Word of the day

From the book of the prophet Jeremiah
Jer 1:17-19

The word of the LORD came to me thus:
Gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
For it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
A pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
Against Judah's kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
They will fight against you, but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 6:17-29

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist 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.
She 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.
Herodias' 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?"
She 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.

After this purification, after this continuous descent into annihilation, leading to the annihilation of Jesus, his life ends. That confused king “is able to make a decision, but not because his heart is converted”; but rather “because wine gives him courage”. And thus John’s life is ended “under the authority of a mediocre, drunken and corrupt king, because of a dancer’s whim and because of the vindictive hatred of an adulterous woman”. Thus “the great one meets his end, the greatest man born of woman”. (…) I think about our martyrs, today’s martyrs, those men, women, children who are persecuted, hated, driven from of their homes, tortured, massacred”. And this, he underlined, “is not a thing of the past: this is happening today. Our martyrs meet their end under the authority of corrupt people who hate Jesus Christ”. For this reason, “it will do us good to think about our martyrs. (…) I too will meet my end. We all will. No one can ‘buy’ life. We too, willingly or unwillingly, are travelling the road of life’s existential annihilation. And this, he said, impels us “to pray that this annihilation may resemble as much as possible that of Jesus Christ, his annihilation. (Homily Santa Marta, 6 February 2015)