What if John the Baptist Was Aquaphobic?

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” Luke 3:7-14

John the Baptist is one of the more interesting figures of the New Testament. He was related to Jesus. He dresses in the form of an Old Testament Prophet, wearing clothing made of camels hair and eating locusts, etc. He did not come into the middle of the city, but instead remained in the country baptizing people in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People came from all of Jerusalem and the surrounding area to the Jordan waters to be baptized. But, what if John was afraid of water?

It may sound like a silly suggestion, but people who suffer from the fear of things (snakes, flying, etc.) are usually debilitated by these fears. In other words, they realize the fears are irrational, yet they cannot control their fear. If John had the fear of water, then Jesus would not have been baptized by John, and as such would have had to be baptized by someone else to receive the Holy Spirit. Or, as is the way with G-d, G-d would have found another way to impart the Spirit into Jesus. Either way, G-d would have acted – even could have acted to heal John of his fear.
What is it you are afraid of about your faith, your life, your daily actions? Fear is not always easy to eliminate, but the more we give things to Jesus, the more Jesus will be invited into your lives to heal you and to set you onto your path of faithful living.

Pastor Dave

What if Judith Didn’t Want to Make Heads Roll?

Now Judith had told her maid to stand outside the bedchamber and to wait for her to come out, as she did on the other days; for she said she would be going out for her prayers. She had said the same thing to Bagoas. So everyone went out, and no one, either small or great, was left in the bedchamber. Then Judith, standing beside his bed, said in her heart, “O Lord God of all might, look in this hour on the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. Now indeed is the time to help your heritage and to carry out my design to destroy the enemies who have risen up against us.” She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword that hung there. She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!” Then she struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head. Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes’ head to her maid, who placed it in her food bag. When the people of her town heard her voice, they hurried down to the town gate and summoned the elders of the town. They all ran together, both small and great, for it seemed unbelievable that she had returned. They opened the gate and welcomed them. Then they lit a fire to give light, and gathered around them. Then she said to them with a loud voice, “Praise God, O praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel, but has destroyed our enemies by my hand this very night!” Then she pulled the head out of the bag and showed it to them, and said, “See here, the head of Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy beneath which he lay in his drunken stupor. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman. As the Lord lives, who has protected me in the way I went, I swear that it was my face that seduced him to his destruction, and that he committed no sin with me, to defile and shame me.” All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God, and said with one accord, “Blessed are you our God, who have this day humiliated the enemies of your people.” Then Uzziah said to her, “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to cut off the head of the leader of our enemies. Your praise will never depart from the hearts of those who remember the power of God. May God grant this to be a perpetual honor to you, and may he reward you with blessings, because you risked your own life when our nation was brought low, and you averted our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people said, “Amen. Amen.” Judith 13:3-20 (The Apocrypha)

We don’t get readings from the book of Judith often – if at all – since it is in the Apocryphal writings not included in many Bibles. The Catholic Canon includes these books – the Lutheran generally does not. But once in a while you will encounter a reading in a devotional or other resource from one of the Apocryphal writings. That is why I am including some readings as examples in my devotions. After all, it does us all good to read about strong women in the Bible – for there were many. Judith is a fine example.

“It was reported to Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian army, that the people of Israel had prepared for war and had closed the mountain passes and fortified all the high hilltops and set up barricades in the plains. In great anger he called together all the princes of Moab and the commanders of Ammon and all the governors of the coastland, and said to them, “Tell me, you Canaanites, what people is this that lives in the hill country? What towns do they inhabit? How large is their army, and in what does their power and strength consist? Who rules over them as king and leads their army? And why have they alone, of all who live in the west, refused to come out and meet me?” Judith 5:1-4

King Nebuchadnezzar was ravaging the land of the Israelites. His commander of the Assyrian army, Holofernes, was leading the charge. The ruler of the Israelites, Uzziah, implored the people to surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar rather than to be destroyed by his army. But when Judith heard of his plan, she acted:

“When Judith heard the harsh words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days, she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Uzziah and Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her town. They came to her, and she said to them: “Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. Who are you to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs? You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test…No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading. Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.” (Judith 8:9-17 not inclusive)

With bravery, she acted. But what if she had not determined to make heads roll? We use that phrase often – “Heads will roll”. It means someone is going to act decisively – and some people will lose a job, or position, or there will be consequences. For Judith she uses her cunning, strong will and brains (as well as her beauty) to find the strength to do what their ruler Uzziah did not have the will or bravery to do.

“Then Judith said to them, “Listen to me. I am about to do something that will go down through all generations of our descendants. Stand at the town gate tonight so that I may go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the town to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand. Only, do not try to find out what I am doing; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do.” Uzziah and the rulers said to her, “Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you, to take vengeance on our enemies.” So they returned from the tent and went to their posts.” (Judith 8:32-36)

Judith departs with her retinue, and in the process gets “captured” by Holofernes and his troops. She is brought into his chambers, and the commander is taken by her beauty – so much so that he wants to be “alone” with her. But he drinks too much and passes out drunk on his bed. And then: “(Judith) struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head.” (Judith 13)

The Assyrians discover their commander dead and headless, and they flee in panic in front of the Israelites. Uzziah and his troops destroy the Assyrian army. The Israelites are saved. For three months they celebrate in Jerusalem – and Judith is honored all her life for her act of bravery, namely her ability to “…make heads roll.”

Pastor Dave