John the Baptist is one of the only Saints whose birth and death is celebrated by the Church.
A man of courage, John dared to challenge Herod on his unlawful marriage to his brother Phillips wife, Herodias. Herod became angry but at the same time intrigued by John. He believed he was a holy man of God.
Foolishly, after a drunken carousing with his pals, Herod is blown away by his step daughter, Salome's dancing. One can only speculate as to why, but she must have been good because he promises her anything even half his kingdom, which if he had been sober he would never have done because his kingdom meant rather a lot to him.
Now, Salomes mother did not like John, well that's maybe an understatement, she despised him, because John dared to speak out against her marriage to Herod. Seeing an opportunity presented to her Herodias makes the most of the opportunity presented to her and tells her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod unable to back down, driven by pride, and not wanting to seem weak in front of his court sent word for John to be killed.
Today in the world we are witnessing many new martyrs, like John they have the courage to stand up for what they believe to be true. Maybe today would be a good day while sitting eating dinner to talk with your children about what it means to be a martyr.
How do you celebrate this feast though? You could make a cake in the shape of a head. Now I am sure this would appeal to the boys but the girls might be a it squeamish. Maybe some honey and oat biscuits would be good, but the most important fact is that of Johns fidelity to Jesus, his unwavering dedication to passing on the message and his witness to us.
As a good way of helping those Christians who are being persecuted around the world why not arrange a coffee morning at church and send the money raised to one of the agencies who are working to help those who are suffering.
However you celebrate this feast day, pray for the courage to be a witness to the faith wherever you may find yourself.
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