In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
St. John knew who he was. Self-knowledge, say some of the Holy Fathers, is the greatest of all the spiritual gifts. He was the Forerunner, the last prophet of the coming Messiah, that is, of the Old Testament. Most of all he knew who he was not. He was not the Messiah.
IN THOSE DAYS, as John was finishing his course, he said, "What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie."
Today we remember John’s martyrdom as an end, but also as a beginning. Endings do not close doors, they open doors. John finished his course just as the public ministry of Jesus began. There was no more need for a forerunner. The Messiah had come.
The Baptist’s brought a message of repentance based on the Law of Moses, but Jesus calls us to a deeper repentance based on Grace and Truth. It is not simply a repentance of deeds, but of intentions; a transforming repentance that reaches from the exterior to the interior, to the deepest levels of human being, conscious and unconscious.
“Thou shalt not kill,” The Law of Moses says. The Lord says, thou shalt not be angry for anger is the seed of murder. Unattended to it leads to death. The Law says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” The Messiah says, thou shalt not even entertain lust in your heart for lust is the seed of adultery.
Our hearts and minds are storehouses of seeds, both for good and for ill. Repentance means to make a selection between them and to choose to plant and nurture only those that are good. St. Maximus the Confessor taught that the commandments of God are for the transformation of chaos into order. Sinful actions are the sign of a disordered life, of a heart filled with the fruit of unhealthy seeds. Holiness is the sign of an ordered life, of a heart filled with good and wholesome fruit.
Thus, repentance is not only for the confession of exterior sins, but even more for the discovery and confession of the turmoil within: distracting thoughts, tumultuous emotions, fear, poisonous, unrelenting sorrows, and the subconscious conditioning that moves us without our knowledge to act and react as we do like slaves to an evil master. We must be purified of everything that disturbs the soul. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” St. Isaac puts its this way:
“Purify yourself and you will see heaven in yourself. In yourself you will see angels and their brightness, and you will see their Master with them and in them…
The spiritual homeland of the person whose soul has been purified is within. The sun that shines there is the light of the Trinity. The air breathed by the entering thoughts is the Holy Spirit the Comforter. With the person dwell the angels. Their life, their joy, their cause for celebration is Christ the light of the Father’s light. Such a person rejoices every hour in the contemplation of his soul, and marvels at the beauty that appears, a hundred times brighter than the brightness of the sun…That is the kingdom of God hidden within us, according to the words of the Lord.”
If our spiritual practice is not leading us to a deepening and daily transformation from the inside out, then it is weak and ineffectual. If so, it is a sign that we have missed the message of the Gospel and must be open to seeing anew what we thought we understood. The spiritual life is a continual movement from death to life, from darkness to light, from turmoil to peace. There is a path from sin and the misery it causes available to us, but it is a road that demands our all. We are not called by the Lord to simply give all that we have, but to give all that we are. That includes everything, bad good, bad, and indifferent on every level of human consciousness. As St. Isaac also reminds us, the human heart is an infinitely deep chasm filled with angels and demons. To ascend to heaven is to descend into its depths and allow the light of Christ to penetrate each and every corner.
It is He who leads us, from level to level, healing, exorcizing, cleansing strengthening all the good that is there. This is the way of the Cross, the road to purification after which, writes St. Maximus, the Lord Himself can be born in us just as He was in His Virgin Mother.
John the Baptist Beheaded (Mark 6:14-29)
English, Russian and Ukrainian
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia (holy icon from here)
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[a] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[b]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[c] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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От Марка 6:14-29
New Russian Translation
Ирод убивает Иоанна Крестителя
14 Об Иисусе услышал царь Ирод, поскольку имя Иисуса становилось все более известным, и некоторые говорили:
– Это Иоанн Креститель воскрес из мертвых, и поэтому в Нем такая чудодейственная сила.
15 Другие говорили, что это Илия. А третьи утверждали, что Он пророк, подобный пророкам древности. 16 Услышав эти разговоры, Ирод решил:
– Это Иоанн, которого я обезглавил, он воскрес из мертвых.
17 В свое время Ирод приказал арестовать Иоанна и бросить его в темницу из-за Иродиады, жены своего брата Филиппа. Ирод женился на ней, 18 а Иоанн говорил ему:
– Нельзя тебе жить с женой своего брата.
19 Иродиада затаила злобу на Иоанна и хотела убить его. Однако она не могла ничего сделать, 20 потому что Ирод боялся Иоанна, зная, что это справедливый и святой человек, и берег его. Слушая Иоанна, Ирод приходил в смущение, но тем не менее, ему нравилось его слушать. 21 Наконец Иродиаде представился подходящий случай. Ирод в день своего рождения устроил пир для своих приближенных, военачальников и самых уважаемых людей Галилеи. 22 Дочь Иродиады вошла к ним и танцевала, и так понравилась Ироду и возлежавшим за столом гостям, что царь сказал девушке:
– Проси у меня чего хочешь, и я дам тебе! – 23 и поклялся ей: – Чего ни попросишь, все дам тебе, хоть половину моего царства.
24 Девушка пошла к матери за советом:
– Чего мне просить?
А та сказала:
– Проси голову Иоанна Крестителя.
25 Девушка сразу же поспешила к царю и попросила:
– Хочу, чтобы ты сейчас же подал мне на блюде голову Иоанна Крестителя.
26 Царь сильно опечалился, но не решился ей отказать, так как поклялся перед возлежавшими за столом гостями. 27 Он немедленно послал палача и приказал ему принести голову Иоанна. Тот пошел в темницу, обезглавил Иоанна 28 и принес его голову на блюде девушке, а та отдала ее своей матери. 29 Когда об этом услышали ученики Иоанна, они пришли, забрали тело и похоронили его в гробнице.
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Від Марка 6:14-29
14 І прочув про Ісуса цар Ірод, бо ім'я Його стало загально відоме, і сказав, що то Іван Христитель із мертвих воскрес, і тому творяться чуда від нього.
15 Інші впевняли, що Ілля Він, а знов інші казали, що пророк, або як один із пророків.
16 А Ірод, прочувши, сказав: Іван, якому я голову стяв був, оце він воскрес!
17 Той бо Ірод, пославши, схопив був Івана, і в в'язниці закув його, через Іродіяду, дружину брата свого Пилипа, бо він одружився був із нею.
18 Бо Іван казав Іродові: Не годиться тобі мати за дружину жінку брата свого!
19 А Іродіяда лютилась на нього, і хотіла йому смерть заподіяти, та не могла.
20 Бо Ірод боявся Івана, знавши, що він муж праведний і святий, і беріг його. І, його слухаючи, він дуже бентежився, але слухав його залюбки.
21 Та настав день догідний, коли дня народження Ірод справляв був бенкета вельможам своїм, і тисячникам, і галілейській старшині,
22 і коли прийшла дочка тієї Іродіяди, і танцювала, і сподобалася Іродові та присутнім із ним при столі, тоді цар промовив до дівчини: Проси в мене, чого хочеш, і дам я тобі!
23 І поклявся він їй: Чого тільки від мене попросиш, то дам я тобі, хоча б і півцарства мого!
24 Вона ж вийшла, і спиталася матері своєї: Чого маю просити? А та відказала: Голови Івана Христителя...
25 І зараз квапливо вернулась вона до царя, і просила, говорячи: Я хочу, щоб дав ти негайно мені на полумиску голову Івана Христителя!
26 І засмутився цар, але через клятву й з-за тих, що з ним були при столі, не схотів їй відмовити.
27 І цар зараз послав вояка, і звелів принести Іванову голову.
28 І пішов він, і стяв у в'язниці Івана, і приніс його голову на полумискові, і дівчаті віддав, а дівча віддало її своїй матері...
29 А коли його учні зачули, то прийшли, і взяли його тіло, і до гробу поклали його.
See also
Herod’s best friend!
The Beheading of the holy glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John (29 August)
The Mystery of the Forerunner
Oxford Historians Find The Bones of St John the Baptist
Mark 6:14-29 - Transforming Our Lives in Christ
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