January: Day 7: Teaching 2: Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist

January: Day 7: Teaching 1:
Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist
 
(The Fate of a Friend of Truth)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. There are extraordinary people. Their manner of acting attracts universal attention. Such people are not always some famous heroes, conquerors, rulers of nations, or writers. We admire people of that sort, and often cannot or need not imitate them. But there are extraordinary people whose manner of acting everyone regards with special respect and in whom they feel an inner impulse to imitate. These are truly great people.

II. Among these truly great people stands out John the Baptist of Christ. In order to attain the great goal appointed to him by God, he did absolutely everything he could. Living in the wilderness until the very years of his full manhood, he labored tirelessly over the spiritual formation of his mind and heart. And so that his labor might more easily be crowned with success, he constantly kept his sensual nature under a very strong restraint. When he had matured — when his mind, his heart, his sensual nature, and his entire activity had received a firm direction in accordance with the law of God — the Lord God sent him to sinful Israel, demanding from it repentance and fruits worthy of repentance. Without delay he undertook the fulfillment of the task entrusted to him and carried it out with all the zeal and wisdom that were necessary and possible. He exposed vices in people of every rank, as the most faithful friend of truth, and demanded correction.

Saint John the Baptist spoke the truth openly to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and their adherents, tearing off the respectable mask with which they covered themselves and showing them in their true, utterly repulsive form. He freely spoke the truth to the tax collectors — greedy gatherers of state taxes — and to the Roman soldiers who inflicted so many wrongs upon the Jewish people, and finally to Herod himself, who at that time was king in Judea. King Herod, directly against the law of God, had taken as his wife the wife of his own brother, who was still alive. This sin upon the royal throne was extremely scandalous. John, as a messenger of God, fearlessly said to Herod: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18), and for this he was cast into prison. Thus John had to sit in prison because duty and conscience did not allow him to act contrary to the truth.

a) John’s fate clearly shows us what the haters of truth are like and how they behave toward its friends. Everyone regarded John as a prophet. The people were often completely carried away by the power of the truth preached by John. Even Herod himself listened to John with pleasure when the truth of John’s words did not touch Herod personally. But as soon as John touched upon Herod’s own criminal side, Herod immediately became a different man. Behind the passion that John sought to overcome in Herod stood the entire force of Herod’s sensuality. The voice of John’s truth first brought Herod into great anger and then into caution inspired by the evil wisdom of this world. Precisely in order that John might not come to him again or speak to the people about his unlawful marriage, Herod imprisoned him.

b) John’s fate further shows how very dangerous it is for us to arouse, by truth, indignation in the haters of truth. At a great banquet held by Herod, the daughter of his unlawful wife danced. Herod was then, it is likely, inflamed with wine and lust, so that the dancer, by the charm of her movements, led him to the most senseless promise. “Ask of me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you,” he said to her with an oath (Mark 6:22). When making this promise, Herod certainly did not think of John or of his head; but what the husband did not think of immediately came to the mind of his depraved wife. Out of a remnant of respect for John, and especially out of regard for the people’s attachment to him, Herod had until then spared John’s life. But the wife, angered by John’s rebuke, thought of nothing except finding an opportunity to destroy the reprover. The king’s promise to her daughter was for her the best opportunity to fulfill her desire. “I want you to give me at once, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist” (Mark 6:25), said the daughter, instructed by her mother. Herod’s conscience awoke for a moment; but what will a man not do once he has broken with the truth! The request of the depraved girl and the oath he had given her in the presence of his nobles immediately drowned out the voice of conscience in Herod, and “he immediately sent for John to be beheaded in the prison” (Mark 6:27). Such are the dangers posed by the enemies of truth! For a person who does not listen to and who hates the voice of truth, there is nothing sacred!

c) Finally, the fate of John the Baptist reminds us of the very important prayer of Jesus Christ to His Father God for His followers: “Sanctify them in Your truth” (John 17:17); and together with this prayer, it reminds us that truth must be the foremost quality of our heart, even if it is sometimes very bitter to our self-love and extremely offensive to our sensuality. Therefore let us desire and pray that the Lord God may send us more friends of truth, so that, fearing no human fear, they may correct our injustices, sins, and falsehoods through rebuke. For where there are no friends of truth, good morals soon fall into decay; there people flee from virtue as from something harmful; there an honest person dares not raise his voice against the growing corruption; there the wronged and oppressed must only suffer and remain silent; there the common welfare is shaken, and society plunges headlong into destruction. On the contrary, where everyone speaks the truth openly and clearly, there it is hidden from no one; there its voice is heard with respect; there justice and virtue flourish; there the harmful seeds of passions and injustices are destroyed at their very beginning; there all estates prosper, and the prosperity of all is preserved without special effort. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.