Matthew 14:1-8: a reflection

1At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 2and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” 3For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. 7Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. 8She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”

Herod hears reports of Jesus and is gripped by a guilty conscience, convinced that John the Baptist, whom he had imprisoned, has risen from the dead. His fear is telling. Herod had jailed John for confronting his sin, for saying plainly that his relationship with Herodias was not lawful. He had silenced the prophet's voice but not his own conscience, which now haunts him at the news of Jesus.

The scene that follows shows how a chain of small compromises leads to a great evil. At a birthday feast, pleased by a dance, Herod makes a reckless, extravagant oath to give whatever is asked. Prompted by her mother's grudge, the girl asks for John's life. Herod is trapped by his own rash words and his fear of losing face before his guests. Vanity, a foolish oath, and a stubborn grudge combine, and a righteous man's life hangs in the balance.

There are sober warnings here. A guilty conscience that silences the voice of truth does not find peace; it only festers, as Herod's did. And rash words, spoken to impress or in the heat of a moment, can bind us into terrible choices. Guard your conscience by heeding the truth rather than jailing it, and guard your tongue from extravagant promises made to please a crowd. The pull to save face before others has led many, like Herod, into wrong they later could not undo.

Lord, Herod silenced the truth that troubled him and bound himself with a rash oath to please his guests, and great evil followed. Guard my conscience, that I would heed the truth rather than suppress it. Guard my tongue from reckless promises made to impress others. And free me from the fear of losing face that has led so many into wrong. Keep me honest and humble before you. Amen.