Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost/Decapitation of St. John the Baptist

1 Corinthian 15:1-11

Matthew 19:16-26

Last week, I talked to you about the 7 Corporal Works and the 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy. I want to continue that with today’s Gospel.

St Jerome suggests that, in fact, the rich young man is tempting Jesus, trying to trip him up. When Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, he had to ask, “which ones”, as if he couldn’t read them for himself, or he was trying get Jesus to name new commandments.

But Jesus told him, basically, to keep the commandments which conform to outward holiness, summing them up with love your neighbor as yourself. But Jesus, being God, knew him. He knew that he already kept those outward commandments. He knew that he needed an inward change of heart.

Go and sell everything and give it to the poor.

And the guy walks away.

It wasn’t his wealth that got him. It was his greed, his avarice.

St John Chrysostom says, “Wealth is not a bad thing, but avarice and love of money are. A covetous person is one thing, and a rich person is another thing. The covetous person is not rich; he is in want of many things, and while he needs many things, he can never be rich. The covetous  man is a keeper, not a master, of wealth; a slave, not a lord”.

Saint John Climacus regards avarice and greed as idolatry, since in such blindness a person places all his hopes in earthly goods.

And, elsewhere, Jesus says to not lay up treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, but to lay up treasures in heaven.

Just like the Church gives us Seven Corporal and Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, she gives us 8 Passions that lead to sin, contrasted with 8 corresponding virtues.

They are

1.  Gluttony, contrasted with Temperance
2. Lust, contrasted with Wholeness of being
3. Avarice, or greed, contrasted with Generosity
4. Melancholy, or Sadness, contrasted with Joy in the Holy Spirit
5. Anger, contrasted with Long-suffering
6. Acedia, or despondency, contrasted with Cheerfulness in Spirit.
7. Vainglory, contrasted with Humble-mindedness
8. Pride, contrasted with Humility

Certainly, this rich young man was a slave to avarice, and perhaps pride.  The remedy Jesus offered, the tool to develop generosity and humility, was the exercise of Works of Corporal Mercy – Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirst, cloth the naked, give shelter to the homeless.

We see similar things happening in the account of the beheading of John the Baptist, which we celebrate tomorrow.  You’ll find the Gospel reading in your bulletin. (Mark 6:14-29)

In short, Herod had married his brother’s wife, in violation of the Law. John told him off – admonishing the sinner, a work of spiritual mercy.  So, Herod had him arrested (nobody said that doing right was gonna be easy, did they?). Now, to give you a fuller appreciation of the dynamics of the situation, Herodias was not just the illicit wife of Herod, she was also his niece! Her father had been a brother of Herod’s – and THEIR father was Herod the Great, the one who tried to have the infant Jesus killed.

That means, the daughter of Herodias, Salome by name, was not just Herod’s step-daughter, but his niece AND his great-niece.

So, Herod was throwing a bash for his birthday, and he wanted Salome to dance for him. Tradition refers to her dance as The Dance of the Seven Veils, and it was apparently quite lascivious.  And Herod, filled with lust for his step-daughter/niece/great-niece, agreed to give her anything, even up to half of his kingdom!

Half of his kingdom, for a dance!

He agrees, but she waits until talking to her mother AFTER the dance to ask for John’s head.
Herod actually feels bad about it, but what can he do? He promised, right?
Pride.

So, again, we see two passions leading to sin, lust and pride.

As we go through this life, it is easy, often all too easy, to give into our passions.

The remedy that the Church gives us begins with prayer, corporal works of mercy, and spiritual acts of mercy.

Examine yourselves, your actions. Be honest, and ask if your actions stem from these unhealthy passions, and if they do, confess them and look to remedy them with the virtues developed through mercy.