Off with their Heads!

I just came back from Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland". It was as I expected... dark and strangely real. Really, how can it be anything else coming from him?? I've never seen more head offing's by the largest head you've ever seen, 3D Reality, and even more grim, the search for the truth! Tackling your biggest fears and looking them straight on, or through the proverbial "looking glass", up close and magnified can scare anyone into not telling the Queen of Hearts that you ate her Tarts! I contemplated this spiritual journey so much today that I stopped at Barnes and Noble on my way home to pick up a copy of Alice's Wonderland... a blog is to come!

But for now.. the main event... and that is answering to sentences before the verdicts...as the Hatter is faced with... and unfortunately many of us in this lifetime.

The Mark Gospel tells the story about the fate of John the Baptist. His head was off'd!
In preparing a Sunday sermon, even for myself, I am forever perplexed as to how to handle delivering such a vulgar text to children... (I should just consult with Disney.. as they do it ALL the time!) Quite often I jump to a reading from the morning instead! Most Gospel readings are easily communicated to the young. At times, some lack the substance of a good tellable story. No meat in which to sink my story-telling brain into! Others can be too abstract and short... and yet I seem to make it through.. (quite often, and not intentionally, delivering the message through the child, who in turn tell the family who couldn't make heads or tales out of the sermon in "big church." ) And lastly, there is the Gospel story which really isn't tellable to children. (There are a few...) But for now, I am lucky to live in the moment of communicating my thoughts to the grown-up worshipper!



Refresher: John the Baptist= Cousin to Jesus through Mary, son of Elizabeth and Zacchariah (aging parents thought to be unable to conceive), reportedly born 6 months prior to Jesus' arrival. Elizabeth's womb lept when a pregnant Mary visited her, grows to be a great prophet, lives an ascetic life.. in the wilderness preaching about the coming of one greater than he, claims he baptises with water, while one greater than he will baptise with the fire! He is "wild and woolly".. dressed in his animal fur and eating locusts and honey .. greeting people in the river Jordan prophesying and cleaning them.. preaching loudly about what is to come.


Ok.. you remember now? The untellable part.. the beheading. A very gorey and gruesome telling by Mark, who transcribes from Simon-Peter, the manner in which John faces his death. John is critical of King Herod and his wife Herodia. They have an incestuous marriage that is also considered adulterous. (Now.. its getting good.. how on earth could this juicy story be communicated to children???) HE is quoting scripture and Jewish law that firmly spells out that what these two are doing is clearly wrong. He is not quiet about this! As well he shouldn't if one is considered a prophet. It is unclear however if Herodia's divorce from her husband.. (Herod's brother), to marry Herod is considered sinful in the eyes of theologians.. as a.) she did divorce him/lived separately from him and b.) could remarry if it so pleased her if that was the truthful case. The reality I'm afraid though, is that Herodia was also Herod's niece.. yuck. and found to be in a pleasing marriage previously to Phillip. Nothing wrong with him according to the story.. she just wanted another man. NO sign of his infidelity, unfaithful behavior. Supported her, cared for her, etc.. good husband.. she just wanted another man! Oh and yes.. which happened to be her husband's brother... another Jewish/Biblical No-No. (and Phillip was still alive!)John does not make this easy for them. He is prophet.. prophets are not quiet even to those in authority. Those of means and/or living the exact way they want never want to be questioned. They have large agendas to fulfill.. no one will stand in their way! We know what happens to those who prophesies and speak up.. one of 2 things.. they are the receivers of wheels full of grease or.. off with their head. We know John's fate. But there comes a time when the moment of truth is given to the executioner. Unlike Alice's tale, most of us do not know when that day will arrive.

"A prophet is a truth-teller and often governing authorities don't like a truth-teller telling the truth about them." "A prophet is one who speaks to those in power. A prophet usually gets into trouble for criticizing the governing authorities. Those authorities often imprison or kill that prophet in order to silence him. The prophet becomes a martyr.. one who dies for the faith." Interesting set of defining terms. A prophet is the proverbial, "whistle-blower".. one might say. All truthful to me... however..it is clearly up to the listener to decide who in fact is being employed to prophesies God's truth or their own! or Am I late? or is just a figure of my imagination??



The one called to say, "prepare the way of the Lord", however had no other agenda. He did his thing. He baptised folks in a river. He preached and shouted to all that would listen about the love that was near and here to save us all." He defended scripture, sure. But so did many Jewish officials and high priests. They just weren't "loud." Prophets are always loud.. they quite often get in trouble for "opening their big mouth"... exposing the injustice, telling the media the "real-deal." The punishment in society for calling a spade a spade is quite often a large one.. (unless you can afford high end counsel or decide that the exposition of the fake or defending of the truth is more important than your own welfare.)



Prophets don't lead a life they cover up. They wear what they want. Drive what they want. Live wherever they need too.. they lay it all out there... (As our friend Alice does. She quite often tells those around her who and what she is once she figures out that is what she is here to do.) They know what they are called to do. The deal they make to this is between them and their creator.. not for someone else's judgement. Whether or not they decided to give up a materialistic life is not a mystery. They certainly don't act duplicitous by "preaching one thing and living something different." If you were a prophet ... (and I believe we are all prophets on some level), and you choose to drive a a ride for "the people" then you should also own the fact that you do so to live in a home worth 2 millions dollars on the water. However, don't preach about poverty and service, and hide your assets aways! John didn't. He wore his craziness out in the public eye... as does the Mad Hatter... who isn't so mad ! He lived the way he thought God wanted him too.. he lived the way he could better hear the word of God...most importantly.



Herod liked John. That's the irony of the story. He enjoyed his preaching, his work with others. Thought him a holy man. Herodia on the other hand, did not! She had a mission in her mind and that was to remove that which caused her to examine her life and actions. (Our Queen). She couldn't by law do anything with John. (Unlike the Queen). She wasn't in the authority to do so. It wasn't until Herod "opened his big mouth" at a birthday, given by him, in his own honor, that prompted him to make a deal he couldn't get out of. Herodia's daughter gave a dance performance for her step-father.. one is led to believe it may have been promiscuous although scripture does not support this. How ever it was performed was so appealing to Herod that he in fact promises her anything at all that she may want.. boasting.. even half of what he owns! (Remember this promise is bellowed throughout a large party with many ears and eyes watching). Historically, Salome, (a name that is widely known but without evidence to be truth), asks her mother what it is she should ask for. Well.. Herodia can't resist but to ask for John the Baptist's head.. on a platter no less! Surely Herod cannot turn down a "deal" made in public. She manipulated her husband to do exactly her bidding in order to take care of a "loud mouth." How Herod must have felt. To be the one credited with killing the Baptiser! It may have been one thing had he really despised him. But, he didn't. A man of Herod's power and status could've eliminated him any time previous to this occasion had he felt threatened by his power. Herod was guilt ridden. He had no choice but to execute John. John's head was served up on the silver tray to Herodia as ordered by her to her daughter.



I write this story to you as someone who had a head-offer in their life.... was very influential in the direction or future of my life and fate. Someone who caused significant damage to me like Herodia does to John. Cut my head off so to speak. Ironically, this person, claimed publicly that they in fact they were here to do this work.. referring to themselves very loudly and openly, as "John the Baptist". "The wild and woolly beast sent in to shake things up.. be the loud mouth and prepare the way!" When in fact they were the Queen of Hearts. They were claiming to be a prophet. They were claiming the right to behave in a way because they were authorized by "God" to do so.

The story of Alice is one of opposites. One of questioning if the glass is half full or empty. Whether time is measured by the day or by the hour- it is story to help us believe that we are capable of doing 6 impossible things before breakfast everyday. Are we too big for the rabbit hole? Or, is he mad? or Am I?It is interesting- because they're are no clear answers and no, one Queen, who gets to pass judgement on others fates, eliminating those before they get too close to the truth! "Off with their heads"... "No soup for you" (Seinfeldian), mentality that really can affect us.

John's death did not put an end to his legacy. NO- in fact it helped him to become even bigger than who he was. He still does not hide his fate or his mission. Jesus still was the way after John's death. Jesus is still the way after his own head-offer did away with him! Alice found out that she needed to face her stuff head on. She was rocked with confusion about life and death throughout this story but when the blue caterpillar informs her that death is impossible and that transformation is always the next step she discovers that you no longer have anything to fear. She looks into the face of the deck/death and screams, "You are only a pack of cards!" She knows that one person's view isn't enough! It's YOUR reality that is real!

John knew who he was. So did Jesus. And in the end so did Alice!

The sequel to follow...
Mad as a Hatter in Newport