THE WAY OF HEROD OR JOHN THE BAPTIST

Heb. 13:1-8, Ps. 26, Mark 6:14-29

"And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head" (Mark 6:26-27). 

Here we see that John the Baptist acted correctly in telling King Herod that it was not right for him to have the wife of his brother; but for saying this the king arrested, imprisoned, and finally beheaded him. On the other hand, we see the weakness of King Herod who was afraid of his guests at a banquet and so in order not to look bad before them, ordered John beheaded during the banquet to satisfy a girl who had pleased him with her dance. Herod did what he himself knew was wrong because he feared the judgments and words of his guests if he did not fulfill his promise to give this girl whatever she asked for. She asked for John the Baptist's head, and in order not to break his promise and oath to her and to look good before his guests, he ordered John beheaded.

Whom are we going to imitate, Herod or John the Baptist? Are we going to do what is wrong in order to appear well in the eyes of others, and because we fear their judgments and words if we do what we know to be correct? Or am I going to imitate John and do what is right but be considered by others as a strange person? Most people just imitate what they see everyone else around them doing. Few have the courage to be different from their environment. They fear being rejected by the crowd, and so they just go along with the current. They do not go against the current, as John did. They practice cowardly conformism rather than living in a heroically virtuous way. To live a heroically virtuous life is the work of the saints. Few choose this way of holiness. Few choose the way of life; most choose the wide, easy, and well-worn way of destruction, the way of the world, the way of worldliness, the way of cowardly conformism to the secularized world around them. But St. Paul says, "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). Few choose this narrow way of life. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).

The way of Herod is the way of those who are afraid to do what is right. The way of John is the way of those who have the courage to do what is right despite the opposition and judgments of others. The way of John is the way of the saints who live in a heroically virtuous way. The way of Herod is the way of the world. The way of John is the way of the few; the way of Herod is the way of the many. The way of Herod is the way of destruction; while the way of John is the way of life. There is no virtue in simply imitating the worldliness of the world around us. This is nothing other than cowardly conformism. But there is great virtue in going against the current, when the current is bad.

Which of these two ways will you choose: the way of life, which is the way of the few, or the way of destruction, which is the way of the many?