The Decollation of St. John the Baptist

A beautiful Divine Service at St. Paul’s this morning for the feast. The red of martyrdom shone from paraments and vestments. A select choir from the school chanted the Introit: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation…” The voices of man of the children singing the tenor up an octave on the Gloria, soaring above the melody. The collect with its: “forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death.” Powerful readings from Revelation 6, Romans 6, and the account of the martyrdom from Mark 6. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all” in the Gradual and the verse, my mother’s favorite Bible passage, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” And if precious to Him, so also precious to us. So 2,000 years later we still gather to remember and recount the events of that day. The hymn was “If Thou but Trust in God to Guide Thee” which was perfect, as was Pastor Gleason’s homily. The Advent preface with its “whose way John the Baptist prepared, proclaiming Him the Messiah, the very Lamb of God, and calling sinners to repentance.” The gift of the Savior’s precious body and blood, giving us the forgiveness of sins and a guarantee of a blessed resurrection with John and all the saints. We are so very blessed in our Church and school. This year, with four grandchildren in the school, I’m more thankful than ever for them being catechized in liturgy and song so richly, so abundantly. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this place!