GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:29
Responding to Bad News
In 1931, Ray Henderson published a song titled “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.” During the 1930s, however, many people found life difficult and not always pleasant, so they began saying, “Life is not a bowl of cherries,” acknowledging life’s hardships and difficulties. Some days it rains and bad news comes, and on those days, it’s important to have a strategy for responding to bad news.
John the Baptist’s disciples provide a good illustration of ways to respond to bad news. According to Mark, the disciples received the worst of news—their teacher, mentor, and friend had been murdered. In the practice of the time, the bodies of dead prisoners were cast outside the prison. “And when they heard, his disciples came and took his corpse and placed it in a tomb.” (Mark 6:29)
First, the disciples did not deny the reality. The fortress where John was imprisoned and later murdered was near the Dead Sea, about 27 miles southeast of Jerusalem. It appears that the disciples were near the fortress when they learned of John’s death. They did not flee, deny what happened, or act impulsively.
Second, they acknowledged their feelings. There was an established process for preparing a body for burial at the time. They didn’t suppress or deny how they felt. Behind Mark’s terse account, there likely would have been a proper process for preparing the body for burial.
hird, they shared their grief. Mark referred to John’s “disciples.” Bad news can be borne more easily when it rests upon multiple shoulders—family, friends, or perhaps a wise counselor.
Fourth, the disciples developed a strategy for moving forward by taking constructive action—“they took his corpse and placed it in a tomb.” Sometimes bad news undoubtedly seems to close all doors, but in Mark’s account, the disciples found a way to move forward.
Fifth, some of the disciples reframed the situation. According to the gospel writers, many of John’s disciples became disciples of Jesus.
In a poem titled “The Rainy Day,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: “Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;/ Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;/ Thy fate is the common fate of all,/ Into each life some rain must fall,/ Some days must be dark and dreary.” On those rainy days, John’s disciples demonstrated some positive ways for responding to bad news.
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