Evangelio
En aquel tiempo, como la fama de Jesús se había extendido tanto, llegó a oídos del rey Herodes el rumor de que Juan el Bautista había resucitado y sus poderes actuaban en Jesús. Otros decían que era Elías; y otros, que era un profeta, comparable a los antiguos. Pero Herodes insistía: “Es Juan, a quien yo le corté la cabeza, y que ha resucitado”.
Herodes había mandado apresar a Juan y lo había metido y encadenado en la cárcel. Herodes se había casado con Herodías, esposa de su hermano Filipo, y Juan le decía: “No te está permitido tener por mujer a la esposa de tu hermano”. Por eso Herodes lo mandó encarcelar.
Herodías sentía por ello gran rencor contra Juan y quería quitarle la vida; pero no sabía cómo, porque Herodes miraba con respeto a Juan, pues sabía que era un hombre recto y santo, y lo tenía custodiado. Cuando lo oía hablar, quedaba desconcertado, pero le gustaba escucharlo.
La ocasión llegó cuando Herodes dio un banquete a su corte, a sus oficiales y a la gente principal de Galilea, con motivo de su cumpleaños. La hija de Herodías bailó durante la fiesta y su baile les gustó mucho a Herodes y a sus invitados. El rey le dijo entonces a la joven: “Pídeme lo que quieras y yo te lo daré”. Y le juró varias veces: “Te daré lo que me pidas, aunque sea la mitad de mi reino”.
Ella fue a preguntarle a su madre: “¿Qué le pido?” Su madre le contestó: “La cabeza de Juan el Bautista”. Volvió ella inmediatamente junto al rey y le dijo: “Quiero que me des ahora mismo, en una charola, la cabeza de Juan el Bautista”.
El rey se puso muy triste, pero debido a su juramento y a los convidados, no quiso desairar a la joven, y enseguida mandó a un verdugo que trajera la cabeza de Juan. El verdugo fue, lo decapitó en la cárcel, trajo la cabeza en una charola, se la entregó a la joven y ella se la entregó a su madre.
Al enterarse de esto, los discípulos de Juan fueron a recoger el cadáver y lo sepultaron.
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Gospel
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
That is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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Meditacion:
En algunas enseñanzas Jesús y el Bautista se parecen tanto que Herodes llega a pensar si no serán la misma persona. Son dos profetas que incomodan, pues van más allá de las convenciones de su época. Por entonces el “cambio de pareja” era fácil y frecuente; y, al parecer, Herodías se encontraba más a gusto con su nuevo amante, Herodes Antipas, reyezuelo de Galilea, que con el hermanastro de este, Filipo, jefe de los altos del Golán. Y Antipas debió de descansar el día en que “despachó” a su primera pareja, una princesa nabatea hermana del rey Aretas IV; este juró odio eterno a cuanto oliese a judío, por lo que, más tarde, se propuso perseguir hasta el fin del mundo al judío Saulo (cf. 2Co 11,32), que se había osado llevar a su reino (la “Arabia” de Gal 1,17) “una especie de” judaísmo.
Hasta aquí la comedia de enredo. Pero el evangelista quiere recalcar cosas de más trascendencia. El radical Jesús había declarado indisoluble el matrimonio, según el plan primigenio de Dios manifestado en el AT, pero que el mismo AT había “dulcificado”, “por la dureza de sus corazones” (cf. Mc 10,4-8). Jesús vuelve a la seriedad primitiva; reafirma el respeto sagrado a la esposa y a la dignidad de la vida afectivo-sexual. Marcos nos informa de que esto ya había costado la vida a Juan el Bautista.
Y esto nos lleva a la segunda parte del mensaje: prevención frente a los poderosos, siempre dispuestos a acallar al profeta, eliminándolo, si es preciso, Antipas había encarcelado al Bautista con mala conciencia, convencido de que era un hombre justo; actuó cobardemente: en él pudo más el deseo de agradar a su nueva esposa que el respeto a la santidad de Juan. Quizá oía de vez en cuando reproches de su conciencia: por eso bajaba a hablar con el preso. En cambio Herodías debió de tener menos escrúpulos: aprovechó la primera ocasión para acallar definitivamente la voz que había incomodado a su marido y a ella. Y Herodes cayó en nueva cobardía: ¿qué diría su mujer, y los invitados…? Respetos humanos ahogaron el respeto a la santidad y a la propia conciencia. ¿Quién no está expuesto, seguramente en asuntos de menor valor, a algo semejante?
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In some teachings Jesus and the Baptist are so similar that Herod even wonders if they are not the same person. They are two prophets that bother, because they go beyond the conventions of their time. By then the "change of partner" was easy and frequent; and Herodias seemed to be more at ease with his new lover, Herod Antipas, the king of Galilee, than with his half-brother, Philip, the chief of the Golan Heights. And Antipas must have rested the day he "dispatched" his first mate, a Nabataean princess sister of King Aretas IV; He swore eternal hatred for everything that smelled like a Jew, so later on, he proposed to persecute the Jew Saul until the end of the world (cf. 2Co 11,32), who had dared to take to his kingdom (the "Arabia" from Gal 1,17) "a kind of" Judaism.
So far the sitcom. But the evangelist wants to emphasize things of more importance. The radical Jesus had declared marriage indissoluble, according to the original plan of God manifested in the OT, but which the OT itself had "softened", "by the hardness of their hearts" (cf. Mk 10,4-8). Jesus returns to primitive seriousness; he reaffirms the sacred respect for the wife and the dignity of the affective-sexual life. Mark informs us that this had already cost John the Baptist his life.
And this brings us to the second part of the message: prevention against the powerful, always ready to silence the prophet, eliminating him, if necessary, Antipas had imprisoned the Baptist with a bad conscience, convinced that he was a just man; he acted cowardly: his desire to please his new wife was stronger than his respect for the holiness of John. Perhaps he heard from time to time reproaches from his conscience: that was why he came down to speak with the prisoner. On the other hand, Herodias must have had less scruples: he took advantage of the first opportunity to silence definitively the voice that had bothered her husband and her. And Herod fell into new cowardice: what would his wife say about him, and the guests ...? Human respects stifled respect for sanctity and for one's own conscience. Who is not exposed, surely in matters of lesser value, to something similar?
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