The Sermon for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost
Two Banquets
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
After the pastor reads the gospel lesson, he or she will often say, “The Gospel of the Lord,” and the congregation responds, “Praise to you, O Christ” or “Thanks Be to God.” However, today’s Gospel text, the gruesome story of the beheading of John the Baptist, with his head then presented to the daughter of King Herod’s wife, Herodias, during Herod’s birthday banquet at his palace, this is a story for which I would have a hard time saying, “thanks be to God” or even consider it a “gospel,” a “good news” story. This is a terrible story, one for which I cannot thank God
However, St. Mark has a purpose in telling this story in this place in his Gospel. And Mark’s purpose becomes clearer in the second “banquet” story which directly follows today’s Gospel lesson. Although that text is not in your bulletin, many of you know it well. It is the story of Jesus feeding more than 5,000 hungry people who have gathered to hear Jesus speak, the story we call “the feeding of the 5,000.”
Strange, isn’t it? Herod’s horror banquet runs right into the story where Jesus makes sure everyone is fed. Mark did this on purpose, he is a careful writer. Mark wants us to hear these two stories together.
Let’s think a minute of that second banquet story, the feeding of the 5,000. It is a story told in all four Gospels. And, it is filled with opposites and contrasts:
• Jesus withdrew to be alone, but a great crowd followed him anyway.
• It was a deserted place, but it became an abundant place.
• The disciples said to Jesus, “Send the people away.” Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat.”
• We have only five loaves and two fish. Yet more than 5,000 ate and 12 baskets of food were left over.
Opposites and contrasts.
• Alone – Crowd
• Deserted – Filled
• Send them away – feed them
• Too little – more than enough
But the greatest contrast is between Jesus’ banquet of life and Herod’s banquet of death. Mark has placed these two stories side by side. Mark wants us to see the stark contrast between two very different banquets.
Hard as it is to listen to, let’s go back to Herod’s banquet. This feast was not in a deserted place, it was in a lavish palace. There was not a large crowd, just a select guest list of important people. Herod’s wife, Herodias, was there, even though she should not have been there since Herod has stolen her from his brother. John the Baptist has condemned Herod’s unlawful liaison with Herodias and that has landed John the Baptist in prison.
Though Herod was a Jew, the empire had replaced the Torah for Herod. He probably tried not to think about that, especially at his own birthday banquet. But why did Herod give in to Herodias’ daughter’s terrible request? Wasn’t it enough that John the Baptist was in prison? The text even tells us that Herod liked to listen to John, which was odd since John the Baptist preached repentance wherever he went. Was there something inside of Herod that remembered God’s word, some spark of God that drew Herod to John’s teaching?
We do not know this. What we know is that after she danced wonderfully, Herod promised Herodias’ daughter that Herod would give her anything she wanted. “Even half my kingdom,” Herod said. Must have been a pretty impressive dance!
Herod probably never thought that Herodias’ daughter would make the request she did, John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod was grieved by this request, grieved because Herod feared the crowd outside of the palace, knowing that they thought of John as a prophet. Grieved because, the text tells us, Herod seemed drawn to John’s teaching.
But, Herod’s guests had heard his oath. How could Herod disappoint his guests? Who knows what the soldiers would have told someone higher up? So, Herod gave the command and soon the head of John the Baptist was brought into Herod’s birthday banquet on a platter, as though it was a last course of a meal! Yuck.
This was a very different banquet. Not the abundance of Jesus’ feast. Not 12 baskets left over, but a horrifying leftover, John the Baptist’s head served on a platter.
Herod could have made a different choice, but the empire had replaced God in Herod’s life. Though Herod loved to listen to John the Baptist, Herod felt that he could not risk his own reputation to spare John’s life. The empire now shaped Herod’s values and his decisions. Feeding hungry crowds – that was not on Herod’s agenda.
Of course, Rome fell centuries ago, doomed by its expansive victories – too many troops needed in too many far-flung places. That is always the temptation in any nation, including our own. Is it possible to maintain an empire and also feed people who are hungry? The leftovers of empire have almost always been destruction and death, even if done in the name of peace and security. There always seems to be enough money for weapons, but never enough to feed those who are hungry.
Into such a world, Jesus comes with an alternative vision. “The kingdom of God has come near you,” Jesus said. Over and over Jesus taught about it, told parables about it, and lived it wherever he went. Jesus brought his kingdom-vision to people, even the crowds who interrupted his time of prayer. When the hour grew late, the disciples said, “This is a deserted place … send the crowds away so that they may go into the village and buy food for themselves.” Everything rational shouts, “Good idea!” Herod would have said, “Great idea!” Send them away. But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
But, Jesus, we just cannot do it. You have to understand. Hunger is a very complicated global problem. If we give money to poor countries, corrupt leaders might divert these funds for their own personal uses. The needs are too immense – we just do not know where to start. I do not have the wisdom or the time to figure out what to do. Even if I did, I am only one person. I have only five loaves and two fish….
Jesus knows we are perplexed, just as his disciples were, but our excuses are no better than Jesus’ disciples’ excuses were. We actually do have everything we need to end hunger in this world. The cost is about $15 billion per year. If that amount sounds ridiculous to you, consider this – that amount is about 2% of what we spend just on defense each year and just in the USA.
I met Art Simon some years ago. He was once a parish pastor in a little Lutheran congregation on the lower east side of New York City. Every day hungry people came to his door and he and his congregation tried hard to feed them. Simon knew that churches had raised millions of dollars to feed the hungry, but he also knew that one bill passed by Congress could allocate billions of dollars to feed the hungry. So, more than 40 years ago, Simon founded Bread for the World, a Christian citizen’s lobbying organization. “Each of us helps to decide how our nation should use its power and wealth in a hungry world,” Simon has said. “Each of us.”
Each of us.
Sometimes, problems like hunger in our nation or in the world just seem to be unsolvable or, at least, too much for us to solve. I know. I have felt that way, too. And, then I read Jesus’ words at the feeding of the 5,000, “You give them something to eat.”
You give them something to eat. Me. You. All of us.
How do we do this? Well, you will not be surprised that I have a few ideas:
• We can join Art Simon’s “Bread for the World” organization and get involved in influencing government policy on hunger in the USA and around the world. And his organization is easy to find – www.bread.org.
• We can support our Lutheran Church’s hunger appeal, as many of us already do. What other organization can claim that 95% of its donations go directly to ending hunger? The ELCA World Hunger Appeal can make that claim. I do not know of any other organizations that can also make that claim. You can donate to our church’s hunger appeal today – just put a gift in the offering any weekend marked “ELCA World Hunger” and we will send it on to help the hungry in the US and around the world.
• We can all pray, pray for our nation and its leaders. Pray that they and we will remember hungry people as they and we spend our nations and our own funds.
I could list lots of other possibilities, but these three are a good start. And everyone hearing this sermon or reading it online can do all three of these things, no matter how young for not-so-young you may be.
Our lives are always filled with choices. Herod chose loyalty to the empire. Herod presided over a banquet of death. Jesus called his disciples to make a different choice – “You give them something to eat.” They could have said “no.” With only five loaves and two fish and more than 5,000 people to feed, that would have been the logical choice. What they had might just be enough to feed themselves. But Jesus called them to move beyond themselves and look what happened, more than 5,000 were fed and there was food left over.
They had something. You have something. So do I. Jesus blesses and multiplies whatever we bring, whatever we give, whatever we share. And, when that happens, there will be a banquet of life for everyone.
Amen.
(With thanks to the Rev. Dr. Barbara Lundblad).
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sunday, July 15, 2018
