THE INTEGRITY TO SPEAK UP
In
many ways John the Baptist could be seen as a moral activist. He knows
how powerful Herod is and yet he dares to tell him that his marriage to
his brother’s ex-wife is immoral. The weird thing about this is that
Herod does not seem worried about what John has to say. It is Herodias,
his wife, who has a problem with John, so she conspires with her
daughter to have John killed at the first available opportunity.
Unwittingly, it is Herod who provides that opportunity, out of his fear
of what people might think of him if he does not live up to his promise.
Herod actually likes to listen to the preaching of John. Perhaps he was
on his way to conversion — because it gives him something to think
about and probably challenges him to be a better person. He probably
felt that John, who spent many years in the desert as a hermit and now
preaches a message of repentance and baptism, would have been an
interesting person to meet.
What can we learn from John the Baptist today?
John had a fearless love for truth and he was not afraid to speak it
even to the most powerful people. This disregard for his own reputation
is exactly the opposite of Herod’s fear of the people. Perhaps this is
what really attracted Herod to John. Whatever it may be, it should also
attract us to John as he is an inspiring figure if we allow his story to
resonate in our lives. John is a figure who stands before us to dare us
to speak the truth in love, no matter what the consequences may be.
Are we ready to hear that challenge or will we shrink from our responsibility to the Gospel? Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you have John’s courage to stand up for the truth always?
Holy
Spirit, take away my fear of losing face in front of others. Help me to
firmly believe that what matters is that I can stand before God with a
clear conscience, knowing that I have done all that He asked me to do.
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