Reading 1 Sir 47:2-11
Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,
so was David in Israel.
He made sport of lions as though they were kids,
and of bears, like lambs of the flock.
As a youth he slew the giant
and wiped out the people's disgrace,
When his hand let fly the slingstone
that crushed the pride of Goliath.
Since he called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and raise up the might of his people,
Therefore the women sang his praises,
and ascribed to him tens of thousands
and praised him when they blessed the Lord.
When he assumed the royal crown, he battled
and subdued the enemy on every side.
He destroyed the hostile Philistines
and shattered their power till our own day.
With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung;
He set singers before the altar and by their voices
he made sweet melodies,
He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year
So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:31, 47 and 50, 51
R. (see 47b) Blessed be God my salvation!
God's way is unerring,
the promise of the LORD is fire-tried;
he is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
R. Blessed be God my salvation!
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
Therefore will I proclaim you, O LORD, among the nations,
and I will sing praise to your name.
R. Blessed be God my salvation!
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
R. Blessed be God my salvation!
Gospel Mk 6:14-29
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
"John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him."
Others were saying, "He is Elijah";
still others, "He is a prophet like any of the prophets."
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
"It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up."
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."
He even swore many things to her,
"I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom."
She went out and said to her mother,
"What shall I ask for?"
Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist."
The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request,
"I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist."
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Meditation: Mark 6:14-29
Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.” (Mark 6:22)
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, her name was Salomé. She was young, maybe only twelve, like the girl Jesus raised from the dead. (Mark uses the same Greek term to describe them in 5:42; 6:22,28). But like an experienced exotic dancer, this girl already knew how to delight men. She knew something about ruthlessness as well: Instructed to ask for the head of John the Baptist, Salomé went one better, demanding her prize “at once” and “on a platter” (6:25).
Was Salomé a “bad seed” especially inclined toward sin? More likely, as a member of the house of Herod, she had fallen into truly bad soil. She was, after all, the great-granddaughter of a brutal king who executed one of his ten wives and three of his sons. Herod Antipas, her stepfather, was dissolute and wily— “that fox,” Jesus called him (Luke 13:32). Her mother, Herodias, bore poisonous grudges and was a scheming social climber who married two of her uncles in succession.
The Herod family—and this mother-daughter team—did so many terrible things that it’s tempting to just sit in judgment over them. But let’s look at their appalling story as an invitation, instead—an invitation to assess the “soil” in our own families.
Take a good look at your home life today, but do it in the light of God’s love and mercy. It can be easy to focus all our attention on all the areas that need to be changed. But that can lead to discouragement and even paralysis. Instead, focus on the positive aspects of your family life. List them out, and make it a point to commend your children for the good you see in them. Then choose only one or two negative elements that need work. Develop a plan to reduce one of these elements over the next few weeks, and see where that leads you. Above all else, be encouraging. Be hopeful.
In the spiritual life, as in farming and gardening, it’s God who gives the growth. But we can plant, we can water, and we can fertilize the soil. Let’s do all we can to give the seed a chance. And let’s pray for an abundant harvest.
“Father, have mercy on all the vulnerable young ones who have no one to protect them and to teach them your ways.”
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