Today we have one of the nastiest stories in the Gospel. John the Baptist had criticised King Herod for marrying his brother's wife, thus seriously violating Jewish law. In revenge, the new wife takes advantage of a time when her husband was weakened by alcohol and the presence of his court to exploit his sexual weaknesses and bring about the death of the man who had accused her husband. We read of similar examples of such vicious vindictiveness in our newspapers every day. Perhaps we are a long way from committing such crimes but we might reflect today on how we deal with grudges towards other people or how we can be guilty of acts of spitefulness or even revenge. We can ask how easily we allow the behaviour of others to generate feelings of stress and anxiety.