I grant you half of my kingdom.

 “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”  (Mark 6: 23).

This is the boast of King Herod, a mere mortal.  Do you see why it is said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? 

Here is the promise of the Father to His Son Jesus:
"Ask it of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and, as your possession, the ends of the earth."  (Psalm 2: 8).
Is Herod playing god?

The young princess who delighted Herod by her dance knew how to manipulate men.
“I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”  (Mark 6: 25).
This is what her mother wanted in order to remove once and for all the menace of John the Baptist.

"So he [Herod] promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison." (Mark 6: 27).

The true story:  God,  willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of His Son both in his birth and in his death.  The martyrdom of John the Baptist is in accordance with the gracious plan of God.

"John answered and said:
He must increase; but I must decrease."  (John 3: 27, 30). He sacrificed his life completely for Jesus.  We too must decrease if Christ will increase in us.

"And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.... Even all the hairs of your head are counted.  So do not be afraid."  (Matthew 10: 28, 30 - 31).

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