Building up the Kin_dom of God
It’s always good when sisters and brothers and siblings of different faith traditions gather to worship God together. It reminds me of these words from Psalm 133:
1 How good and how pleasant it is,
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like fine oil upon the head, flowing down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron, flowing down upon the collar of his robe.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon flowing down upon the hills of Zion.
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.
The fine oil flowing upon the head and down the beard of Aaron and dew of Hermon flowing down upon the hills of Zion are images of the protection and abundance and blessing that God provides to those who live in right relationship with God and with each other. It’s an image of God’s kin_dom; that place and that time where kindred – that is, those who trust in the grace and mercy of God given to us through Jesus Christ – live together in unity, with justice and peace for all. We long for that kin_dom to come among us, on this earth even as it is in heaven.
You may be surprised to hear me say that the promise of God’s kin_dom is hidden in the gruesome story we hear in our Gospel reading today, waiting to be revealed to us as our relationship with God deepens and our understanding of God’s word revealed through Jesus matures.
The gospel story, of course, is the execution by beheading of John the baptizer; complete with the striking image of John’s head brought out on a silver platter and handed to a young girl.
What crime did John commit to warrant such a brutal death to be ordered by Herod, the Roman ruler of Galilee? The crime of speaking truth to power and bearing witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
John the baptizer, you may recall, first appears at the beginning of this gospel according to Mark. He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness; preparing the way of the Lord; and “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (see John 1:1-4). John the baptizer is telling people to turn back to God; to give up their sinful ways, their desire for power and wealth and privilege, their focus on themselves; to give that all up and return to God and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would bring. He spoke out against the harsh reality of living under the occupation of the Roman Empire. He spoke out specifically against Herod after Herod married his brother’s wife, Herodias, contrary to God’s law.
John the baptizer was arrested for speaking out against the power of the Empire; for calling people to repent and change their way of living; for bearing witness to the countercultural message of hope and love and justice that comes from trusting God’s promise of redemption and hearing Jesus’ proclamation of the good news.
John the baptizer was willing to speak out, to bear witness to the gospel, and to lay down his life for the sake of Jesus and those who would follow him. Yet, that is not the end of his story. We are left with this interesting detail – “When (John’s) disciples heard about (his death), they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.” That was an act of courage. John’s disciples were brave enough to be seen in public, to remain in community, to continue the work that John had begun, for the building up of the kin_dom of God.
Perhaps, as you listen to this story of the death of John the Baptizer, it calls to mind for you another story of another prophet who spoke out against the power of the Empire; who called for people to repent and change their way of living; who bore witness to the countercultural message of hope and love and justice that comes from trusting God’s promise of redemption; who proclaimed the good news that the kin_dom of God is at hand; and who was executed on the cross by the Roman Empire for speaking truth to power and for proclaiming good news.
That prophet, of course, was Jesus, who was willing to speak out, to bear witness to the gospel, and to lay down his life for love of all God’s people. His body also was laid in a tomb; watched over by the women disciples who had stood at the foot of the cross and now were brave enough to be seen in public, to remain in community, and to continue the work of proclaiming the good news for all people, for the building up of the kin_dom of God.
As followers of Jesus, we too are called to speak out against the power of Empire, to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ in the world, and to lay down our lives in love for God, for our neighbor, and for each other.
This is not easy work; it is, however, good and necessary and joyful work. And it is work we do not do in vain and we do not do it alone.
Through our baptism, we are gathered into the community of faith, where kindred live in unity and the fine oil of God’s anointing love flows freely over us.
Through our baptism, we are united with Christ into a death like his and we will certainly be united with Christ in a resurrection like his.
Through our baptism, we are given the power of the Holy Spirit to continue in the work to which we have been called.
May God give you courage; may you be brave enough to be seen in public, to remain in community, and to continue the work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ for the sake of the world, for the unity of all God’s people, and for the building up of the kin_dom of God.
To God be the glory. Amen.