Eucharistic meditation

Matthew 14:11: And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she carried it to her mother.

There are two tables in our sermon text, two feasts. There is the murderous feast of Herod, a cannibal king, a shepherd who devours the best of his flock. And there is the table of Jesus, the feast of the King who, like John, will give Himself for the sake of His people, to lead His people to green pastures beside still waters, the Good Shepherd who will restore their souls.

Which feast do you belong to? At which table do you feast? Do you join with oppressors and the killers and the brutes at the table of demons? Do you use whatever power and wealth you have to grind down people weaker than you? Do you exclude the unclean and poor from your table? Then you are with Herod at the table of cannibals. His table is enticing: He has the best food, the best wine, the best entertainment, the best dancers.

Or, do you join the feast of Jesus, the feast in a desolate place rather than a palace? Do you share a table with tax-gatherers and sinners? Do you share bread with others, rather than eating them as if they were bread?

But the text also suggests that, if we’re faithful, we’re going to have a place at both feasts. John was the forerunner who announced the coming of Jesus. He was a true prophet. And because he was a true prophet, he had a place at the table of Herod. That place was not as a guest but as a final course. He wasn’t a guest; he was on the menu.

John’s death, as we saw, foreshadows Jesus’ death, and Jesus is also devoured by carnivorous rulers, attacked by wild animals and dogs that lick their lips at the foot of the cross. Jesus’ head isn’t brought on a platter, but he is the main course for a banquet of Pharisees, Romans, and Jews. All humanity joins in devouring Jesus. He has a place at the table of demons, as the meal the demons feast on.

This is the same place we have at the table of cannibal kings, if we prove faithful as John and Jesus. By sitting at the table of Jesus, the feast of bread and fish in the wilderness, we are being joined to Jesus Himself, and we are being called to take up the cross and follow Him. We are renouncing a seat at the table of Herod, but we are committing ourselves to sharing John’s place at the table of cannibals. We are committing ourselves to be part of the menu.