Gospel: Luke 9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly
perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead” others
were saying, “Elijah has appeared” still others, “One of the ancient prophets
has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I
hear such things? And he kept trying to see him.
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Reflection:
Have you experienced being bothered by your conscience?
At the back of his mind Herod was silently asking himself: Who is this
man who is doing what John did? He certainly is not John because I beheaded
John.
Why was Herod bothered by Jesus’ actions? Because Herod thought that John
had risen from the dead and now he is again doing what he has been doing: To
call for repentance, to speak the truth no matter who gets hurt, to heal and so
forth. It was a disturbing déjà vu for the powerful Herod.
Herod was surely bothered for he knows that what he did against John was
against the law of men and God. But Herod was the supreme power during that
time. And as such he could practically do whatever he wants and nobody would
dare cross his path or run after him.
But Herod’s power is limited to this world alone. There’s a much bigger
power which controls everything in this world and everything that is beyond
this world and that is God! Therefore the greater power which is God was
already bothering the mind of Herod. Perhaps Herod was already losing sleep and
incessantly being disturbed by his conscience because of what he did to John.
What is the lesson for us in this gospel episode? Worldly power no matter
how enormous has its limitations too! Because God can pierce and burst that
power whenever He wants. God can do something that is unseen by others to
punish a seemingly powerful and arrogant person.
Therefore we should be careful on how we exercise our power we should not
abuse it! We should know that it has its own limitations. And once we transgress
the limitations of our power the justice of God would be upon us to haunt us as
it haunted Herod. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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