Reflections on the Beheading of John the Baptist

This is from a sermon I delivered years ago. Sometimes it is good to revisit the “oldies”.

September 1 is the beginning of the Byzantine (Greek) Church year.  The last major Holyday in that Church year is the Dormition of the Virgin, celebrated on August 15.  The first major holyday of the new year is the Birth of the Virgin on September 8.  There is a beginning and an end.  All things have a beginning and an end, except for God.  Tucked in near the end of the Church year is the Commemoration of St. John the Baptist on August 29.

Look at the Jewish Scriptures, our Old Testament.  It has a beginning—the creation of the universe, and it has an end. Did you ever stop to look and see how the Old Testament ends?    There has to be a break before from the Old to the New, right?  The change from the Old to the New comes in the Book of the prophet Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament.   In Chapter 4 of this short book, Malachi says: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

On August 29, we remember with great awe the death of St. John the Baptist.  You can see from this passage one of the reasons why we honor St. John so much.  People mistook John for Elijah.  He and Elijah, who is also commemorated in the Church  calendar, were the forerunners of the Lord.  John was the forerunner for Jesus’ first visit to Earth.  Elijah will be the forerunner for the Second Coming. Jesus calls John the Greatest of all men.  Now, you would think that John had some pretty stiff competition.   For instance, you have Moses, who gave us the Ten Commandments and talked face to face with God.  Or Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish Nation and who St. Paul says we get our faith from.   Why then is John the greatest?

He is precisely the greatest of men because he was the messenger of the Lord. The Prophet Malachi in Chapter Three writes, Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. ..Behold, he is coming. “    In icons,  John is often depicted as having angels’ wings.  Angels are the messengers of God, and John is seen  the same way that angels are  His baptism for the remission of sin took the place of sacrifices in the Temple for sin.  Jesus also preached that he was to be the living Temple.

There are a bevy of days honoring John the Baptist in the Byzantine calendar:  his death on August 29,  his birth, his conception,  and a commemoration of his father Zachary, just to name a few.

How important was John’s message:  He was mentioned in all four of our Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and by the Roman historian Josephus.  He had no fear.  John preached against the corruption of the Temple. John spoke Truth to Power. Obviously, he died for the sake of holy principles and God’s Commandments.  Herod feared him for his message and for his eloquence.  What did he say?  Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand. His toughest line, as recorded in the Book of Matthew was directed to the Pharisees and the Sadducees: “You Brood of Vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our Father.  God can raise up his children from stones!”

Why do I have a devotion to John the Baptist? There have been many beautiful moments in my ministry.  One of the most powerful was an icon of John the Baptist I gave to an autistic boy.  He began talking that day, and began talking about the icon.   He is now in a normal school room.  The doctors couldn’t explain the recovery.   We can explain it though, can’t we?   

John the Baptist was a powerful prophet in life, and a powerful intercessor for us.  My prayer for you is that you meditate on John the Baptist, especially as the new church year begins. Don’t be afraid to ask for his intercession for your problems.  He came before the Lord.  Could the Lord refuse him anything?