We are in such a time in a world when many love good debate and ‘preaching, if it keep far away from their beloved sin.’ We are in a world with spirituality and folly of Herod where the Gospel and evangelism is under direct and indirect oppositions and redefinition. It is a world with spirituality that takes what is indecent to be decent and what is unlawful to be lawful just as Herod himself sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” The world with spirituality of Herod is where the messengers of God’s Word who could not play the “politically correct” games are discarded, imprisoned, and humiliated. It is the fear of God that makes royalty and leadership in general to be nice bearing in mind that royalty does not make or mean Herodias was nice or an example of motherhood (Prov 31).
The world with spirituality of Herod is in marriage to sin, pride, ungodliness, and immorality. It is a world where the Word of God is undermined, decapitated, and truncated just as John was beheaded, a world without spiritual direction. The world with spirituality of Herod stands for a Babylonian worldly system that want to kill the Gospel and evangelism at all cost. The world with spirituality of Herod is about celebrity and fresh expression of love without discipline, a world with spirituality where the head, the authority of the Gospel is separated from the body of the Truth by human reasoning. The world with spirituality of Herod is shaped by a culture where people are sorry for their sins but without personal repentance (Mark 6:26). The world with spirituality of Herod promotes a culture of unforgiveness and vengeance at all cost just as Herodias did to John the Baptist.
We are in a world with spirituality of opportunities for evangelism just as an opportune day came for John the Baptist, Herod, Herodias, their daughter, the nobles and the entire world (v.21). I pray for someone, you will not misuse your opportunity in Jesus’ name. John the Baptist was faithful to God as a preacher and evangelist in the court of Herod by telling him of his faults (Mark 6:17). Faithful preaching are like the wounds of a friend in contrast to deceitful kisses of an enemy, especially enemies of the Gospel (Prov 27:6). Indeed, evangelism and preaching of God’s undiluted Word can be dangerous and offensive in a world with spiritualities of Herods, Herodias, and their daughter. Faithful preachers and evangelists like John the Baptist run the hazard of ministry ‘rather than be wanting in his duty’ and calling. Faithful evangelists and true preachers of Jesus Christ do not seek to please people or government but always after their spiritual good and eternal life. The reflection is that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ always make people like Herod and Herodias with guilty conscience remember and develop hard hearts to their sins, pride, and disobedience.
Herod had an opportunity on his birthday when his daughter came in and danced to his pleasure and solemnly swore to give her anything. Herod said to his daughter, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it. . . Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” In a word with spirituality of Herod that hate good preaching, a world that keeps us very close to our beloved sins, Herodias in her bid to revenge on John the Baptist for exposing her sin counselled her daughter to ask for “The head of John the baptizer.” The world with spirituality of Herod nurtures children and youth that does not understand or differentiate from what is spiritual and what is carnal, what is moral and what is immoral, what is decent and what is indecent. Herodias’ daughter rushed back to Herod, the king and said, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The world with spirituality of Herod raises ‘give me at once’ generation, a generation that want no for an answer.
The world with spirituality of Herod is more concern to safeguard their interest, prestige, and position than salvation of souls, hence Herod ordered a soldier of the guard to bring John’s head. The world with spirituality and folly of Herod promotes a system and a generation of Christian with a truncated Gospel, a Gospel without head; a Gospel without total obedience to God’s commandment. In a world with spirituality and folly of Herod, it is very easy to go to war to cover up our sins and immoral decisions. Many presidents and leaders of nations today send innocent soldiers to commit murder under the cover of just wars. In a world with spirituality and folly of Herod, innocent children are open to lack of spiritual and right parental direction and mentoring. The reflection is that good education and spirituality begins at home. We are in a world today with spirituality of Herod where refusal of some children’s immoral demands may become an abuse. Just because Herod under an oath did not want to refuse her daughter’s inordinate request, he became a murderer. We are in a world with spirituality of Herod where the truth of the Gospel is murdered to please sinful and immoral pleasure and choices.
The world with spirituality of Herod suggests a time when many people are falling away on account and testimony of Jesus and his radical Gospel. What Jesus said to John the Baptist 2000 years ago speaks to us preachers and evangelists today. We are blessed when we stay strong and do not fall away especially in a world with spirituality and folly of Herod. Our path as preachers and evangelists is missional, witnessing and telling the Gospel as it is, both to the king and the entire kingdom as our parish, telling the world to stop messing up with sin. This is our radical calling with radical Grace for radical evangelism and preaching. The fear of a world with spirituality of Herod is the fear about Resurrection and Second Coming of Jesus just as Herod was afraid thinking that John he beheaded might have resurrected from the dead. Resurrection is real. Receive Jesus today to overcome now, in a world with spirituality of Herod, and in eternal life.
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