The ghosts of Macbeth and Herod

Morning Prayer

A homily

1/30/13

Mark 6:14-29:  The beheading of John the Baptist

When Herod heard John, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to John.

-Mk 6:21

This past fall, there was a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Edgerton Park.  It was my first time seeing the play live.  While I knew a broad outline of the plot I was surprised by the potency of the  psychological breakdown I witnessed in the character of Macbeth.  As I have thought about this passage from Mark over the past few days, I am reminded of the scene in which Macbeth’s friend, Banquo--who Macbeth sent men to murder--appears as a ghost and sits in Macbeth’s seat.

This unhinges Macbeth, and Banquo is a silent witness who convicts Macbeth of his deeds.  I find that scene to be a powerful testimony to how the insatiable lust for power and self-protection can become all-encompassing and soul-destroying.

Herod is seeing ghosts, too.  In fact, Herod says ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’(Mk 6:16).

I think Herod and Macbeth have something in common here:  men whom both Herod and Macbeth respected had to die to preserve their own illusions of power.  But they eventually come to regret the decision.

The comparison between Macbeth and Herod may seem strange, but bear with me a moment.   

The narrative of the beheading of John appears in Mark and Matthew.  (Luke treats the subject as an aside and little more).  In Matthew, the story is a bit cleaner.  Herod’s villainy is clearer. Herod hated John, but could not kill him because he feared the people (Mt 14:5).  There is a sense of Herod’s personal willingness to kill John in spite of the mere political considerations that had previously kept John alive.  Herod did not want to upset the people. But an oath was an oath.  John had to die.  This is how I thought of this story in broad outline.  Herod was enabled to do something evil he wanted to do anyway.

Mark tells a slightly different story:  

“Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and Herod protected him.

When he heard John, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to John (Mk 6:20).”

Something about John appealed to Herod.  Here is what I think was happening: somewhere deep within Herod--having withstood years and years of political calculation and power plays--John could touch the good within Herod.  John could bring to the surface the better urges of Herod in ways Herod could not fully comprehend.  In this we see that something in Herod could have chosen the good.  Both Macbeth and Herod chose otherwise.

And now, after seeing what happens to Macbeth in the banquet hall when the ghost of Banquo enters--how Macbeth rages in fear and confusion--I now can’t help but wonder what it would have been like in that banquet hall when Herod’s daughter asked for John’s head.

I wonder if Herod could show emotion.  Could you see that he was "deeply grieved"?  Did he have to keep cool to avoid appearing weak politically?  Would someone be able to tell he had been outwitted? I want to see Herod’s face when he decides not to risk his honor, not to save a life.

You see, I think when Herod ordered John killed, he knew that something of the good within himself was also being diminished.  Herod created the ghost of John, which would serve as a reminder of the shame that came from choosing to kill for something so small as saving face at a dinner party.

But before I make Herod a moral monster--a class apart from the so-called everyday folks, and so safe from comparison--I am reminded that sometimes I might be able to see the same conflict on my own face.

Even in something so service-oriented as ministry, we are entrusted with positions of power.  We may not deal with matters as dramatic as the decision over who lives or who dies, but we are entrusted in various ways with some authority over a community.

Theologian Karen-Marie Yust writes that:  “The challenge of the 21^st century is for the Body of Christ to read our own decisions in light of this story and ask ourselves whether the choices we are making are self-protective, or part of God’s transformation of the world.”

I invite you to wonder with me.

Who in our lives will be, or already is, John the Baptist to us?

Who will simultaneously perplex us and yet call us to something of the work of God we may not yet understand?

If a time comes when we may need to choose between the preservation of our ego or our status or the institution for the sake of power…or the transformation through God of those very same things...

What will we do?

May you live a life free from ghosts.

Amen.