July 15, 2018 - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost - King Herod, Jesus, John the Baptist and the Prosperity Gospel

This Gospel resonates for me because of the events of this week. During his Christmas Eve mass last year, Pope Francis compared Mary and Joseph's journey to those of many migrants fleeing their homes for survival or a better life.

"So many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary. ... We see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day," Francis said in December. "We see the tracks of millions of persons who do not choose to go away, but driven from their land, leave behind their dear ones."

Televangelist Paula White, a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, said this week that Jesus would have been "sinful" and not "our Messiah" if he had broken immigration law when fleeing persecution as a baby with his family.

She said when asked about what biblical scriptures came to mind as she visited a migrant detention center in Bristow, Virginia,  "I think so many people have taken biblical scriptures out of context on this, to say stuff like, 'Well, Jesus was a refugee,'" White told the news outlet in an interview published Monday. "And yes, he did live in Egypt for three and a half years. But it was not illegal. If he had broke the law, then he would have been sinful and he would not have been our Messiah."

I already referenced Jeff Sessions in last week's post who quoted Romans to defend the zero tolerance policy, “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” Sessions said. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak and lawful.”

Today's Gospel is about a powerful man and the law. King Herod arrested John the Baptizer for telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." When “the law” is mentioned in the Old Testament it normally refers to the compilation of decrees found in the first five books of the Bible, like what John referenced here which is stated clearly in Leviticus 20:21. This whole body of law was given the name Torah.

However, it is also the law, as commanded by King Herod, that is used to arrest John and ultimately behead him so I ask is the zero tolerance policy, as it has been implemented, orderly and lawful? Is the policy good and does it protect the weak and lawful?

Paula White's "If he had broke the law, then he would have been sinful and he would not have been our Messiah." does not represent the Jesus I know from the Bible. White's Jesus is the squeaky clean image I first encountered in Sunday School. Perfect child in a calm nativity scene who grew up to be a white man who strolled through the world in his perfect white clothes and kept his nose squeaky clean when it came to the law. This Jesus was crucified as a complete innocent rather than as any threat to Rome or the Jewish authorities.

In the Easter post this year Resurrection is a Messy Business I posted,"I do not argue against the empty tomb. At issue is how much life-experience reality must be either ignored or our focus turns to  trivialities (like what clothes he was wearing, were all the crucification wounds still there after the resurrection etc...)

We can simply try to dismiss them as unimportant but if it is a given that physical body resuscitation is a central tenet of our faith, our Christian story must inherit a messier resurrection. Otherwise we quickly are forced to fall back on divine mystery and / or assert God can do anything. However, when we resolve the messiness in this way it limits the rational substance of any argument going forward we might care to make about the historical Jesus"

A squeaky clean Jesus never inhabited the world I know he inhabited. A squeaky clean Jesus would have read Exodus 20:10 "but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns." and not healed on the Sabbath in order not to break the law commanded in the Torah instead of restoring its complete original meaning and intent.

Jesus was willing to break many of the Jewish ritual laws out of concern for the people. Rome gave Jewish authorities to power to make civil laws so a violation of Jewish law in Israel was, in fact, a violation of Roman civil law in their eyes. However, even stating that Jesus restores Torah law in its complete original meaning and intent is ultimately appealing to his authority as an argument. Jesus only has the authority if he is God. When the Jewish authorities did not recognize that, in their eyes, he was breaking the law.

Today's Gospel stands in sharp contrast to White's prosperity Gospel. Those who are heroes of the Christian faith, John and Jesus, are beheaded or crucified for speaking truth to power. "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:23-30.

Followers of Jesus in the Bible are rarely looked up to by their peers nor do they earn great prosperity in their lives.

Pastor Ray preached these verses in Mark is detailing a world without the promise of Jesus where might makes right. There is truth to this yet, exploring the details reveals ambiguities and messiness beyond the beheading. Different Gospels reveal different reactions by King Herod. Today's Gospel and Matthew 14:1-2 suggest King Herod believed Jesus was John:

Matthew: At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Mark:  "But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”" 

Contrast this with Luke 9:7- 9, "Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him."

For those looking for examples of where the Bible contradicts itself these passages are used to prove the Bible cannot be inerrant. This illustrates, in another aspect, White's view when she says, "If he had broke the law, then he would have been sinful and he would not have been our Messiah." This emphasizes, for some, how important it is for there to be no ambiguity in Jesus or in scripture.

There is more than foreshadowing of the crucifixion here. King Herod tries to believe in Jesus - tries to see him - through miracles or demonstrations of unworldly powers. Jesus will remain silent in front of Pilate. Like John, whose power he respects, his personal judgment will not be critical. Herod will eventually find no fault with Jesus but ultimately does not vindicate or release him.