We Reflect The One Who Pours Into Us

When I went back to work after having been away in Hawaii for nine days, I knew the reality that my memory care sweethearts would have forgotten me, and the fact of the matter is that they do forget me every day, but they usually don’t forget how to respond to they way I greet them. I sing “You Are My Sunshine” to them every morning and they sing it back to me with all that they have. My first morning back, however, Marilyn, who is one of my most precious sweethearts, was drastically different in her spirit than when I left. She is normally happy and grateful to see me in the morning, but there was a “dim-ness” in her eyes like something had been extinguished. She was very curt and not wanting to play at all. It through me off guard and it reminded me of the scene in It’s A Wonderful Life when George Bailey gets to see his family and friends living as if he was never born. Their coldness and lack of joy was palpable and there was a darkness; not that I am associating Marilyn’s gloom with my absence per se, but just that there was a definite shift in her spirit.

I started to pour in to break through the hard shell that had formed, but my usual tactics were not even scratching the surface. I realized in that moment that she was simply reflecting how she had been dealt with or treated for the past nine days. She was not treated badly in any way, nor was she uncared for, but what I sensed is that she had not been poured into. She is a difficult one to pour into because her anxiety has created a hard protective exterior to break through. It requires extreme tenderness and lots of face time and attention, which our staff just don’t have enough time for. I’ve made it my special intention to pour into her in these particular ways. God showed me that Marilyn reflects the person who pours into her. Marilyn does AND we all do!! When I am being poured into through worship and intimacy with Jesus, it shows in my face, my eyes, my words, my patience levels, my receptivity to love, my tenderness, my gratitude, and my joy. When I don’t spend time being cared for by my Beloved, all of the above noticeably shift in atmosphere. I only want to reflect my Father’s love so that when I pour into Marilyn, she also reflects the Father’s love and not me at all. 

I poured into Marilyn all day intentionally and by the end of the day there was a “melting” and the light came back on in her eyes. The next morning she watched me park my car from the dining room window across the street, and was waiting for me to notice her waving madly from the window. Her smile was back and she even pointed me out to the others so they would also wave. We all started blowing kisses to each other and passers by might have witnessed a great show. We reflect the one who pours into us. 

How does this even relate to the beheading of John the Baptist in today’s gospel? It seems to me that Herod and Herodias and his daughter and her mother all reflected the way they have been poured into and that translated into rebellion, lack, lust, selfishness, pride, jealousy, and the list goes on. The daughter was offered half of Herod’s kingdom and she chose a stranger’s head on a platter? Can you see the deficiency of a soul not poured into by unconditional love? So, let’s allow unconditional love pour into us. How? Through worship. Worship is when we open ourselves up like a chalice to let God pour in and He is lavish when we give Him permission. He doesn’t offer us half His kingdom, He offers us all! Let His unconditional love pour in and choose your inheritance over someone’s head on a platter!! It is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 SIR 47:2-11

Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,
so was David in Israel.
He made sport of lions as though they were kids,
and of bears, like lambs of the flock.
As a youth he slew the giant
and wiped out the people’s disgrace,
When his hand let fly the slingstone
that crushed the pride of Goliath.
Since he called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and raise up the might of his people,
Therefore the women sang his praises,
and ascribed to him tens of thousands
and praised him when they blessed the Lord.
When he assumed the royal crown, he battled
and subdued the enemy on every side.
He destroyed the hostile Philistines
and shattered their power till our own day.
With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung;
He set singers before the altar and by their voices
he made sweet melodies,
He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year
So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.

Responsorial Psalm 18:31, 47 AND 50, 51

R.    (see 47b)  Blessed be God my salvation!
God’s way is unerring,
the promise of the LORD is fire-tried;
 he is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
R.    Blessed be God my salvation!
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
Therefore will I proclaim you, O LORD, among the nations,
and I will sing praise to your name.
R.    Blessed be God my salvation!
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
R.    Blessed be God my salvation!

AlleluiaLK 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart,
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 6:14-29

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.