Memorial of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist – 1 Cor 2:1-5; Ps 72; Mark 6:17-29

Underlying many human fears is the concern for one’s own appearance. What do they think about me?

It’s worth taking a look at what lies at the bottom of the heart, whether there isn’t lurking there the fear that others will be speaking or thinking badly of me. Isn’t my “I” sometimes the most important thing for me?

I’ve got little influence over how others perceive me. Although I know how much I try, but what I do or say, can be – and often is – received otherwise, misunderstood and distorted. It’s a pity to waste time and life’s energy to straighten things out and explain when I’m not able to make the other person change their opinion of me because they’re not interested in knowing the truth.

Saint John the Baptist is the image of a man who didn’t worry over how others would perceive his words or his actions. He did his job, doing God’s will unto death.

This is why, though he died, he is alive. He was not defeated by Herodias.