The Passion of John the Baptist

“I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Mk 6:25

Each time we read Mark's gospel about the party Herod threw for his friends, we wonder if John had an inkling of what might be his fate. A critic of Herod for marrying his brother's wife, John was in prison awaiting he knew not what. Would he rot, be beaten, escape or be sprung from prison by his followers? Though we have no direct evidence of how John reacted when he was about to be beheaded, it must have been awful.

Women and men in prison are among the most isolated people in the world. Often forgotten even by their friends and family, they have little to do but endure and hope for their freedom. For those who study or learn to pray in prison, life can have new meaning, but the strength needed to survive the emptiness and segregation is often lacking. Many become chronically depressed and often think of suicide.

All of us have or make prisons for ourselves from time to time. Call it what you will, but our unwillingness to let go of a job, a lifestyle, a home or an idea can trap us in a place that once served us well on our earthly pilgrimage, but is now very much like a prison. Unless we seek the grace to live in Christ each day, we will be unable to see God wherever we are or hear God directing us to a new path.

We should have little doubt that no matter how difficult John the Baptist's life  was in prison, he continued to live in the Spirit of God and announce that he was not the one who was to come and that all should follow the Christ who lived within and among them. While John's body was in prison, his faith in Christ allowed him to escape each day into the freedom of God. Our faith offers us this same gift.

Today, ask God to free you from prisons of your own making.

How can the witness of John the Baptist help contemporary Christians?