Sex and Seduction

 The beheading of John the Baptiser

One Friday night, at choir practice, I happened to mention that I was going to be preaching about sex on Sunday.  One of the choir, who shall remain nameless, immediately responded "Oh No! I've been doing that all day!". After everyone had a good laugh, and the lady in question had a wonderful blush, she explained that what she meant was that the children at her school had been doing 'Personal and Social Development' all day - and that they had been learning about sex!

The story of the beheading of John the Baptist is one of the more gruesome stories in the Bible; gruesome not just because of the hideous notion of presenting a man's head on a platter - but, I think, even more so because of what it says about the power of seduction, and the allure of sex. 

Well, it certainly worked on Herod.  He paid no attention to the fact that the dancing girl was his niece and step-daughter. What he saw was an alluring young woman.  You can imagine him sighing and mooning over the girl. At the end of her dance, captivated by her beauty, and letting his guard down for a moment, he said, "Ask me for whatever you want, and I'll give it to you”

That was it - the girl rushed back to her mother who seems to have been a rather manipulative sort of person. She saw her chance to rid herself of the prophet, John, who had been a thorn in her side for a long time – especially condemning her marriage to her brother-in-law. "Ask him for the head of John the Baptist", she said.

And so, because he couldn't go back on his royal word in front of his guests, Herod reluctantly ordered John to be executed.  Herod had weakened. The power of the sexual urge is very strong. Throughout history, great men have often been brought down by it. Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Delilah. The ancient myths are laden with men who have gone to their deaths for beautiful women. Sex-starved sailors have often been lured to rocks because of the mere possibility of glimpsing a mermaid.

In our own time, marketing professionals know the power of seduction. We've all seen the perfume adverts, and the car commercials. At the darker end of seduction, some people get drawn into obsessions with sex...they give into their primal urges at all sorts of levels - from pornography, all the way down to the great evil of paedophilia.

We might well ask what this is all about. How has this sexual urge within us come to be so fundamental to us? Why is it so strong? If our picture of God is of one who designs the world with intricate care, what (we might wonder) is God doing when he makes us to be such powerfully sexual people?

Our sexuality is a gift from God, that enables us to connect with other people. When two people are in love, we are not at all surprised when one of them is able to sense at a deep level how the other is feeling.  But that ability to have compassion for others isn't just something which manifests itself in a couple’s relationship.  It is something that is in us all - waiting to be fanned into desire for one particular person, but always there, subliminally, in the way in which we feel, and love, and care for all people.

But, like all of God's gifts, our sexuality needs to be carefully and properly managed. Instead of being a force for love, care, compassion and commitment to others, it can be twisted into a morbid, self-satisfying desire for personal gratification. The Bible teaches us that we find our fullest expression of our humanity through loving God, and loving our neighbour. But when we start to seek our own gratification first - we get out of balance.  

Of course it isn't only sex that can seduce us. The world is full of many seductive temptations. We can be seduced into believing that wealth will make us happy, or that a new set of clothes, or that new car, will fullfil our deepest desire – even though we know, in our heads, that today’s precious purchase is tomorrow’s charity shop donation.  How can we stay in balance when so dances of the seven veils are being danced around us?

Jesus gave us a piece of advice that may can guide us. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). You see, the way we choose to spend our money, or our time, says a great deal about which seductions we have given in to.

Let's try a little exercise together. Let me invite you to think about what you spend your spare money on, after all the essential stuff. Then, ask yourself "what is the largest single expenditure that I make from my disposable income?".

Just think about that for a moment. What do you spend your spare cash on?  Is it life-affirming? Does it reflect your (and my) calling to be people who love God and love our neighbour? 

How does the amount you spend on that one item...or one luxury... compare to the amount of money you give to relieve poverty or sickness? Or for the work of God in this church?  "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

You can, of course, do precisely the same exercise with your time. We all have at least some spare time.  How much of it is used up doing things that are life-affirming and love-sharing?  And how much in things that we have been seduced into doing by marketing managers and television producers? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Please don't misunderstand me. I don't want you to leave here today feeling miserable and guilt-ridden! I simply want to invite us all, in the light of the story of Herodias' daughter, to become alert to the question "what am I seduced by?"  There are very few of us who are not, at one time or another, seduced by something.

Our task as people who are striving to be more like our creator is to recognises what seduces us...and then to learn from the story of Herod.  We are invited by Jesus to lay aside whatever our personal seduction may be, before it consumes us or leads us into real difficulty - as it did for Herod. Our task is to re-distribute our time, and our money, into spending and tasks that are life-affirming, and life-enhancing.  For where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.  Amen.