Pentecost 6 Year B

Pentecost VI Mark 6:14-29
For Jesus’ name had become known.

Through out his life, people wondered just who Jesus was.
And, through out his life, people spent more time talking about Jesus than with Jesus.
People who heard of Jesus speculated about his origin and identity. We hear in this passage that some thought Jesus was a prophet. Some thought he was the prophet Elijah returned to earth. Still others decided that Jesus was the resurrected John the Baptist. King Herod believed this later and most improbable theory.

There is a principle here for us to discern. What we believe about Jesus reveals the state of our own souls.

King Herod had just enough appreciation for religion to blind him to the truth. It wasn’t the religion that blinded him. It was the distortion of religion that produced superstition.
King Herod actually enjoyed hearing John preach. Herod was fascinated with John’s dedication to his message. Herod was impressed by John’s zeal. He was even captivated by John’s single minded devotion to God. But, Herod did not hear the message. He heard the words and saw the outward signs. But he did not allow the message to reach his soul.

John preached a simple message: repent and prepare. Repent of your sins, give up that which keeps you separated from God. Prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

Herod was fascinated with the image of John, the firey prophet who wore a camel’s hair robe and ate locusts and wild honey. But, Herod was not willing to repent. He enjoyed the pleasures of sin and ignored John’s warning that the temporary pleasures of sin only serve to divert our attention from the eternal consequences of sin.

King Herod was not willing to hear the word of God as proclaimed by John. So, Herod used what he knew of religion to fabricate his own interpretation of Jesus, who was and is the co-eternal Word of God in human flesh.

Herod lapsed into superstition to avoid conversion. The idea that Jesus was the resurrected John was absurd. Hundreds if not thousands of people had witnessed John baptizing Jesus. Large crowds had listened to Jesus preach and experienced his miracles while John was in prison. John himself had sent his disciples, his students, to speak with Jesus and to hear his message.

Superstition is the way religious people some times choose to use to avoid conversion. It is the way we sometimes try to hold onto to the forms of religion and maintain our separation from God so we can avoid giving up our sins. Superstition is the defense the soul establishes so it can hold on to sin and still use the language of what our modern world calls "spirituality."
Perhaps you have heard people say something like, I’m not religious but I am spiritual. In most instances, if you listen carefully to those who say such things, you will hear an echo of King Herod’s attitude, actions, and words.

Religion is not the solution to the basic problem confronting humanity. But, neither is it the problem. The problem is separation from God. The problem is the way that separation distorts the soul and brings forth fear, self will and pride.

Those three distortions subvert every religion, philosophy and spirituality that human beings create.

The purpose of religion is to help us find God. The purpose of the sin nature is to keep us separated from God. Rationalism and superstition are simply two ways the soul in a state of separation seeks to maintain separation.

The voice of sin is always: my will be done.

The consistent record of Jesus’ prayer is: Holy Father, not my will but your will be done.
Had King Herod really heard the message of John, he would have asked God for the help he needed to repent of his sin. Sin is a very powerful addictive force. It is so powerful that the apostle Paul tells us that we are either slaves to sin or set free in Jesus Christ.

Herod wanted the illusion of freedom to sin. There is no freedom in sin. There is only self deceit that produces anxiety, frustration and fear. There is only the voice of self will that ignores the clear message of the prophets and the eternal clarity of the co-eternal Son of God made flesh in Jesus Christ.

King Herod missed his moment of grace. He rejected faith and chose superstition. Superstition is not the only means by which a soul may reject faith. Mysticism, rationalism, even so called spirituality can assist in the rejection of faith.

God doesn’t ask to believe in abstract religious principles. God asks us to believe in Jesus Christ. The invitation to faith is an invitation into a new and transforming personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is that relationship that resolves the sin problem, the problem of separation from God, from other people, from the image and likeness of God imprinted on our souls.
The message of the prophets, including John, was that the Law of Moses could never solve the sin problem. The problem is not lack of knowledge. It is not even solely a lack of will. It is lack of love.

That love is what God gives us as a free gift in Jesus Christ.
That love is the infinite and eternal divine essence fully embodied in Jesus Christ.

There are many in the world who have heard of Jesus’ name.
The question is: what do we believe about Jesus? Do we act from the place of self will, fear and pride to define Jesus according to our own will? Do we defend against Jesus to preserve the illusion of freedom in separation from God, freedom to sin?
Or, do we stop. Look. Listen to the Living Lord Jesus Christ who even now reaches out to all people every where, to each of us, with the open invitation to be set free from sin and filled with divine love and compassion.

Throughout our lives Jesus makes himself more fully known to us. Throughout our lives the Holy Spirit uses all means to reveal to us the love of God the Father in Jesus Christ.
How is Jesus making himself known to you this day? What in your life is the Holy Spirit using to bring the reality of Jesus more fully and completely present? How would you answer the question and then live the answer: who is Jesus Christ?