Homily: 4th Week in Ordinary Time - Friday - Extraordinary Witness

If you were reading Mark’s Gospel from beginning to end, this long passage of John the Baptist’s martyrdom comes as a sort of unexpected interlude. 

In the previous verses, we read how Jesus sends out the Twelve apostles on a special mission to teach, and perform miracles, and cure the sick and drive out demons.  But before we hear of their return, how they tell Jesus all they did and taught, we get this really lengthy account of the execution of John the Baptist.

As Mark uses the life and arrest and death of John the Baptist to foreshadow what will happen to Jesus, it also foreshadows what will happen to the majority of the apostles, and also is a lesson that to follow Jesus Christ is to accept suffering, imprisonment, even death for the sake of the Gospel.

It is like Saint Mark is saying, take courage Christians, do not be surprised when this happens to you.  It happened to John, it happened to Jesus, it will happen to the apostles, and every Christian, in their own way is called to unite themselves with the suffering Christ for the sake of the Gospel.

We’ve been seeing a lot of red this week: St. Blase, St. Agatha, St. Paul Miki and his martyred companions.

From Jerusalem, to Japan, to Rome, from the time of Christ to the present day, Christians have been laying down their lives for and in imitation of the Master, Jesus.

Only few men and women in every age of the Church become those extraordinary witnesses, as Christian martyrs.  But by virtue of our baptism, we are called to daily conversion, perseverance in prayer, defense and proclamation of the Gospel in conversation.  And particularly we unite ourselves in prayer to all those who do face imprisonment, misunderstanding, physical hardship and suffering for the Gospel.

I saw yesterday an article that said 2013 saw a rise in physical violence against Christians, and 2014 looks like it will be higher. I saw a horrific video of these courageous young men, standing in front of their Cathedral, witnessing to the Gospel of Life, and they were spit upon, and mocked, by the angry mob.  There is such a hatred towards the truth of the Christian Gospel, and as more and more hearts turn away from that truth, violence will likely increase.

From the time when he lept for joy in his mother’s womb, through his preaching, and to his martyrdom we heard accounted today, John the Baptist’s whole life pointed to Jesus Christ.  May our lives courageously point to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.