Psalm 85: 8-end, Mark 6: 14-29
Beata Mejia-Mejia was separated from her 7 year old son at the US border. She was told she would never see him again. She was not told where they were taking him. She was allowed one telephone call after they took her son away. Her son cried, ‘Mama! Mama! Mama!’ throughout the telephone call until the receiver was wrested from her hands. She has now been re-united with her son. But thousands of children remain separated from their parents.
It is a horror we cannot bear to contemplate for very long.
There is more horror in today’s Gospel. The story of the death of John the Baptist links the horror of his decapitation with the lack of integrity and the banality of the King who ordered it. King Herod is powerful enough to order the execution of John the Baptist and yet also weak – too weak to exercise his power with any integrity.
Herod is a creep. There is creepiness in his over-the-top praise for the dancing of his wife’s daughter.
Herod is scared of what people think of him. Having promised his wife’s daughter half his kingdom as a reward for the dance that pleased him so much he cannot backtrack or else he will lose face.
In his weakness, therefore, he commits a terrible sin. And he is haunted by it. When he hears about Jesus he is scared that Jesus is John the Baptist come back from the dead to haunt him.
And, in a way, for Herod, that is what Jesus is. Jesus is the Son of God, exercising kingship the way it should be exercised. Under the Kingship of Jesus, in the Kingdom of God, steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
The Church of England is reading this story about Herod, his creepiness towards his wife's daughter, his touchiness about what people think of him, just as our country hosts a visit from President Donald Trump.
There is a pragmatic view that we have heard in recent days. The system for choosing presidents of the United States has given us President Trump. We have been reminded that our nation’s relationship with the United States is not a relationship between equals. The United States exerts enormous influence on our foreign policy and over our military. Our government is now seeking a trade agreement from a position of weakness. So the president can insult our capital city, be unsupportive of our Prime Minister, and our leaders and representatives will carry on being polite through gritted teeth.
Into this situation, the mission of the church is to articulate the vision of kingship we are given in Scripture. It is a vision that we strive for. It is a vision that will be made a reality for us. A vision that we have been promised is in our future; in all our futures. It is a Kingdom where steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
We really need to articulate this vision. Because when we tolerate leaders with no personal integrity, they bring horror into the lives of the powerless.
We need to articulate this vision for Beata Mejia-Mejia, her son Darwin, and the thousands and millions of people like her.
Reunited with her son, Beata asked him over and over again to forgive her. And then she made him a promise, ‘No one is going to separate us again.’ In other words, she promised him the Kingdom of God.