HEROD KEPT TRYING TO SEE JESUS

Luke 9:7-9

This gospel text is one of the shortest gospel passages that we read during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. There are only three verses which are about some rumors or gossips about Jesus that made King Herod perplexed. Where is the good news in this?  I think the last sentence can lead us to the message of the good news: “And he kept trying to see Him.”

King Herod wanted to see Jesus, not because he was ready to believe in Him and to do what he would demand and maybe to finally give up his brother’s wife, as the Baptist had already demanded, but he wanted to see him out of curiosity. He was not interested in seeing whether Jesus was truly a prophet, perhaps even the Messiah. Obviously, Herod was not really interested in Jesus, especially not in his message. He regarded Jesus only out curiosity maybe to see Jesus entertaining him with some magic acts. Or maybe he was perplexed about Jesus, because he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist who came back to life.  He had great guilt in his heart since he was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and killed.

On our part, what is our interest in Jesus like? Sometimes we seem to reflect Herod’s attitude. Sometimes we find ourselves in the Church without any intention of prayer. We are only curious about what is going on. It is a good opportunity to ask ourselves: What is my interest in coming to Church? What is my interest in Jesus? Is it shallow, merely a curiosity to know him historically? Do I seek to know Jesus as Savior, as Lord, as the Son of God? What does Jesus mean to us in our everyday lives? Is Jesus real to us, not only as the Risen Lord in heaven, but also as the risen Lord present in the Eucharist, in the Gospels, in the Church, in my brothers and sisters? What would I answer if a non-Christian asked me: “Who is this man, about whom I have heard all these reports?”

As Christians, it is our task to introduce Christ to world and help the world to enjoy the peace of the Truth of Christ. In order to do this, we must know Christ very well, ourselves. Let us enrich ourselves with the knowledge of God so that we may also tell others of Him.”

I am old today. As a boy, I had the bad habit of suspecting people wrongly, of accusing them unjustly, of branding them as bad or putting them in boxes. My father detested that kind of attitude. Being a fair man, he encouraged me to be open-minded and to look at the goodness in people. Whenever I would suspect people, accuse them or put them in boxes, as a way to stop me, my father would say, “It takes one to know the other.”

It might be true; a thief will be angry at his fellow thief. If you are angry at certain people perhaps you see something of yourself in them. It takes one to know the other. In the same way, that it also takes one good person to recognize another good person. Herod the Tetrarch, whom we just heard about in the gospel, could not recognize Jesus because, indeed, it takes one to know another. It takes one Jesus to know another Jesus. Herod did not have enough of Jesus in his heart. This is why he could not recognize Jesus even when Jesus came face to face with him. It takes one to know the other.

If we are unable to recognize Jesus in one another, could it be because we have not yet discovered Jesus in our hearts? If we have not yet seen the face of God in one another, could it be because we are not with Jesus? This is why we cannot recognize Him in others. When was I like King Herod? In the midst of my insecurity do I weigh things sufficiently and seek proper advice? Do I also seek Jesus in my moments of insecurity?

“Conscience is God’s built-in warning system. We should be happy when it bothers us.  We should be worried if it does not.”