The Worst Birthday Party Ever – Br. Jamie Nelson

Br. Jamie Nelson

Mark 6:14-29

What images or memories does the word vainglory bring to mind for you?

The concept of vainglory entered the Christian tradition through the writings of Evagrius Ponticus, a fourth-century Christian who lived as a monk in the Egyptian desert. He taught his followers to classify evil thoughts into the following eight categories: gluttony, lust, greed, anger, sloth, sadness, pride, and, finally, vainglory.

Vainglory is defined as an excessive desire for human approval, recognition, or honor. It’s a concept closely linked with pride, and the two were combined when Evagrius Ponticus’s Eight Evil Thoughts were consolidated by the sixth-century pope Gregory the Great into the Seven Deadly Sins. The distinction between the two is that pride is about an internal sense of greatness in some way, whereas vainglory is an externalized need for other people to see us as great.

Vainglory’s unquenchable desire for other people to give approval, recognition, or honor for our actions can lead human beings down some truly distorted paths. In today’s gospel reading, vainglory takes control of the life of King Herod. The gospel writer portrays Herod as man dealing with fierce internal conflict. While Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist at his wife’s behest, Herod also had a fascination with John and regarded him with curious puzzlement. He feared John and didn’t want to harm him because he knew of John’s righteousness and holiness. It seems that there were seeds of goodness inside Herod.

But then came the worst birthday party ever. Herod made a foolish, public vow. When Herodias’ daughter demanded John’s head, Herod was trapped. We read that Herod felt “deeply grieved.” He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but he wasn’t willing to face the public shame of retracting his rash promise. Protecting his image in front of his powerful friends trumped his conscience. In that moment, he was simply a weak man whose desire to look strong overpowered the courage to do what was right.

Herod felt like he had no choice except to kill John, but that wasn’t true. He could have turned back. At the climactic moment of that terrible birthday celebration, when he felt the pangs of conscience inviting him to choose righteousness instead of evil, he could have said, “I was wrong. I spoke recklessly. I am not going to murder John.”

He didn’t say that, but he could have. And we can, too.

No matter how far down the wrong road we’ve gone, we still have the choice to turn back when we realize it’s the wrong road. That doesn’t eliminate the consequences we may face, relationships damaged, hard conversations to have, financial challenges to navigate, embarrassment, shame, and more, but God is always reaching out a hand towards us, offering grace.

Repentance doesn’t erase consequences, but it does uncover room for healing and ground for reconciliation. Today’s gospel is a reminder of the God-given opportunity available to us when we know the right path, but let fear, shame, or image rule us.

So when you realize that somewhere along the way you’ve merged onto Vainglory Highway, put your turn signal on and get off at the next exit, so that you can get on the road that leads to grace.