Role Reversals

Gospel: Mark 6: 14-29

Consider the career of John the Baptist.  He goes into the desert to baptize and preach repentance.  Many come to hear him and receive his message.  Many too will receive baptism at his hands.  This activity is perfectly fine for those in power, as long as it remains out there on the edges and addressed to the commoners.  But when John challenges Herod with his own sin, well, that cannot be tolerated.  So John is arrested and executed on a whim.  

Now consider the modern Christian who praise John the Baptist as a hero of faith.  We find the modern Christian now as apologist for those in power, justifying the sins of the elite - everything from serial adultery to pedophilia and human trafficking.  What is more, this modern Christian rejoices over the open execution of those who would challenge the illegal activity of those in power, nonviolent protestors who stood up to challenge those who abduct others without due process or evidence whatever.  

Modern Christianity looks to blame all sorts of things for its demise other than its own behaviors and hypocrisies.  They would arrest and silence John the Baptist for challenging them for these behaviors as well.  But for those who seek an authentic Christianity, follow the way of John the Baptist, the way of Jesus.  It will likely lead to persecution, prison, and possibly death.  But it is authentic and real.  It is an authentic Italian meal in Milan, while modern Christianity is Olive Garden.