Scripture Scribbles: July 31, 2022

the Gospel

Mt 14:1-12

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus

and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist.

He has been raised from the dead;

that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”

Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison

on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,

for John had said to him,

“It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,

for they regarded him as a prophet.

But at a birthday celebration for Herod,

the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests

and delighted Herod so much

that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.

Prompted by her mother, she said,

“Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

The king was distressed,

but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,

he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.

His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,

who took it to her mother.

His disciples came and took away the corpse

and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

the devotion

Wow.

What a powerful series of Scripture verses that we have today.

If you aren’t careful, you might miss the deeper meaning and importance of what the Lord is revealing in these verses, especially for us women.

As I read these today and pray with them, the Lord brings me back to Genesis.

Ladies. If you haven’t yet figured out, the Lord uses Scripture time and again to show us how much POWER we have as women. If you take nothing else away from Genesis, or from today’s readings, know this:

Women have a very real and very powerful influence over men, mankind, the world. This power can be used for good (for God) or for bad (for the evil one). We see this influence used in the Scriptures time and again. Women were created differently than men. Each one of us was uniquely created in God’s image and likeness, but as women we have an original set of gifts, natural abilities, and callings that God gave us in order to carry out God’s mission in the world. The way that we bear Christ, bear life, to the world is different from men. It is a true gift from God that can be used for good, or twisted up and used for the evil one.

In Genesis, Eve listens to the serpent. Now, we know that the serpent was “more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1).

Don’t you think the serpent knew exactly what it was doing when it approached Eve instead of Adam? Don’t you think the serpent knew the influence that Eve had over Adam? The serpent knew that if it could get Eve to listen, it would successfully get both Adam and Eve to fall into the pit.

Today, in a similar way, we hear how Herodias’s dance leads to her power and influence over the situation. She is able to name whatever it is that she wants. Her mother, interestingly, is the one who feeds her the request for John the Baptist’s head. Two powerful women today, using their gifts, their influence, their power, for the evil one instead of for God’s glory.

Our Lady, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, Photini (the Woman at the Well), Ruth, Esther, these women in Scripture (just to name a few) use their God-given power, influence, natural gifts to glorify God and to carry out His mission, rather than to further the plots of the evil one.

Make no mistake, ladies: We have real power and influence given to us by God. The evil one hates women in a special sort of way. Our bodies, our natural abilities, our gifts all have the capacity to craft, grow, nurture, and bear life into the world.

The evil one is the master of death.

God is the Author of Life.

Take a moment today to ponder your own God-given gifts, strengths, and natural abilities. Learn more about the Feminine Genius. And reflect on whether you’ve used your gifts and influence to build others up, to bear life into the world, or to tear others down.

Lord, thank you for creating women.

Thank you for creating me in a beautiful and wonderful way.

Help me to come to know my gifts, my abilities, my callings.

Help me to use my gifts to glorify you and to bear life into the world.

I ask this in your most Holy Name.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith