The Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist

New life springs from dirt

For the Lord himself, with a word of command,

with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.

I met a woman some years ago who told me she had recently quit a church which believed Christ was coming soon and no one of their members would die before he arrived. I asked, “What do you do when someone dies? Do you have a funeral?”

She said, “We don’t talk about it.”

But apparently the early church was also astonished that some followers of Christ died before his second coming. The people of Thessalonica needed reassuring words from Saint Paul on the matter.

He invoked great authority -- Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord – when he assured them that those who are still alive when he comes will have no advantage over those who have died. Death had the taint of sin, shame and guilt but Saint Paul believed our beloved dead are with the Lord and we have nothing to fear about that. Therefore, console one another with these words.

Today we take his intent – that of consolation – more seriously than a literal interpretation of his apocalyptic scenario. Indeed we read the entire Book of Revelation as reassurance and encouragement. Despite its cataclysmic spectacles, the Church is more interested in its word of comfort to the poor, abandoned and despised. Because they are faithful in their poverty, they will enjoy rewards the wealthy have never dreamt of.  

We can only imagine the despair and horror John the Baptist might have felt as he died. Locked away in the silent, pitch black of a dungeon, suddenly accosted by men with blinding torches, thrown to the floor, immobilized by a dozen pitiless hands and beheaded: his death was senseless and merciless.

But we honor him as one of the greatest saints, a true hero of our faith. Hearing of his death Jesus withdrew to the wilderness to mourn the loss of his friend, cousin and colleague. In death as in life, John was the forerunner of the Lord. We who follow in their blood-stained footprints find comfort in the promise which sustained them.