Marriage is Worth Dying For
Happy Feast of St. John the Baptist
Today is the feast of St. John the Baptist! He is the Forerunner of the Messiah! He is the voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the Way of the Lord.” He is also most-aptly called a Martyr for the Sanctity of Marriage.
King Herod Antipas had married his brother Philip’s wife Herodias. John the Baptist was arrested by Herod and John told him: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” This is why John was taken prisoner. He was not chained and put in shackles for his ministry as Prophet of the Messiah and for his practice of the baptism of repentance. He was not arrested for preaching about the coming of Jesus. He was arrested because Herod’s “wife” Herodias was upset because St. John the Baptist had the gall to proclaim that adultery is, in fact, wrong.
Herodias did not want to fulfill her obligations to her actual husband, by law. Instead, she wanted to opulence of the palace life. She wanted nothing more than for John to die. Herod, however, was unwilling to kill him, for fear of what the people might do. John was a prophet and killing a prophet is bad for civic business.
Surely, St. John the Baptist knew of his precarious position. He was already taken prisoner and in the pit of the viper Herodias. He knew of her disdain and bloodlust against him. Most folks, having a sense of self-preservation, would keep quiet and angle for their freedom. Instead, John spoke the truth. And he took the consequences.
Herod was given quite a bit of wine and then Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip came out to give a sensual dance in fairly revealing clothing. Side note: yes, this is his niece. When she finished her dance, the king was overcome by his passions and offered her anything she wanted, even half his kingdom. Salome turned to her mother and Herodias gave the request to her daughter: “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” Here the greatest man born of women (by the words of our Blessed Lord) went to his eternal reward.
Still today, Salome dances as Herodias lays in wait to stalk her prey. In the United States in 2021, there were 1,985,072 marriages reported and there were 689,308 divorces. The Institute for Family Studies reports that cheating is closely linked to divorce and separation. They also report that 20% of married men report cheating on their spouses and the figure is 13% for married women. The American Psychological Association reports that 20-40 percent of divorces are precipitated by infidelity. The statistics for second marriages (or beyond) that are between an individual and the person with whom they cheated on their spouse are even more abysmal. All of this to say: 1) marriage is not valued by our society and 2) fidelity to one’s spouse is not sacrosanct, as it ought to be.
Our world needs the spirit of St. John the Baptist, Martyr for the Sanctity of Marriage. We need to be willing to speak the truth and accept the consequences. I can guarantee you that the consequences for not speaking the truth when God compels you will always be worse in the long run.
If you would like to learn more about what the Catholic Church teaches about marriage, please see the post linked below!
St. John the Baptist, Martyr of the Sanctity of Marriage, pray for us!
