Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for July 12, 2015
Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist, Bartholomeus Strobel, 1633; Prado Museum, Madrid.
First Reading: Amos 7:7-15
Amos never expected to be a prophet. He was a humble herder and tender of sycamore trees. But he heard God’s call to tell the people of Israel to expect destruction, because God had measured them and found them wanting. Their holy places would be destroyed and the people sent into exile. Amos knew, as John the Baptist would know centuries later, that this prophecy was dangerous and could get him killed; but he heard God’s call and could not refuse.
Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13
This beautiful Psalm segment gives us a moment of peace between the violence surrounding two anger-provoking prophets. When God speaks, the faithful people hear peace. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all manner of things shall be well.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
We’ll spend the next six Sundays hearing verses from Ephesians, a letter most likely written by a later follower of Paul around the end of the first century. The Christian community was facing persecution. Many of its leaders were struggling to fit in to popular culture, and Ephesians may reflect that, as its pages include some “difficult” passages (which we won’t hear in our readings) that urge wives to submit to their husbands and slaves to obey their owners. In today’s reading, though, Paul’s concept of grace as God’s free gift through Jesus remains at the center. We also see a theology of Christ being present with God before the creation of the Earth.
Gospel: Mark 6:14-29
It did not take evil King Herod long to learn about the healings and miracles that Jesus and his apostles were performing in Galilee, and he didn’t like it. Herod probably had a guilty conscience, as he had just had John the Baptist beheaded – at the insistence of his new wife and her daughter – and Herod wasn’t happy about that. Now Herod wonders if Jesus is John, come back to life. He doesn’t get an answer, but in coming verses we will see crowds gather and grow as Jesus continues his public ministry.