwiches” in her sermon a couple of weeks ago. That’s where Mark intentionally puts a story inside another story, which changes how people hear both. Herod’s party is recalled in the middle of a larger chapter about the disciples being sent out two by two, healing and casting out demons and preaching the gospel. As Ragan said last week, the disciples had to travel lightly and rely on the hospitality of the strangers they encountered, as a reminder of their dependence on God and God’s people. Then there’s a strange interlude about Herod. And right after his fateful party, Mark reports that the disciples come back to tell Jesus all the miraculous things and amazing ministry they were able to do in his name. Herod’s tragic tale must have something important to say about the disciples’ new ministry.

If you’ve seen the old movies, you know the scene. Herod had taken and married his brother’s wife, which John the Baptist called him out for. That made Herod angry, but he also found John compelling as a man of God. He imprisoned John but didn’t plan to kill him. Until his step-daughter danced for him at the party, seductively, as least according to Hollywood. Herod made a ridiculous oath in front of all the A-list guests, to give her anything she wanted, even up to half his kingdom. Salome and her mother conspired, and the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod’s lust for image and power, as well as his tragic moral weakness, led to a murderous end to his party. It’s an awful, shameful story, and we wonder, why does Mark tell it?

There is a masterful compare and contrast strategy at play here, between earthly kingdoms and the kingdom of heaven. Though Herod recognized something holy in John, he was not able to stop John’s execution. This foreshadows Jesus on the cross, and I’m quite sure the disciples heard a warning about their own fate in this story. Empires, nations, governments, kingdoms of human origin, all have mechanisms in place to stop any threats. It’s how they’re designed. And yet, they cannot crush the way of Jesus. Even as John met his end, the disciples of Jesus were growing in number and spreading throughout the region, ministering in his name. There would be no stopping the movement now, no matter how many executions to come. The kingdom of God cannot be stopped by earthly power (Bibleworm).

That’s good news, but it might feel a little abstract, or not very personal. So Mark brings his contrast into even sharper relief with what comes next. Jesus throws a party of his own, the feeding of the 5,000, and it could not be more different than Herod’s. There was lust and murder at one party, but compassion, hospitality, abundance, and a life-giving miracle at the other. Everyone was invited. Mark seems to be asking, which party do you want to go to? Whose kingdom do you want to belong to?

The 20th century powerhouse of a theologian Karl Barth wrestled with what it means for us to be followers of Jesus who live in the world. We have a foot, or citizenship, in both kingdoms. He said we are citizens of heaven first, who are then called to take the wisdom of the gospel into politics and other institutions in the quest for a more just society. On this day especially, I pray that our Christian witness will reduce politically motivated violence. That’s very different than conflating church and state, and it feels faithful to Mark’s cautionary tale.

As a citizen of this country, I look forward to the next fourth of July. I will gladly join the parade and enjoy the fireworks, celebrating all that is good and true about our common life. I will wish our neighbors to the north a Happy Canada Day on the 1st, as they celebrate the same with cake. And I pray that we will continue to take all that we have been given as citizens of the kingdom of God into the world, making it a better place and sharing the good news. Jesus said we don’t need much to do that. We can travel light and go two by two, relying on God and one another along the way.