Hebrews 13:1-8 / Mark 6:14-29
The 1st reading has some very encouraging words for our faith, i.e. God Himself has said: I will not fail you or desert you, and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing; what can man do to me? (Ps118:6)
These are words of Scripture, which means that they are also the words of God, and since He had promised us that He will not fail us or desert us, then we really have nothing to fear.
Yet as much as the Lord will not fail us or desert us, we can't really say that we didn't fail the Lord, and have turned away from Him.
Oh yes, we have sinned, we have been unfaithful, and we didn't put all our trust in the Lord. Especially when the turmoil and distress of life overwhelm us.
Yet the 1st reading also urged the readers to remember their leaders, who preached the word of God to them, and to reflect on the outcome of their lives and to imitate their faith.
And there is no denying it that during the time of the early Church, there were fierce persecutions and the leaders and elders of the Church were often hunted down and martyred.
Such was also the case with John the Baptist as we heard in the gospel. He was imprisoned by Herod for the speaking against Herod about the sin he had committed.
In the end John the Baptist was also executed at the instigation of Herodias who used her daughter to get Herod to order the execution.
Yet in all this turmoil and distress, God did not fail or desert His people. He granted them the reward of their suffering and that is eternal life with Him.
May we also keep the faith of our forefathers, and as they fought the good fight, let us keep on fighting the good fight and run the race to the finish and be rewarded by God who will not fail or desert us.