If the Spirit doesn't move you, what's the use in making plans...?

...Reflections on the Lectio Divina 7th February 2025

Introduction

Today, the 7th February, I will give references and quotes from the Lectio Divina of the day before sharing some personal thoughts and reflections. I highlight in bold the the words in the passage that appeared to prompt reflection.

The Word speaks to us:

Mark 6:14-25

At that time: King Herod heard of Jesus, for his name had become known. Some said, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’ For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’

And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.’ And he vowed to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.’

And she went out and said to her mother, ‘For what should I ask?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’

And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

My personal reflections and thoughts as this part of the passage struck me

I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that……………..

Herod, who by the way was no angel himself, for the sake of what he thinks is love, puts himself between a rock and a hard place. Herodias, his wife, is bitter and revengeful and manipulates him into a position of weakness where, rather than lose his pride he acts against what remains of his better judgment.

I sat with a prisoner some while back, a young man in his mid-20’s prone to bouts of anger and violent behaviour and consequently, at risk of losing his “open prison” status.

Since his schooldays, he had been going out with a girl, eventually getting married, settling down and working hard in a physical job. His now wife encouraged him to take a break, go to Spain with his mates and relax, which he promptly did.

Whilst on holiday he received a phone call from his sister, who had suspected and was now sure that his wife, was cheating on him whilst he was absent.

He promptly caught a plane home, went to his house, threw a bin through the front window and after climbing in severely beat both his wife and her friend whom he found in bed together. He received 7 years imprisonment in consequence.

When we met some three years after conviction, he was still consumed by anger, prone to bouts of rage and could not let go, and so risking prolonged imprisonment.

He knew that he had been manipulated into acting against his better judgement, but felt that he was at a point where he couldn’t move on with his life, even though he had plans. Feelings of betrayal and his own pride would not let him.

After several hours over several days of listening, the question was why was he still allowing her to hurt him and jeopardise his future?

One afternoon I handed him a passage from St Paul and asked him to quietly read it and sit with it for a moment:

“Get rid of all bitterness, passion and anger. No more hateful feelings of any kind. Instead be kind and tender hearted, and forgive one another”…Eph 4 v 31

Time, tears and some amount of reflection allowed him to review and to make a new resolve to move on.

Evil operates at our human level. It sees our weaknesses. It exposes our vulnerabilities. It exploits our tendencies.

Not only does it exploit, but it continues to feed and drive our human desire for retaliation and revenge. Bitterness, passion and anger are the very tools that it needs to expose our vulnerabilities. Add in self pity and low self esteem and, you have a toxic mix explosive enough to ignite and re-ignite retaliation and revenge.

And round and round it goes in a downward spiral unless somehow we, or we with the help of others, are able to arrest it, put it into the perspective of life as a whole and, find the capacity within to rebuild, if not the distance at first to forgive.

We have to acknowledge our human weakness, to come to terms with the real existence of evil, to understand its causes and impacts but then, to be able to reach out, regain our equilibrium and rebuild our lives with a renewed perspective. We have to somehow search for the light and turn our back on the shadows of darkness.

It is holding onto the hurt that is damaging.

People, situations, disappointments, hurt us and it is not at all easy but for our emotional, physical and spiritual welfare, sometimes we can do no more than to let go and look only to the future.

Bitterness, passion and anger cannot undo the past, but they can undo our future plans….if the Spirit doesn’t move you, what’s the use in making plans?