What a small thing in the big picture to give his head for the Head of the Church who would give his life for John and all sinners.
One day when I reach retirement, I can see myself working on a collection of gallows humor. I probably shouldn’t enjoy it, but I do. You know what gallows humor is, right? It’s joking in dire times at dire things. Gallows humor is especially common among people who deal regularly with suffering and death. It’s not that they’re uncaring, it’s just that they need a way to cope.
This summer, I read all the Lord of the Rings books for the first time. Tolkien draws on a lot of themes from the Middle Ages, including the theme of merriment. Many think of the Middle Ages as dour or gloomy, and sometimes they were, but they were also really into feast days. They knew the importance of laughing, even in the midst of suffering, just like a good hobbit.
Christ has set the church free to have a sense of humor. One of the places you see this the most is with the saints. Take, for instance, St. Lawrence. Commanded to hand over the treasures of the church, he sold them, gave the money to the poor, and told the rulers that they were indeed the true treasures of the church. The Roman authorities didn’t laugh, although Lawrence did. They roasted him on an iron grill. Legend has it that Lawrence joked, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.” Whose patron saint is Lawrence? Among others, cooks and kitchen workers.
We get another example today as we commemorate the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. John was beheaded for his faithfulness. How has the church pictured him, then, in its iconography? Holding his own head. He lost his head to gain a crown. The beheading was just a bump in the road.
The church can have a sense of humor because its, rooted, preserved, and free in Christ. John was a martyr, but he wasn’t a loser. He lost his head, but he didn’t lose. He won because he knew where to look in life and cling in death. He knew Christ, of whom he was a herald.
Herod knew John was different. There was something about him. Herod didn’t want to hurt him, but Herod was a fool and made a foolish vow to give the daughter of Herodias whatever she wanted, and what she wanted was John the Baptist’s head (Mark 6:14-29). And so John, thought the fool by many, suffered for Herod’s foolishness, and in so doing was proved wise. Herod promised up to half his kingdom to Herodias’ daughter for her dance, and in return, John inherited the fullness of Christ’s.
We can mock what seem to be the most terrifying things. It’s not because we don’t take serious things seriously, but because we do, and we know they’re not the end.
John had spoken hard words to Herod about his marriage. Herod had broken the law. A faithful preacher must preach the law. But the law isn’t the last word. John wasn’t a lawyer. John was persecuted for Christ. John was a finger pointing to another king, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God. And so we do well to learn from him and hear John and all preachers when they speak both words, law and gospel, exposing sin and also proclaiming grace.
You like your head? I like mine. I use it a lot. I bet John liked his, too. More than anything, though, John loved Christ, and even more, Christ loved John. What a small thing in the big picture to give his head for the Head of the Church who would give his life for John and all sinners. And what was a moment without a head compared to an eternal crown?
Christ has set the church free to have a sense of humor. We can mock what seem to be the most terrifying things. It’s not because we don’t take serious things seriously, but because we do, and we know they’re not the end. And so we can call the day of Christ’s death Good Friday because by his death he killed death. We can tell the devil where to go. We can pronounce a barbecued deacon the friend of cooks. We can paint John the Baptist, the headless one, gladly holding his decapitated head. Why? Because Lawrence lives, and John lives, because Jesus lives, and so will we.
What is our head or anything we have compared to what is to come? What a joy to be free from such concerns and free for such faithfulness. What a privilege to be friends of John through the Lamb of God. What a grace to laugh no matter the trials. Amen.
