The Obituary
John was born in to Elizabeth and Zechariah in their old age. They had not had a child, and had given up on even hoping for a child, and then Elizabeth became pregnant. Everyone called it a miracle, and was sure that God must have had big plans for this boy. His parents told him that the idea of his name was given by God Himself, and that Zechariah was literally speechless until the day he was named.
As an only child, John got lots of attention from his parents. He could always be found with his dad in the synagogue, where his dad was a key leader and frequent teacher. His mom doted on him as one would expect. John was deeply loved by his parents and his community. Their love of God and the beauty of what God was trying to do in Israel captured John’s parents, and it captured John, too. Since they were very old when they had John, it meant that their time with him would be cut short.
Growing into adolescence and early adulthood without his parents had a great impact on John. Some of his disciples talked about how he spoke of his teen years as a refiner’s fire, forging in him a perspective on the world that would not be shaken, and courage to back it up.
Of course, many people came to know John for his prophetic voice and his invitation to be baptized as a sign of allegiance to God. John lived in the shadow of Jerusalem, where political and spiritual power shared the same air space, and in some ways, the same goals. He was not surprised that the Roman government treated Jewish people harshly. They didn’t care about the people of the land they had conquered beyond the labor they could provide to ensure their needs. None of the regular Jewish folk were happy about the occupation, and all dreamt of a time when God would move yet again to help them retake their land. John was outspoken about this, warning political authorities that God was paying attention, and that God’s refining fire would be coming soon enough to get rid of all that was unholy.
What really surprised and disappointed John – a well as countless others – was that their spiritual leadership resembled Roman values more than it did Israel’s. Rather than doing all they could to serve the poor widows and children with the funds they received, the Jerusalem priests spent the money on big houses – one was over 2,000 square feet – and on the latest fashion trends. They lived it up while most Jews barely lived. This was a far cry from what he grew up learning and seeing in his little community. So, after trying to persuade the religious elite for a while, John shifted his focus away from Jerusalem and found himself in the wilderness. That’s also when he started dressing like Elijah and ate bugs – he especially liked locusts with honey.
None of us are terribly surprised that John’s bold message finally caught up with him. He made his opinion clear about Herod’s love life. As everybody knows, Herod dumped his wife, the daughter of Aretas, king of Petras. This was bad enough. But then he quickly married his sister-in-law, Herodias. This clear violation of Jewish Law made John sick, and he made his disgust known loud and clear. Herod, however, kept his hands off John since he hadn’t called for a revolt on the part of his followers. Herodias, on the other hand, wasn’t as tolerant, and manipulated her husband to have John killed in disgrace. He will be deeply missed.
May we all keep his message in our hearts as we await God’s redemption.
The Homily
How do we deal with a loss like this? What do we do when our world seems so out of control? Many of us believed that God’s hand was on John in powerful ways. We believed his message. We repented as he instructed and began living differently. We were sure that God was going to use John to bring about the redemption of Israel that we had been longing for.
And then he was arrested. It was like he was told he had Stage 4 cancer or something. It took the wind out of our sails. But some, like Jesus from Nazareth, recognized that it was time for them to continue the message. It wasn’t a time to retreat, but to regroup. It was like John was saying from his prison cell what he had been saying all along: “Turn around! You are tempted to feel defeated by my arrest. That’s not God’s hope for you. Turn around and follow God! Continue the work God has rekindled in us!”
So Jesus went for it, and the thing John started just went bigger and bigger. Jesus took it in some new directions, too. He didn’t like John’s wardrobe or diet or asceticism in general, but the message of turning to God was stronger than ever.
And then this happened. God’s messenger was silenced by one who very clearly represented God’s enemy. Where was God when John needed a guardian angel? Why didn’t God intervene?
The truth is, John’s horrible death stirs these questions because we all have them bouncing around in our heads. When friends die, we are reminded of this struggle. And when friends die tragically, it just turns up the volume to the point we can no longer avoid it.
So what would John say to us at a time like this? How would our beloved teacher instruct us in light of this?
I think John would utter a word he was famous for saying so often along the banks of the Jordan River. I think he would not say it quietly, but rather shout it as loud as he could and often did. I think he would say his famous word with as much passion as he could muster. I think he would shout the word from the depths of his being. I think the word would erupt from him like a volcano, heated from the core of his experiences of injustice. I think he would not be able to restrain himself. I think his camel haired smock would be shedding as he jumped about proclaiming his word that became his signature.
Do you know the word to which I am referring? The word is repent.
Repent.
REPENT!
REPENT!!!
This one word encapsulates everything John was about, and he would be shouting it as a word of hope to us today. The word means, literally, to turn around.
John spoke it often to people who really needed to hear it. Priests. Government officials. Business owners. Traders. Tax collectors. People who were tempted to kill themselves trying to achieve a life of luxury for themselves. People who buried themselves in their self-centeredness while suffering was crying out all around them. Suffering they could do something about.
To these people John cried, “Repent! The Kingdom of God is near – right here – if you will turn around and embrace it.” Change your focus, change your allegiance, change your trajectory, change your dream, change your values – change everything. Trade in the system this world has given you. Trade up to the Kingdom of God. Stop wallowing in your self-centeredness and be part of the dream God has where everyone eats and lives in safety. The world that tempts you is not God’s hope for you. It is, rather, a nightmare from which God is hoping we’ll arise.
For our present grief at John’s death and at all the injustices we suffer. Job loss. Health woes. Relationship wrecks. Global poverty, war, and strife of every kind. Defeatable diseases. All of it that commands our attention and weakens our faith. All that would tell us that we have no hope. All that would encourage us to horde our resources to save ourselves to the neglect of others.
John would want us to be honest about our pain and loss. But John would remind us that God’s kingdom and movement extends far beyond our short lives. The source of life – God’s Spirit – moves deeper than the currents of every time and culture. The renewing, redemptive love of God flies higher than our biggest dreams. And God’s grace is more powerful than the widest, farthest-reaching regimes of destruction. It is right and good to honor John’s memory with appropriate mourning. But it honors John’s memory even better if we use a horrible occasion such as this to ask ourselves who we really and are, and in light of that, how will we live?
Have we found ourselves living for dreams of the powerful and rich among us who get to their station on the backs of others? If so, repent! Turn around! Trade up to a bigger dream that does deliver life with meaning and purpose, but also strives to provide the same life for those who cannot dream without help from those who can make change.
You who have heard of John who now live and find your freedom in the shelter of the super power, where is the source of your identity and dream? Whose are you, really? Are you simply Roman? Or are you first and foremost a child of God?
If you find yourself being drawn more by Rome, John would say with not a little conviction, “Repent!” your life is worth more than this! Stop basing how you look, where you live, what you drive, what you wear, who you hang with, who you aspire to become, how you invest your resources, how you eat and drink on all that Rome says is true and good. Turn around!
Be the child of God you were born to be! Live fully, deeply, lovely. Be generous with those who have little. Help those you can. Be a voice for those who have none. Stand in contrast to those who live for their personal glory to the chagrin of the majority around them. Rethink your priorities in light of who is calling you.
And turn around to hope. Hope in a God who really does move in our midst, regardless of what Super Power might reign for a moment. Live out the redemption God dreams for all. As you do, you will find the words of the prophet Isaiah coming true, as Jesus said it was for him:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed
me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the
brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners
will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who
mourn
that the time of the Lord’s favor has come…
To
all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a
joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In
their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted
for his own glory.”
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