After something is in effect for long enough, it ceases to be surprising anymore. Even if it is an absolute revelation, it stops being amazing. Case in point, this scene from Bernard and the Genie, where a Genie (Lenny Henry) has been in a lamp for thousands of years, and upon being awakened, he has a fish-out-of-water time in 20th century England. Much has changed, and so he finds that things aren't as he remembered.
When the Genie runs out onto the street and loudly proclaims 'hey everyone, you won't believe this! There's this thing that is cold and tastes completely of strawberries! It's fantastic!' Bernard comes out and says 'they've already tried it, it's nothing special to them.' The Genie then responds 'you're all crazy!'
For the Genie, strawberry ice cream was new enough to be fantastic and thrilling. For the rest of us, we've long since gone past jaded. Sure, ice cream is nice, but we're so used to it that we don't run out into the street and proclaim its greatness. And so too it is with one of the most shocking parts of Christian doctrine. Are you ready?
Christian laws apply to the wealthy and powerful as well as the poor and lowly.
Now, I know that none of you are going to run outside and let everyone know about the greatness of that truth, but I do want you to think about it for a second, because it really is an aberration away from normal human operating procedure. What happened for most of human existence was that the wealthy and powerful set the rules and the tone. It was the golden rule, you know: he who has the gold, makes the rules.
And Herod was used to that idea - that is, Herod wasn't used to being told 'no.' By anyone. Herod was used to being told yes by everyone, whatever he wanted to do was fine, because he was in charge. The rules would depend on who was doing something at the time, and if the people who wanted to do something were rich and powerful, they could do what they wanted.
Herod was used to that. He wasn't used to anyone telling him no. Especially not a wild man from the desert, a wild man in the wilderness, John the Baptist, the one who was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. John the Baptist, who ate locusts and wild honey. John the Baptist who preached repentance, and preached it hard.
Of course, you could understand if John the Baptist only preached against the poor and the downtrodden, the workers and slaves. After all, that's what you would expect religion to do, right, to be useful to the powerful, and to keep the peasants in line. But after John tells soldiers to only take what they are offered as fair pay, he then harangues Herod and Herodias about their relationship. Their relationship is illicit, according to God's law, and unlike everyone else, John would let him know about it.
And this is new. This is new and shocking, the idea that the word of God would universally apply to everyone. It wasn't just the poor and the workers who needed to be kept it line, it was the rich and powerful too. And shockingly enough, the rules of God wouldn't bend just because you happened to be in charge. You couldn't be rich enough or powerful enough or anything like that and hope to get by based on that. No, you'd be equally called out for that, because God is no respecter of persons. You don't skate on by because you're rich and powerful, you can't get away with things because you're wealthy. Instead, the laws of God, the ten commandments apply to the rich and poor, the powerful and the peasant. Kings and paupers, all of them are held by those same laws. It is equally wrong for a peasant to fornicate as it is for King Herod, and John the Baptist was keen to point that out. He wasn't afraid to do so, even though to do so would cost him his life. He didn't blink away, or hide from such a calling, but called it all out as loudly as he could. Sin is sin, no matter who commits it.
And if you know your history of the middle ages, you'll know that instead of religion being a tool to keep the poor and the peasant in line, it functioned to keep the rich and powerful in line. What else would keep the governors in line, given that they weren't elected nor did they report to an electorate ever. They exercised power, and had very few constraints, except for that of the church. For it was the church, the law of God, that acted as a powerful restraint on the rich, the wealthy and the powerful. It was the law of God that stopped those with absolute power from running their power too far. For they were reminded always that the law of God applied to them, and that the law of God enacted as a great level on all of them, rich and poor alike. Though they had massive power, their power didn't overrule the law of God, which was outside their power to change.
John was locked up for bringing this up, that the rules applied to the rich as well as the poor. And Herodias would rather John die than to change her ways, so she found a way to have him killed. But the law of God continues, whether you kill the prophets or not. Whether you lock up the prophets, kill them, slam the Bible shut, whatever, the law of God still applies. And you can't bribe him, cajole him, or scoot by because your your wealth, power or position. He still knows who you are, and still assesses you accordingly.
But the good news that Herodias didn't bother to contemplate is that just as the law of God applies universally, so does the Gospel of Christ as well. The law of God applies to everyone, rich or poor, wealthy or peasant, but the Gospel of Christ applies to everyone, no matter what they have done, no matter how far they had gone. One of the great outrages that people had with Jesus was that he dared to welcome sinners and eat with them. How dare he! Of course. But people will almost always be rattled by the notion that Jesus Christ offered the Gospel to people who they thought should have been too far gone for God's grace. But in reality, what we have to get our heads around is that the law of God applies no matter who you are, and the Gospel of Christ applies no matter what you've done. This wasn't always the way people thought it was, but it is the way that Christ wants us to know it is. It is a great restraint on the rich and powerful, but is also a great building up of the poor and the broken. If you know you're a sinner, then the Gospel of Christ is a sweet balm. If you think you're doing great, then the Law of God is a great reminder to you that you have fallen short of what he wants.
We frequently forget that these things are innovative and majestic, so every once in a while, we have to rediscover these things as though for the first time, to see them with fresh eyes, and to encounter the Lord who doesn't care who you are, but who also doesn't care what you have done. You're a sinner. Christ forgives.
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