The gift of a clear conscience
by Kimberley Pfeiffer
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But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised’ (Mark 6:16).
I doubt that a modern person would jump quite as quickly to ‘he’s been raised from the dead’ as an explanation for something unexplainable as Herod does in today’s reading. This is especially so when we remember that John died by beheading. We can be quite certain that people do not come back from that kind of death. So why does this thought get at Herod and become so convincing in his mind?
Herod clearly has a disturbed conscience about killing John the Baptist and all the events that led to it. The reading tells us that Herod liked to listen to John, although he was perplexed by what John had to say. John’s integrity as a ‘righteous and holy man’ was well known. His words were good and true. It was the very truth of his words that stirred up John’s conscience as he pointed out Herod’s unlawful relationship with his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herod knew that the murder of John was unjustified.
The conscience is the place in the human soul where we can fully realise the grip of sin. Through a complex interplay that involves reflection on action, imagination, conscious and unconscious thought, we consider our past actions and intentions for the future, our triumphs and mistakes, and the role we play in life and before God.
A good or clear conscience is something we all long for. None of us is entitled to a clear conscience; we live in a broken world that is tarnished by sin. Yet, we know what a clear conscience is by what it is not. It doesn’t haunt us at night, it doesn’t replay our regrets, and it doesn’t hold us back from taking healthy risks in life with confidence and hope.
Through the shed blood of Christ, our peace has been restored with God, and our conscience is cleansed. As we receive that underserved gospel gift of Christ’s power over death, the devil and all his works, in our baptism and again and again through the word and sacrament, Christ calms the furies of our conscience. That same power by the Holy Spirit enables us to look at our earthly reality. We may have to face the consequences from the past, but in so doing, we have hope because the eternal consequences are no longer. This frees us to live in hope, joining in his Spirit as we face, embrace and find joy in our earthly vocations.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Christ to be the sacrifice that cleanses us from sin. Renew us as we daily receive your gospel gift that sets us free from sin’s power. Give us hope in your Spirit that sustains us as we face the messiness of life and the peace that surpasses all understanding, keeping our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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