Words of Welcome

  Ephesians 2:11-22 Many of us will remember Ronald Reagan’s visit to West Berlin in 1987, during which he famously declared: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” While Mr. Gorbachev didn’t tear down the wall, it wasn’t long before the people of Berlin tore it down. Two years later, as the world watched on live TV, the people of East and West Berlin mounted the Berlin Wall and began tearing it down. For once, the East German police, who routinely shot people trying to escape across the wall, didn’t step in to stop it. Before long what had been two nations for four decades was once again united. I remember sitting glued to the TV watching the report, amazed at what was happening. At least for a moment, the world tingled with hope that this was a day of new beginnings for world history. We hoped for a moment that peace would come to a divided world. Things haven’t turned out as many of us hoped, but that image of a wall of hostility falling has stayed with me. What many of us didn’t

Mark 6:14-29 Have you ever made a wager you’ve come to regret? Even if you’re not a gambler, and I’m not, maybe you’ve made decisions you later regret. If I put the question that way, I confess that I’ve made plenty of decisions I’ve come to regret. Fortunately, I’ve survived them! At least, so far! This morning we meet up with Herod Antipas, son of the infamous King Herod the Great, and the self-styled King of Galilee. While he had royal titles,  he was a vassal of the Roman Empire, which meant that whatever power he had, came from Rome. Rome put him in charge of Galilee, which is where Jesus lived and John the Baptist frequented. According to Mark’s Gospel, Herod Antipas made a wager that involved the death of John the Baptist that he came to regret, but more about that in a moment. The reason John’s death appears in the story is that it involves Jesus’ growing popularity in Herod’s territory. Herod was concerned that Jesus might be John, who had been Herod’s nemesis, risen fro