The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
Sunday, August 29, 1999
Strict Fast
Readings for the Day: Apostle: Acts 13:25-33 --- Gospel: St. Mark 6:14-30
An Icon of the Passion: St. Mark 6:14-30, especially vs. 16, "But when Herod heard,
he said,
'This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" The lives of St.
John the
Forerunner and our Lord Jesus are woven together from birth to death and beyond. Both the
Lord
and St. John came into the world, and the world did not know them and did not receive them
(Jn.
1:10,11). From the beginning, before the Lord ever announced His own Passion, St. John
called
Him "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29), a title
fraught with
overtones of sacrificial death.
Compare the traditional icon of the Forerunner with the Gospel reading for today. This you
can do
by studying the iconostasis in most Orthodox churches. Immediately you will see both in
icon and in
the lesson, a unified message that joins the martyrdom of the great Prophet to the Passion
of the
Lord. In itself the witness of St. John to the Lord would have earned him the title of
Forerunner (Jn.
1:7), but his icon and today's lesson remind us that St. John also was a Forerunner in
death, pointing
forward by his death to the great and saving Passion of Christ.
Whether we read St. Mark's narrative of the "passion" of St. John, or whether we
stand before the
icon of St. John and read the message of the iconographer written for us, the elements of
the Lord's
Saving Passion are all unmistakably present, awesome holiness, bold purity, the clear call
to
repentance. Death, martyrdom, the Cross and human rebellion against the Law of God, are
vividly
present, as are life, salvation, and Great Mercy. The impotence of earthly kings, and the
economy of
God to save us from all iniquitous design, are likewise proclaimed.
In the icon, you will see the Prophet with the wings of an angel. The wings speak of St.
John as a
message-bearer. As he said of himself, "I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness: Make straight
the way of the Lord," thereby announcing the coming of the Incarnate God. The wings
further direct
us to the life of a man who lived like a terrestrial angel or a celestial man. Through
this vision, we see
clearly why Herod was afraid of John. One should be in dread of a messenger of the Lord.
God
sent angels and messengers to make visible to earthly eyes the holiness of God, Whom
"no man may
see and live" (Ex. 33:20). The conical rocks in the Forerunner's icon tell of his
detachment from the
world, of a man pure and unspotted by the world.
Reading either St. Mark's account or the iconographer's message, one looks into the
reality of death
and its roots in human sin, and therefore into the Passion which God the Word took upon
Himself.
In the icon, St. John holds a cross. His severed head, eyes closed, lies on the charger
before our
gaze, yet the Prophet looks toward the figure of the Lord in the corner of the icon. The
whole drama
of the coming Great Passion is written boldly, in inescapable images. Similarly, without
seeing the
Prophet as the Forerunner of the Crucified Bridegroom, who can read and comprehend St.
Mark's
description of St. John's arrest, of the godless folly of the puppet King Herod, of the
calculating use
of her daughter Salome by Herodias, of the inevitable execution and of the devoted burial
by John's
disciples? There is more here than meets the eye of mortal man.
In icon and in Gospel record alike, the triumph of God over sin and death stands boldly
proclaimed.
The figure of St. John, alive, with angelic wings, looks toward Christ. He is shown as one
raised
from the dead by his Lord. His head lies at his feet on the platter. Look again and you
will see also
the proclamation of the Lord Who was crucified but is alive!
The earthly angel was offered as a prize for an immoral dance. And the tongue constantly
speaking of God is sent to preach Christ to those who are in hades. Ah! For Thy surpassing
providence, Christ our God, save our souls, for Thou alone art compassionate.
Taken from DYNAMIS! A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS