When I grow up … - Father Dave's Blog

“When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.”” (Mark 6:22-24)

Hi Fighter,

As I read again through this gruesome story of the death of John the Baptist, my first thought was that it would make a great comic.

I was no doubt influenced by my recent trip to Queensland, where my darling daughter, Fran, and I visited Dreamworld and Movieworld, and were surrounded by comic book characters. Our adventure culminated in the Movieworld parade, where copyrighted heroes and villains processed down the main street. The superheroes stood tall and noble while their evil counterparts scampered around, sniggering and snarling. I thought, “life isn’t like this. People aren’t this black and white”. Then I looked again at our Gospel reading. Most of those characters were super-villains!

The Herods were a contemptible bunch. Even the Romans were wary of them. There was a saying, attributed to the Emperor, Augustus, that it was “better to be Herod’s pig than his son”. It’s a joke of sorts, as the Latin words for ‘pig’ and ‘son’ sound similar, but the joke is based on the fact that Herod had two of his own sons executed (along with their mother) suspecting them of wanting to usurp his power.

That was ‘Herod the Great’ (so called), and the Herod we read of in Mark 6 was one of his surviving sons, Herod Antipas. Even so, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My dad used to say that the Herod family were like a great pile of maggots and that there was no point trying to distinguish which was the vilest maggot in the heap, and the Herod women don’t seem to have been much better than the men.

If you’re not familiar with story, you can read it in full in Mark 6, verses 14 to 29 (inclusive). It’s a horrible story, and I’m not sure why the Gospel-writer felt he had to tell it in such detail, though perhaps Mark appreciated irony. He depicts Herod as all-powerful – only needing to say a word to have God’s messenger killed. At the same time though, the king we meet in Mark 6 seems powerless. He is controlled by his love of alcohol and his lust for his daughter-in-law. He doesn’t want to damage the Baptist, but he fears losing the respect of his dinner guests if he doesn’t keep to his drunken vow. He is pathetic and insecure, feeling he has no choice but to murder God’s prophet rather than risk his reputation!

Interestingly, the Gospel writer also mentions what the Baptist was charged with – namely, with questioning the validity of Herod’s marriage. It reminded me of the charges the US government came up with for Julian Assange. Herod’s real issue with the Baptist wasn’t any more about his marriage than Joe Biden’s issue with Julian was specifically about the Collateral Murder video. Prophets embarrass people in high places. They need to be shut down. Herod shut John down, then his wife and daughter-in-law made sure he was shut down permanently.

Another thought struck me while I was watching that Movieworld parade. I thought it was sad that the only heroes we hold parades for nowadays are fictional characters. I wonder what a parade of real-life Biblical heroes would look like. I can see the Baptist, carrying his head under one arm. He’s followed by Saint Paul, who lurches along like the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, displaying in his body the imprint of his many beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments and stonings. At the head of the parade is Jesus! Enough said.

I asked the AI Graphics generator on fatherdave.info to come up with an image of John the Baptist Superhero. I tried it numerous times, but I couldn’t get AI to embrace the idea that heroes suffer. Biblical superheroes are distinctive. I grew up wanting to be Batman. Do any of us grow up wanting to be John the Baptist?

Our Sunday Eucharist

We had a wonderful Sunday Eucharist last weekend. It was good to have dear Tom back with David Baldwin and myself. The only problem was that Fran and I were staying with our dear friends, Grant and Cheryl, while on the Gold Coast, and I was relying on my mobile phone to provide us with an Internet connection. It wasn’t strong enough to broadcast Stephen Sizer’s Gospel reflection in full. I’ve pasted it below (as well as to the member site). The replay of the full broadcast (which doesn’t include Stephen’s full contribution) is at the end.

I’ve also isolated a couple of shorts from last Sunday that are pasted below.

The first highlights one of the few areas where I think Tom, as a Muslim, genuinely disagreed with David and myself, who were coming from a Christian perspective. The point at issue was whether God’s prophets need to be sinless.

The second short features David talking about Saint Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”. This discussion really meant something to me personally. I’ve heard plenty of theories as to what Paul was really talking about, but I’d never heard what David shared about Paul’s broken family. It resonated deeply with me.

This coming Sunday I’m looking forward to having Rob Gilland and Rev. John Jegaothy back with me on the panel, and Father Mark Battison has left us another pre-recorded reflection on the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It should be a full and rewarding time. Do please join us from midday this Sunday at TheSundayEucharist.com or on Facebook , YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn or Streamyard. I do look forward to sharing this Eucharist with you. 😊

Let me work your corner

If you’d like to see my work continue, please click here to make a one-off donation, If you can afford a monthly contribution, sign up at Patreon.comand choose either:

Middleweight – $10/month (community mentoring)

Enrol in the Fighting Fit training program
Access member-only training videos
Publish to the members-only blog
Get free access to silver level membership at SurefireWealth.com

Super-Middleweight $50/month (remote mentoring)

All of the above +
One-on-one mentoring via email, phone, or Skype

Heavyweight – $100/month (in-person mentoring)

All of the above +
Training with Father Dave’s Old School Boxing Academy

Superheavyweight – $200/month (intensive in-person mentoring)

All of the above +
One weekend per month at Binacrombi Bush Camp.

Every dollar helps keep the wheels turning – the websites, the newsletters, the broadcasts, the boxing club and the bush camp. Even so, it’s not a one-way process. I want to support you in return, so please fill out the Physical and Spiritual Fitness Assessment form and get it back to me, and then sign up at Patreon.com.

What’s On?

Saturday, July 13th – Boxing @Legends Gym in Kensington from 3.00 pm.
Sunday, July 14^th – Our Eucharist from midday via thesundayeucharist.com (or through Facebook , YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn or Streamyard).
Tuesday, July 9^th – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 6.30 pm.
Thursday, July 11^th – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 6.30 pm.
Friday to Sunday, July 12 to 14– @Binacrombi. Please join me.

I was supposed to be in the bush this weekend, but car troubles have forced me to reschedule for next week. Do consider making the journey with me, please.

It’s still not clear whether Binacrombi will be sustainable for the long term. We have an excellent team though, and if you’d like to help us promote the income-generating side of the work, please forward the above ‘short’ that I created this week to any of your friends who has a dirt-bike.

The other big news for me is that I’m scheduled for another fight on August 23rd. The fight will be on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

I don’t expect many of my loyal supporters to come to this one but I would appreciate your help in preparing for the bout by giving me a critique of my last performance – recorded in the video above.

It’s taken me this long to get hold of a recording of my fight on December 23, 2023, but it’s actually a good time for me to be reviewing it. If I could get your perspective too, that could prove very helpful. Don’t bother telling me that I need to be more aggressive and add force to my jabs. I’ve worked that much out. Even so, you may well see things that I don’t, and I am open to all advice.

My opponent’s name is Leon Irwin. I know nothing about him at this stage and couldn’t find anything on the NET. I asked AI to come up with some images of what he might look like. I’m hoping that he’s the guy on the right.

Keep praying for Gaza please, and keep up with the latest news through israelandpalestine.org and fatherdave.net. While the situation may seem hopeless, remember that things seemed impossible for Julian Assange only a few weeks back.

May the Lord bless and strengthen you as you continue with the prophetic work of spreading light and truth and peace.

Your brother in the Good Fight,