Ecclesiasticus 47:2-11 / Mark 6:14-29
It is worthwhile to note how one person can completely change the character of a country and its people.
It can be for the better or for worse, but it cannot be denied that the people will somehow take on the face and the mind of the leader.
That is how powerful the influence the leader has on the country and on its people.
For Israel of the biblical era, King David is held as the model king because it was he who brought Israel to its golden age.
The 1st reading is actually an eulogy about King David and praised him for his achievements and his contributions to the country.
Yet the eulogy did not ignore what the Lord did for David. It said this : The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn forever; He gave him a royal covenant and a glorious throne in Israel.
So in King David, we see a leader who had a good balance of the spiritual as well as secular qualities.
But for King Herod, we see a leader who has lost the spiritual aspect of his life and because he was just so thrilled by a dancing girl, he was willing to execute a holy man.
Nonetheless, he was deeply distressed because he knew he was putting a holy man to death.
Such was the impact and the influence of John the Baptist on King Herod as well as for the people of Israel.
King David and John the Baptist might not have known it then, but deep and wide was their impact and influence on the people.
For us, we too have to be aware that our Christian lives have invisible effects on others.
May our lives have an impact and influence on others such that they will come to know the God that we believe in.