This is a recounting of the beheading of John the Baptist. John the Baptist had told Herod that he should not be with the wife of his brother, Philip. The wife, Herodias, didn’t like John trying to tell her or the king what to do, and basically tricked the king into beheading John, all for a promise made and a trick played. But because he’d promised his daughter whatever she wanted and did it in front of others, and because Herodias prompted the daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist, apparently the King had to do it. And so, John’s head was given to Herodias on a platter. There’s so much wrong with this story about John. And that’s not what I’m intrigued with this morning.
Upon hearing about Jesus, Herod jumped to the conclusion that it was John the Baptist, raised from the dead. That sounds to me like a very unclean conscience and a good bit of unresolved guilt. The entrance of Jesus on the scene provided Herod an opportunity to relive and re-solve the incident with that pesky beheading. I’m not suggesting he did resolve it.
It’s interesting to me how things that are unresolved or for which we feel guilt keep replaying in our life. Looking at the not-so-bright side, we are tormented by the bad things we’ve done, until we’ve finally learned our lesson. Unbidden, these memories can frame and influence absolutely unrelated things, as in Herod’s case. New things are seen as if they’re related to the old, even when they’re not. Some people use the excuse of Karma, when something bad happens to me now for payment of something bad that I did in the past. We ascribe to current events meaning from past events. Look, this Jesus guy must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. Like Herod, I wonder how much that baggage blinds us from the situation that’s in front of us, rather than what’s behind.
Looking on the brighter side, things from the past – regrets or things unresolved – these things replay in my head, often for good reasons. It’s as if the cosmos, aka God, knows that I’m not done with whatever it is, or haven’t learned what I needed to, and I’m given another opportunity for closure. Things ahead of me remind me of things I have done, or things I should have done, and something wasn’t quite right. I relive or at least go through the emotional gymnastics of those past events, prompted by something ahead. I’m given the chance to think about them, and get to the place of understanding, forgiveness, compassion, or love, where I was unable before.
Maybe we all have a certain amount of baggage caused by life upbringing, or things done to us, done by us, or things left undone. Maybe we are all called to work through all that stuff and learn God’s love and grace even through that baggage. Maybe especially because of the baggage. When things come up for us that happened in the past, maybe we’re just asked to sit with it and let it teach us what it will about God’s kingdom.
This morning, I’m thinking about how things from the past can creep into my tomorrow, and only with intention and grace can I use that for God’s good purpose, to give me a chance for re-solution. Today, when I re-experience something from the past, I want to try to sit with it, and learn from it. If I don’t get to closure, that memory or thought may reappear tomorrow or next year. And I’ll be given another chance.
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