July 13, 2003

Mindekirken July 13, 2003
 Pastor Jens Arne Dale

Sometimes we’re haunted by the past. Economic fraud might be revealed. It could be we have to answer for political lies. Or unfaithfulness might be the case. Sometimes the moment of truth is revealed in big scandals on radio, TV and newspapers.

We have heard about big companies about whom it was revealed that they had manipulated account numbers, bishops who sent pastors they knew were sex offenders to new congregations, and political double morals. Every one has to answer for himself: Can your life stand in the light? Today’s text is concerned about truth and morals.

We meet John who was a man of God. He was a fascinating character. Much of his life he had spent in lonesome places where he had been in the presence of God and gained spiritual strength. He became God’s voice in his time to wake people up.

We know that his main task was to point at Christ as the lamb of God who carries away the sin of the world. But he was to also point at the sin of the people in a way that made them understand that they needed a savior.

His message hit people right in their hearts. They cried aloud for their sins when he preached. And they gathered willingly at the river Jordan and got baptized. They got peace with God and a good conscience. John demanded repentance and the fruit of the faith. When he preached, neither high nor low was spared.

The other main character in today’s text is Herod. He was the son of Herod the Great who was in charge at the time of Jesus’ birth. He divided his kingdom among his sons, and it’s Herod Antipas who reigned in Galilee in the years 4 – 39 AD who we hear about today.

We might have thought that the strong man of Galilee would have paid no attention to the criticism of the odd preacher. But doing so, we’re wrong. Herod was really offended by the words of John. He had divorced and married his brother Philip’s wife. The law of Moses forbade marriages with one’s brothers wife as long as the brother lived (Lev 18:16 and 20.21). Probably this was a result of sexual desire, or the desire of might. Marriage was often a means to obtain political power and influence. The one who had the power could easily set away moral rules and do whatever he wanted.

Herod must have thought this way, but it’s in this respect he’s terribly wrong. Seen from the outside, he was a man of success. But his inside was rotten and corrupt. When John accused him of immorality in his new marriage, it hit his conscience. He respected John and knew he was a holy and righteous man. When he heard John he was fascinated, perplexed and didn’t know what to do.

Herod was what you a generation ago in the Christian Norway would have called awakened . Did you convert when you were awakened? This is how the question of Ole Hallesby sounded.

A bad conscience is not enough to be a Christian. It’s possible to be awakened, that means to admit one’s need of a savior, without doing anything with it. You have to not only be awakened, but also be converted.

That means to take the full step, believe in Jesus as one’s savior, and turn away from immorality. That doesn’t mean that a Christian would be morally perfect, but that one is living with faith in the grace of God.

When Luther put up the 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg in 1517, the message of the first theses was this: When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says repent, he means that the whole life of a Christian should be repentance. With repentance or conversion Luther meant two things: to feel sorry for the sin and at the same time to believe in the forgiveness of these sins.

Herod was no doubt awakened. He knew what was the right thing to do. But did he do it? No, and it’s here we get closer to his tragedy. It didn’t result in any conversion of Herod. We shouldn’t make an easy point by the fact that a sly woman stood behind this and influenced his bad choices. Herod is responsible one. But it might be seen as an example of how important it is to marry one who shares one’s most important values.

Marriage became a trap for Herod. Herodias demanded an end of John’s criticism of the royal house. She would have John put in prison. Herod let it happen. Maybe he felt a little bit more confident himself too, when this problematic voice of truth was in custody. He got peace with his wife, but hardly with his conscience.

Herod invited all the important people of Galilee to a great party. It was his birthday, and the celebration was limitless. The Jews considered celebration of birthdays a pagan custom, and at Herod’s party the program was rather indecent.

Herodia’s daughter from her first marriage, Salome, danced, a sensual dance you only see in the orient. It was beyond the decent. But Herod felt good. Most likely both he and his guests were drunk, and the big words game easy to him: Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom he said to Salome.

What did he do? Did he sell his soul? It’s dangerous with promises, especially when a lot of people hear it. And Herod would have to pay a high price for his arrogance. Salome went to her mother, and she was still furious at John the Baptist. So far she had managed to force her husband to put John in jail. Now she sees the opportunity to finally get rid of him. Ask for the head of John on a platter.

If Herod had been drunk, he would get sober immediately. He was deceived by his wife and her daughter. But the poor Herod had sworn in front of all his guests. He himself would have saved John, but the table catches. Given the choice between his own prestige and the truth of God, Herod chooses himself. Filled with regret, he gives the order to have John killed.

We know Herod is accompanied by many in our time. Saddam Hussein filled his jails and torture chambers with people who tried to speak the truth. He built his might on terror and killing. The list is long, Pol Pot, Cheaucheces, Milocovitch, Hitler, Stalin etc…. The truth has always its price.

Herod is not the first to kill innocent people. Too often spokesmen of civil rights have had to pay with their lives. It may cost a lot to speak out against immorality and abuse of power. Even so, we should never give up on the thought that truth will win.

That’s among other things the lesson Amnesty International has taught us. That was the message of the prophets of the OT, and of John and Jesus. The Bible teaches us that God will help the suppressed to their right. We’re called to speak the truth, also when it will cost a lot.

It must have been a grotesque scene when Salome got the Baptizer's head served on a platter. We don’t know her age. But she went to her mother, it says. Nobody can have sympathy with a mother who misuses her child by involving them in intrigues and violence in this way. The destiny of Herodias herself is bitter. They finally took her wealth and expelled her from the palace. She died poor in a foreign country. Herod did not get peace.

When Jesus started preaching, Herod wanted to see him doing a sign. Pilate arranged the first and only meeting between the two at Easter time. But Jesus didn’t answer a single word to Herod’s many questions. (Luke 23.9). At the end Herod put an elegant robe on Jesus and sent him back to Pilate. The two became friends that day.

Which friendship do you and I choose? Do we choose friendship with the ones who reject Jesus, or do we choose the truth? Herod showed cowardice. He gave in to pressure and convicted the innocent. The sad death of John functions as a warning of Jesus’ death in the gospels.

And through the death and resurrection of Jesus we learn that truth will win in the end. We may choose truth, admit our wrong choices, meet Jesus, not as judge, but savior. The truth will make you free! John 8.32.

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