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Writer's pictureJoel Camaya

Mission to the End

17 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. 18 John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. 20 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. 21 She 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. 22 Herodias’s 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.” 23 He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 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.” 26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:17-29)


MISSION TO THE END

The great saints of the Church find their names more than once in the liturgical calendar. Saints Peter and Paul have their solemnity on June 29 and have their respective feasts—January 25, the conversion of St. Paul, and February 22, the chair of St. Peter—and a commemoration of the dedication of their basilicas, on November 18. Two days are allotted for St. Joseph—March 19, a solemnity, as husband of Mary and patron of the Universal Church, and May 1, the memorial of St. Joseph the worker. We celebrate the solemnity of the birth of St. John the Baptist on June 24, and the feast of his martyrdom today, August 29.

The mission of John the Baptist was clear right from the start: he would be the voice in the desert, the one that shouts “Prepare the way of the Lord!” He would be the precursor, the one who would “go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76–77).

But then comes a problem: what if Jesus has already come? And he had indeed come, in the lifetime of John the Baptist himself. Did it mean that his mission has ended? What happened to him when what he came for had already come to pass? The answer? His task has not yet ended. Far from it, for he remained a prophet, preaching against the wrongdoing of Herod Antipas, a preaching that cost him his life as we read in today’s gospel.

The death of John the Baptist is a clear message for us that our tasks here on earth do not come to a stop. There is always something to do for the building up of the Kingdom: like John the Baptist whose task as a prophet did not cease upon the coming of Jesus, but which continued with his preaching, his arrest, and his martyrdom.

Reflection Questions:

1. What is the mission that the Lord has given me?

2. Am I willing to be prophetic and courageous even if this leads to persecution?

Lord, may I carry out the mission you have given me all my life, even unto death.




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