A Tale of Two Banquets

In Matthew's gospel, the story of Herod's banquet which results in the execution of John the Baptist immediately proceeds the story of the feeding of the 5,000.  Comparing and contrasting these two "banquets" evidences the distinction between human culture and the culture of God.

The engine that drives Herod's banquet is fear.  The guest list is limited to those whom Herod needs to keep his power, status, and wealth; Herod is driven by fear.  And the guests show up out of fear, because they need to stay in Herod's good graces.  Herodias is driven by fear in inciting Herod to execute John the Baptist, the innocent victim.  Although he is the one person in Israel who would seem to have autonomy, Herod concedes to the request despite the fact that he did not want to execute John the Baptist out of fear.
Human culture is driven by fear, resulting in a perception of scarcity, absence of choice, and the death of the innocent.

The engine that drives the Kingdom of God is self-giving love.  The banquet is in the desert, where there appears to be only scarcity, yet there is nothing but abundance.  There is no exclusivity; everyone is invited.  Christ only gives, and everyone is filled.  And in the end of the gospel story, rather than facilitating the execution of the innocent victim, Christ becomes the innocent victim out of sacrifice and self-giving love.

The Church, which seeks to evidence the Kingdom of God, is called to facilitate a community, and ultimately, a world that casts out fear, where there is only self-giving love