Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
February 4, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Mark 6:14-29
Why does Mark tell us about the death of John the Baptist? It’s meant to serve as a prelude to the story of Jesus’ death. It’s meant to provide an example of what happens to people who present themselves as spokesmen for God.
In both stories we have a representative of the Lord proclaiming the Lord’s word. In both stories earthly power is involved which disdains the religious claims of the preacher. In both stories God’s representative suffers a grim death–John in a prison cell, Jesus on the cross.
The death of John gave Jesus and his disciples some idea of what they had to look forward to. Even today, representatives of the Lord are not always treated kindly.
