The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him
in love.
That is the beginning of today's reading from Ephesians, and it's basically
the theme for today's readings.
The reading from 2 Samuel needs some background explanation.
It appears to have been the custom in early Israel for the Ark of God, which
contained the tablets of the Commandments, and a few other objects that served
as reminders of God's mighty acts and his power, to go to battle with the army
of Israel. God, after all, was the King and leader of Israel, and it was deemed
proper then for a king to lead his armies into battle. The Ark represented God
in such battles. Later, after the Temple in Jerusalem was built, the Ark would
reside in the inmost part of the Temple, the Holy of Holies, and serve as the
heart of God's people and the center of the political and spiritual power of the
nation.
When David became King, after the death of King Saul in battle, the Ark had
been captured by the nation called Philistia. It's a tiny country, along the
shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is pretty much surrounded by Israel. But
the Philistines were known as great warriors, and they also were experts at
technology. They knew how to make the best swords and keep them sharp, and also
made other weapons. And they had defeated Israel in a battle before David became
King, and had captured the Ark, and held it hostage. You can imagine what that
did to the morale of the nation of Israel.
Well, David became King, and one of his highest priorities was to recapture
the Ark and bring it home to Israel. His troops won the battle, and captured the
Ark. Now the Ark was sacred, and was supposed to be touched only by the priests
and Levites, the tribe of Temple servants. Anyone else who touched the ark would
die, and that is exactly what happened to one unfortunate Israeli soldier.
David's troops brought the Ark in joyful procession back to Israel. David had
not yet had a chance to establish his capital in Jerusalem, or to build a Temple
for the Ark, so they reverently left the Ark in a temporary home with one of the
leaders of the army. Later on, after Jerusalem was set as seat of government, it
was decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, and a grand procession went to bring
it home. It was quite a procession! Music...thousands of soldiers...priests and
Levites...and King David himself, leading the procession, stripped to his
underwear, and dancing all the way. Male servants in those days served in just a
breechclout, or a skimpy garment, as a sign of their humility and servitude, and
David was making it very clear that although he was King, he was King only
because he was a servant of the Almighty. So he led the procession in his
servant's dress, and every few steps he sacrificed animals as a thanksgiving and
rejoicing that the ark was finally coming home.
David's wife, Michal, who was the daughter of King Saul, looked down from her
window in the palace, and saw King David leaping and dancing as he led the
procession to Jerusalem. Apparently Michal was one of those very ladylike people
who had to have everything just so, and worried about what the neighbors would
think, because she was very put out at David's appearance, dress and behavior,
and let him know it. Even kings have to listen to their wives, sometimes, it
seems. But David was disturbed that Michal did not seem to understand that God
is God, and all should bow and humble themselves before him. David, you see, did
what he felt he must do to honor God, no matter what Michal might think of it.
He wanted to do all the honor possible to God, never mind what people might
think. He wanted to impress on the people that although he might be King, he was
just one of God's servants.
Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus goes to some trouble to make sure that
the church members understand that it is God who comes first, always, and that a
Christian's main duty is to honor and give glory to God, no matter what. No
matter if it's what we feel like doing, no matter if it's what our friends or
families or neighbors might want us to do...God comes first.
The Gospel for today gives us the other side of the coin. King Herod had had
his brother Philip murdered, and had married his brother's wife. This is
forbidden by the Bible, in the book of Leviticus which sets forth many religious
laws. You may not marry your brother's wife, period. But Herod had done so, and
John the Baptist preached loud and clear, over and over again, that Herod had
broken God's law. Herodias, the lady in question, was very upset about John's
preaching. She wanted to be respected, not publicly scolded. She really hated
John, with a grand passion. And so she convinced Herod to arrest John and keep
him in a dungeon in the basement of one of his palaces.
The odd thing was that Herod had talked with John at some length, and had
actually begun to like the man. He didn't agree with John, of course, but he
enjoyed their discussions. They had become sort of friends, as much as a king
and a prisoner can be friends.
Well, Herod gave a big banquet on his birthday, and invited a bunch of other
kings and nobles, and the Roman governor, and many other people. Queen Herodias
took advantage of this. She had a very pretty young daughter, just on the edge
of womanhood. She had taught the girl, Salome, the Dance of the Seven Veils, and
sent her out to dance for the king as part of the birthday celebration. All the
men folk loved it. (At that time, men and women did not eat together in public,
usually, and banquets were all-male.) Herod, who had had a good deal to drink,
called Salome over to him and told her how much he liked her dance, and asked
what he could give her as a reward for the dancing. The girl ran to her mother,
and Herodias decided that finally, FINALLY, she could get rid of that pesky
preacher John. So she told Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist.
Well, Herod had made his promise in the hearing of all the important guests,
and he did not feel he could lose face by going back on his word. At the same
time he didn't really want John killed...he so enjoyed their talks. And so, he
did what he knew was wrong, evil, sinful...so that his wife and his friends
would not think less of him, He sent a soldier to kill John, and bring his head
to the banquet room, and gave the head to Salome, who brought it to her mother.
One wonders how Herod slept that night. He knew what was right and important,
and choose to do the opposite, so he would look good in the eyes of people who
were important to him.
And that, you know, is the situation we all find ourselves in from time to
time. Club and gang imitations often involve shoplifting, or other
wrongdoing...sometimes all the way up to mugging someone or shooting someone. We
have all been coaxed by our non-Christian friends to skip church and go on a
picnic or some such. We have all been coaxed by our boyfriends or girlfriends to
"go all the way" even though we know it's wrong. We have all of us, one time or
another, tried to please people instead of pleasing God. We know the situation.
We know what we should do. We know what's right. And we choose to do the
opposite.
May God have mercy on us all, and forgive us, and give us strength to live
according to his law and his loving plans for us...not according to what others
think.
Amen.
