What Was Herod Thinking!

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;

And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.

And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.

And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
                                                                                                 (Mark 6:20-28 KJV)

This enquiring mind would like to know exactly how much did King Herod have to drink when he promised that he would give Herodias anything she wanted for her daughter to dance for him even up to half of his kingdom?  Or, maybe he was just a pedophile?  Or both?

John the Baptist for sure had exposed his sin of marrying his brother's wife; but, Herod still heard John gladly. He respected John as a holy man. So, when he was asked to behead John the Baptist it grieved him greatly. But, he had promised that he would give anything and had done so publicly. In order to save face he had to do it.

We must be careful of the oaths we make to others. It is much better to promise to try than to promise to do. One never knows what actually lies in the hearts and minds of others; if they are laying a trap to turn us away from the Lord and his will.

Let us always be wary of falling into the pit that comes with making promises to others that go against the will of God. Rather, seek the Lord and to do his will  that we may do good to others and cause them no harm for God is the God and Father of all.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Inhumanity At Jamestown And In The Present

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?

They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

Psalm 64:1-7 KJV

Has humankind become more humane over the generations or just better at justifying our inhumanity before others? We must always remember that no matter how we attempt to justify our own inhumanity, we cannot justify it. We are only justified by faith in the blood of Christ shed for us. St. Paul wrote to the Romans: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Rom 5:8-9)

I spent a lot of time the other day trying to hook my husband up with PBS Passport so that he could watch the "Jamestown" series. Oye! Oye! Oye! I have been attempting to spend more time with him so have been trying to watch at least some of it with him. "Some of it" being the key phrase. I cannot stay in the room to witness the inhumane words and actions of so many in "Jamestown." The misuse and abuse of others: the Naturals (Native Americans); the African Slaves; the White Indentured Servants; even each other; is just overwhelming. It makes me just a bit crazy to watch such injustice for the sake of wealth and power. Since, I know the outcome of Jamestown, even though I know the series is fiction, I do not doubt that much of what is portrayed in the series is indicative of what actually went on in Jamestown. And, these people of Jamestown, for the most part, claimed to be Christian.

What about today? Around the world people are being imprisoned unjustly. They are being tortured, beheaded, and killed in so many ways so that others may  continue their pursuit of power or wealth or both. How many in this country are unjustly accused and persecuted? For the most part, innocent men and women are not imprisoned or killed here. But, it does happen and it happens with the facade of justice. This too makes me very weary to witness. 

Jesus once told the Pharisees (and ultimately us) "...Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15)

There is a better way to live than to climb up any ladders on the backs of others. According to the prophet Micah: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8)

May God help us to live more justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly following  in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J.