POWER, REVENGE, WHERE HAS JUSTICE GONE?
And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of his oaths, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison." Mark 6:26-27
REFLECTIONS
A. Cortés
9/2/20241 min read
Herod, an abusive ruler, powerful yet cowardly and fearful, recognizes John as a prophet and anointed one, but that does not stop him from imprisoning and ultimately beheading him. His word, pledged merely to please his guests and lover, along with his impulsiveness driven by the latter's revenge, made the life of a righteous man insignificant; the life of a saint was a small thing, as if it were a matter of destroying a bothersome insect.
This text speaks of the danger of the abuse of power, corruption, and how childish oaths and commitments to third parties can prevail over a spoken truth, regardless of the tragic or devastating consequences for a person or their loved ones.
Sadly, within religion, the intertwining of politics, power, and revenge held by the "higher-ups" almost always (if not always) prevails over the reason that a single man, a simple, a nobody, considered as such by them, may have. '"Kill the uncomfortable and annoying one while you're at it, and thus get rid of a problem." And so it was done. But John already won the crown. With a little less than or more than a year of ministry, in the eyes of Jesus, he surpassed the great prophets of more than "forty years of experience." But this is another topic.
Only divine justice is true and impartial. Blessings.