My dear friends, the gospel today is a very interesting one. It calls to mind the incident that happened between John the Baptist and Herod the Tetrarch. Herod put John in prison and later murdered him in favor of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for the condemnation of their adulterous acts. It seemed to them that the use of force would silence John. But that was not the case. For the power of conscience continued to fight for him.
Herod was terribly perplexed and haunted by his conscience over the death of John, on hearing the miraculous works of Christ. He was misinformed by his servants that John the Baptist had risen from the dead. Or, could John have really been Elijah, whose return was expected to bring about the coming of the Messiah. The news of John’s death troubled Herod’s conscience and the guilt of his evil deed weighted heavily on him. He acknowledged killing John and wondered what his punishment could be if John is back to life performing miracles.
Herod therefore sought to see Jesus out of curiosity, not repentance, to confirm that it was not John performing the miracles he hears about. He hardened his heart and would not listen to his conscience nor repent by asking for forgiveness.
We are sometimes like Herod. We find it difficult to accept that we have done something wrong even when our conscience is tormenting us. We continue to try to justify ourselves. We harden our hearts and refuse to confess or repent.
Do Not Postpone
But the power of conscience does not easily die. It continues to discomfort us especially whenever the evil we have committed is mentioned in discussion, homily, radio, television or anywhere. Our mind reminds us that we are not free from the evil. We cannot run away from it unless we confess and repent.
Herod refused to repent and was uneasy when he heard about John, Jesus, and his miracles. He had every opportunity to repent even when he was seeing John in prison; when the miracles of Jesus were agog in the entire environs of Galilee, but he hardened his heart. We too could be missing such an opportunity today by postponing repentance, which is the devil’s hand tool. We should not postpone repentance. It should be ongoing every day in lives.
The Miracles of Jesus
Everything about Jesus is life transforming. He performed many miracles, not to impress people, but they were fantastic. They made serious impressions on people, including the servants of Herod who shared their stories in the palace of the king. But they were unable to properly identify the miracle worker. Thereby giving misleading information to Herod when he inquired about the miracles by misplacing Jesus to John the Baptist or Elijah as was rumored among the people. But the fact remains that the miracles of Jesus, which were redemptive of the people, attracted the attention and admiration of his audience.
The Effects of Fake News
Rumors can put people off and make them uncomfortable, especially when they are not true. Herod did not verify the veracity of the news of the miracle worker in his vicinity. He had every opportunity as the king to find out the truth of who was performing the miracles, but he didn’t. He relied on the rumors of his servants. Rumors, especially when they are untrue, can destroy. This is a problem of our age, when fake news spreads through social media without proper investigation. Fake news has ruined the reputation of many people. Fake news breeds hatred and spreads false information that can even cost lives. We must be sure of the news we post and forward to people through our social media platforms and stop creating tension and anxiety in the society we live. Herod would not have been confused if he was given the right information. We must not forget that Jesus is the Good News and whenever we spread the good news, we spread Him who is the Way, the Truth and Life.
Peace be with you.
This is wisdom I treasure – never put off repentance!
May the Lord help me to turn around, come to Him and confess my sins.
Thank you for this reflection.