He feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet

2 AUGUST (Mt 14,1-12)

No power is greater than that of the crowd. The power of the individual can be governed, the one of the crowd never. It is capable of anything, precisely because of its non-governability. The greatest revolutions in history are its fruit. The strength of a king, a leader, every authority is that of attracting the crowd on his side. Everyone must know that that is how the pagan world works: without the crowds there is no governor that lasts. The crowd lifts you today and tomorrow it gets you down.

If we analyze with great care all the modern means of social communication, we note that the goal is one: attracting the crowd on the personal side, by hypnotizing and maneuvering it with false hopes and promises that can never be maintained. Since the crowd needs to nourish hope, it is sufficient that a person with a little charm enters the political scene and that makes two impossible, but believable promises due to their charm, and you’re done.

Jesus knows this dynamism and uses it. But he does not attract the crowd to him with false illusions. He attracts it giving a real hope, performing real miracles, freeing man from the evil that afflicts him. The crowd sees Jesus as a true Saviour, a true Redeemer and a true liberator. The Jews were afraid of the crowd. Sometimes they wished they could do bad things to Jesus, but they are forced to stop for fear of those who were around Him. The crowd was also necessary to them and so they had to play much cunning, much slyness, sum and great attention. Losing the crowd is losing all power.

Even King Herod feared the crowd. This loves John the Baptist. It considers him a great prophet. For this reason he cannot side against it. An ungovernable riot could start. He would like to kill him, but refrains. From the other Evangelists we know that Herod heard John gladly, although he remained very puzzled. He was a soul immersed in the sin of lust, and for this he had many concerns about the teaching of John the Baptist. First he should have sent Herodias to his brother, this woman who is somehow comparable to Jezebel, the wicked queen that led King Ahab to the downfall.

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Now Herod had arrested John, bound (him), and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

History does not walk according to our desires. When sin breaks in it, it draws us, overwhelms us and destroys us, not respecting our any fear. Who does not want to be swept away by history, must always do one thing: refraining from every sin, even venial. Every sin that enters our body destabilizes us, confuses us, impoverishes us of wisdom and truth and enriches us with folly, wickedness, ignorance, malice, malignancy. Herod is overwhelmed by his sin, his lust, his concupiscence and his immorality. In front of the diners he makes an ignorant and foolish oath. He is destroyed by his foolishness. Herodias takes advantage of his ignorance to achieve her sole purpose: eliminating forever from her life John the Baptist, the one who always reminded her immorality. You can kill the true prophets of the living God, but you can never stifle the conscience. It will eternally be for us that worm that does not die, and that consumes our spirit, depriving us of eternal peace.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us of right conscience.