Our reading is Matthew 14:1-12. The scene is Herod Antipas’s (72 BC- 4 BCE) birthday party. He was a powerful man, the Herodian ruler of Galilee and Perea. The entertainment for the evening was Herodias’s (15 BC-39 AD) daughter. The first century Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37-100) gives us her name, Salome (AD 14-71). Herod’s life was complicated. It sounds like a country song; Salome was Herod’s stepdaughter and niece. Salome’s dance pleases Herod. It was not the dance of an innocent child, it was an erotic dance. Herod was pleased with her performance, he says she can have anything she desires. She, with encouragement from her mother, requests “The head of John the Baptist on a platter.” There is no easy way to say it. By the end of the evening John’s head was delivered, never to speak again.
I have always found this story to be shocking. It is so shocking that it blinds us from the divine truth. The divine truth is found in John’s priorities. Look at the story with me one more time. The life of John the Baptist and the life of Herod Antipas stand in complete contrast. John was preoccupied with the eternal, trying to please God. Herod Antipas was preoccupied with the temporary, trying to please himself. John the Baptist’s priorities and Herod Antipas’s priorities are opposites. This story challenges us to examine our own priorities. How much time do you spend worrying about the temporary? How much time do you spend worrying about the eternal?
Years ago, I called my good friend Bill Johnson. (No, not the former Congressman, now President of Youngstown State University, the preacher.) This was not unusual, I called Bill regularly. Normally, he spoke in a clear voice, but on that day, he was whispering. I asked him why he was whispering and he responded, “I am at the Genesee of the Abbey near Rochester, New York.I am only to use electronic devices in case of an emergency. I am supposed to be focused on God.” I said, “Bill, I am not an emergency.” He said, “No. However, you are a priority.” I asked, “Do you answer when the wife calls.” He said, “Yes! I talked to her this morning.” He added, “I think I am in trouble. They caught me using my iPad to see if the Guardians won last night.”
Bill illustrates for us the simple point that good things can take our attention away from the best thing, God. He is supposed to be our greatest priority, because only God is eternal. That is what Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” God expects total and unconditional commitment from us. There is nothing wrong with friends and family. There is nothing wrong with our favorite professional sports team. However, none of those things should be our greatest priority because they are temporary. God is supposed to be our greatest priority because only God is eternal. How many good things in your life are distracting you from God? Consider these three good things that can distract us from God.
It would be easy to make patriotism your greatest priority. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was a French political thinker and writer. In 1831 he came to America and found what makes America great. According to him, our greatness is not found in our natural resources, our educational system, our form of government, or our economic success. He said, “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!” I cannot disagree with him.
I have been to some amazing places in this world but there is no place like America. I always feel a sense of relief when I am flying home and enter U.S. air space. I am both proud and thankful to be an America. It would be easy to make America your greatest priority, but don’t do it. America is not God. America is a country. God must be your greatest priority!
It would be easy to make your local church your greatest priority. Your local church is more than a building. Some of life’s most significant experiences happen in your local church. For example, your grandmother sold pies to buy the pews. Your grandfather helped roof the church on the hottest day one summer. In the sanctuary you buried your brother who left too soon. You married the love of your life in church. You baptized your children at church. Years later, you can still point to the place at the kneeing rail where you accepted Jesus at church. You still remember how the whole church prayed just for you before your big medical test. The fellowship hall is filled with memories of past church gatherings and heated church debates. It would be easy to make your local church your top priority, but don’t do it. The church is not God. The church is an organization to teach you about God. God must be your greatest priority!
It would be easy to make family your greatest priority. There is so much to love about being in a family. They are the ones we call during life’s greatest, and saddest, experiences. They are the ones that give us the greatest since of satisfaction. They are the ones we sacrifice for and the ones who will sacrifice for us. Everything we have would mean nothing without family. It would be easy to make family your greatest priority, but don’t do it. Your family is not God. God must be your greatest priority. There is nothing wrong with making patriotism, your local church, or your family a priority in your life, but they can’t be your greatest priority, because they are not God. John teaches us, we must make God our greatest priority because only God is eternal. What is your greatest priority?
As I write this blog, we are hours away from the XXV Olympic Winter Games. They are being held in Milan and Cortina, Italy. NBC will have 7,000 hours of total coverage over their various networks, featuring all 329 events. We will learn about the various events and the story of some of the athletes. We will not hear much about the Duomo di Milan, the symbol of the city of Milan. I had the great privilege of visiting there years ago. It is a wonderful place.
The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. Construction began in 1386 and was not completed until 1965. The cathedral has five huge doors to welcome visitors. The center three doors grab our attention. Over the first side door is a sculptured wreath of roses, and underneath it are the words, “All which pleases is just for a moment.” Over the second side door is sculptured a cross, and the words, “All that troubles is just for a moment.” But underneath the giant central entrance leading to the main aisle is the inscription, “Only the eternal is important.” That is what John is telling us in our reading. That is why God must be your greatest priority. Only God is eternal. What is your greatest priority?
Russ Adams 