First Reading: (Ecclesiastes 1:2–11)
Responsorial Psalm:
In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Acclamation:
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: (Luke 9:7–9)
Reflection
The bad example of King Herod and his questions in the Gospel should leave us with both questions and a different path to tread from that of Herod.
King Herod is the one who beheaded John the Baptist. And he did this because John the Baptist was challenging Herod's sinfulness and a life of adultery. The beheading of John the Baptist is an outcome of the adulterous life that he lives. It doesn't lead to Herod's conversion and repentance. Rather, we see in the Gospel today Herod almost being fearful, Herod almost being haunted in his conscience by his evil doings.
Hearing from his court about Jesus, Herod began to wonder, probably with fear, who Jesus is. Has John the Baptist, whom he killed, been raised from the dead? Is Jesus Elijah or one of the holy prophets whom Scripture foretold might return from the dead?
These are the questions that Herod is asking. And also, on the same level, Herod knows that Jesus is a prophetic character. He speaks for God. The evil king knows that Christ is a divine agent, that Christ's work is God's work.
The Gospel reports that Herod wanted to see Jesus. He was curious, intrigued even, but not enough to say he wished to be forgiven. He wished to be healed. He wished to sit at the feet of the Master and be made whole again by Jesus' forgiveness and peace.
What messages can we take from the Gospel today?
I think first and foremost, unlike Herod, there is no need for us to carry our sins with us. How sad it is that many of us continue to carry the heavy crosses of sin in our lives. We consider our sins either unforgivable, or consider our sins so embarrassing like: “I could never bring this to the Lord.”
But here's the good news of the Gospel: Jesus is always waiting to forgive and to heal.
Many, like Herod, are captivated by Christ, but because of fear, because of a lack of trust and hope, don't believe they can be forgiven.
Love, mercy, and forgiveness are always found by bringing our sins to Jesus in the sacrament of confession.
As Herod shows us today, sin wears us down. Forgiveness is what lifts us up.
I think the second point is this: unlike Herod, it's not enough to say, “Oh, I want to see Jesus,” but rather we must come to know Christ, the one who saves, the one who leads us to heaven.
We know one of the best places to encounter Jesus Christ is at the Mass, where we see the Eucharistic Lord, where we see his love poured out for us in the sacrifice of the Mass. And if we want to encounter Christ, there is no better place.
For here we hear the word of God. God speaks to us in an alive and dynamic way, but also we receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus himself feeds us. We receive Christ, but Christ receives us at Mass.
Then we encounter God who is worthy of praise and thanksgiving. God who hears the cries and petitions of his people. And God who is always there, ready to forgive.
St. John Vianney teaches this: We must never lose sight of the fact that we are either saints or outcasts. We must either love heaven or hell. There is no middle way.
I think Herod's life then teaches us, first and foremost, to love the things of heaven. And we do that by renouncing our sins, repenting, seeking out the sacrament of penance, and, just as important, by encountering Christ in the Mass, coming to know him and allowing him to know us.
God bless you.
Have a wonderful day.
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