In the First Reading for this day, from the Old Testament, the Lord ordered the tradition of Jubilee that happened every 50 years. God laid out to Moses the rules for its observance so that their social order was maintained. It was to help restore social justice and balance in their society.
Meanwhile, in the Gospel from the New Testament, the Church commemorates the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus. Herod wanted John the Baptist dead because he spoke of the immorality of Herod in divorcing his first wife and living in with the wife of his brother, Herodias, when the said brother was still alive. But Herod was afraid of the people to revolt, so he couldn’t kill the good saint himself. As for Herodias, she wouldn’t let anyone question her being a queen, so she had plotted the death of John the Baptist to shut him up permanently. She used her daughter, letting her dance seductively before Herod, and when it was effective, he told her that he’d give her anything she would ask for. Herodias instructed her daughter to ask for no other than the head of John the Baptist. Herod felt hesitant, but because he didn’t want to be humiliated in front of many people, he had John the Baptist killed by beheading.
Social justice is broken in the society
Long before Jesus was born, we know how the people in power oppressed the poor and the meek. It gravely persisted over the years, even during the time of Jesus, and more so in our society today. The humble John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded not for committing any crime but for preaching the truth against an immoral king and his mistress who used their power to tolerate their own sins and to deny justice to the righteous. Modern times have modernized people’s way of thinking as well, but in a dangerous way. As more people become indifferent towards God and regard morality as simply optional, the more unjustness has become widespread in the society. In a fast-growing secular world, injustice happens in various places and ways, big or small. Sometimes we do not even realize that our choices and actions could have a share in it.
But God knows all of the injustices ever committed
Herodias probably felt like she outsmarted everybody. Without Saint John the Baptist in her way of being the queen, she was invincible. Or so she thought. We read from the Gospel that the disciples who claimed the body of John the Baptist reported to Jesus what happened to His cousin. Matthew the Evangelist emphasized it:
“And they went and told Jesus (Mt 14:12).”
Personally, I think the significance of such emphasis is to remind us that any form of injustice, covert or deliberate, caused by anybody to another, God certainly has knowledge of it.
Herod and Herodias persecuted John the Baptist with his beheading; they wronged their true spouses with their unlawful union; and they did their own citizens injustice with his evil governance. Despite all the power they had, their souls, if without true repentance and penance, would pay for all of their sins and offenses against God in the next life. But the souls of the good people they oppressed would share in Christ’s glory.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
– Matthew 5:10
It is comforting to remember that God knows each time we are wronged, harmed or treated unfairly. And those people who’ve caused us hurt, pain and trouble, we must hand them over to God, and let Him deal with them according to His will, for they can never run away from God’s perfect justice.
Immorality causes the downfall of the society
Any powerful leader like Herod might think of himself as invincible. But anyone who leads not only with injustice but also with immorality will always fall behind from true success, no matter how clever or skilled he may be. In our society, leaders and officials work hard to promote advancement and progress, but why is the world still not in peace, and many people are unhappy?
Majority of this is rooted from the immoralities in the society that destroy its core. Many marriages nowadays, for example, end up in divorce, as human laws make it appealing and convenient. Here in the Philippines, there might not be a ‘divorce’ but that doesn’t prevent many married couples from committing adultery, and some even leave their families. In many countries, cohabiting before marriage is even encouraged. Gay marriages have become a ‘right’ and ‘normal.’ Pornography and substance addiction have become so accessible and largely contribute to why human dignity and respect is lost. Our society is desensitized with sins because of how the media portrays them as okay. People passively accept threats to morality and most of the leaders are afraid or refuse to take a moral stand.
Our Lady of Fatima gave a warning to the world that the last battle before the Second Coming of Jesus would be caused by the Devil against the family. When the foundations of a family are shattered, because of immoralities, how can we expect its members to go out there and do goodness?
Righteous people are persecuted, and considered as ‘bad’
Saint John the Baptist and the early Christian saints suffered from persecution. And so do many Catholics today. When a person is against cohabitation or gay marriage, many would say that he’s too “old-fashioned,” “ridiculous” or “heartless.” Tolerating immoralities such as gay marriage is now the new defining standard for “love.” How can any form of perversion ever be true love in God’s eyes? Like Saint John the Baptist, many are hated or troubled for speaking up against immoralities and defending their Catholic faith.
Condoning the sins of others
Herod, at first, was “distressed” in killing John the Baptist, but he gave in to the temptation of Herodias. He feared for his status if he didn’t do what’s asked of him, and out of that pride and greed, he willingly committed sin and condoned the sin of the other.
Some of us compromise our values or set aside our moral stand because of fear of either confrontation or abandonment. We’re afraid to constantly call out a person’s impropriety from fear that it might ruin a ‘harmonious’ relationship or that the person might leave us. This is especially true when the persons involved are those whose presence is convenient for us in some way, like friends. Sometimes a person couldn’t quite break ties with his friends, in spite of their ungodliness, because he would also ‘lose’ something from disassociating from them. It’s like, a person is bothered and aware of how his friends are immoral examples. But they’re also the ones he goes out with to eat out or see movies or catch up on the latest stories over a round of drinks or play football with, or whatever; the list goes on. The person then “weighs” between distancing oneself from temptations or staying close for comfort. It would be an inconvenience to go out alone and not have a group to hang around with; but taking one’s faith seriously and choosing holiness far outweighs any good, pleasure or benefit that one gets from being with unhealthy people.
There are people whose close friends are clearly not of God. It’s great to have friends. But the kind of close company you keep matters. Some people maintain friends who live immoral lifestyle like having grave addiction, or living in promiscuity, known to indulge in sex before marriage with one partner to another. People may think that the presence of such close peers doesn’t necessarily affect them, but it does, in one way or another.
A lot of great Saints had warned against unhealthy and unholy friendships.
If you are a practicing Catholic and think that it won’t shake you, and that you can ‘convert’ them by remaining with them, you’re mistaken. Unhealthy friendships will slowly influence you to make poor choices or uninspired decisions, and it will happen eventually without you even realizing it. If you’ve repeatedly reminded your friends to stop their sins a few times or more, but they haven’t changed, then let God change them according to His grace, but you must let go because it’s not in your hands to change them. You may keep on praying for them but do so from a healthy distance.
Some people value their unhealthy friendships too much that they are willing to rather condone the sinful lifestyle of their friends by having a don’t-mind-them attitude, just going along and continue being with them. It’s wrong to condone the sins of others. Keeping silent is like tolerating their sinfulness; keeping them close is like being a passive participant.
Saint Francis de Sales cautioned us about maintaining worldly friendships in his “Introduction to Devout Life.” He said that such friends are poisonous, that they can turn us away from virtue and from God. He even claimed,
“Friendship is the most dangerous of all types of love;”
A person should stay away guarded from any kind of friendship, but only form a spiritual friendship. He added,
“Everyone has enough bad inclinations of his own without burdening himself with another’s.”
That’s true. We struggle so much already with many of our own temptations that it definitely doesn’t help to be closely surrounded by more temptations from others. Thus, to believe that you’re strong enough to not be bothered or eventually influenced by the sinful examples of those closely around you is simply pride in oneself.
We can all speak about the Catholic faith, like Saint John the Baptist did, but not everyone can rise above himself and be saintly like him. Only those willing to sacrifice for the good, and not keep the bad, can follow in his holy example.
Leviticus, 25:1, 8-17, Psalms 67:2-3, 5, 7-8, Matthew 5:10, Matthew 14:1-12
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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