“KING HEROD HEARD ABOUT JESUS, FOR HIS FAME HAD BECOME WIDESPREAD.” MK 6:14-29
Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Mk 6:14-29
What happens when we are in a powerful position and our power is threatened? It could be popularity, fame, a high office, a position of authority. The first thing we will think is to take away the threat. This is what King Herod does with John the Baptist. This is the first thought of most humans.
Jesus teaches us, as the most powerful, that in power of position we should be humble, a servant. Jesus, the God-man, the most powerful, taught us to submit ourselves to the will of God. Jesus came to us in the flesh to teach us that the most powerful should be the most humble of servants.
We are called to be in service to others. “If we are to become saints/enter heaven, we have to realize that finally our lives are not about us”. —-excerpt from Bishop Barron “The Strangest Way”
“Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names; so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phil 2: 5-11
Make your own the mind of Christ, empty yourself, be humble, and become a slave for others, especially if you are in a position of authority.
Today’s challenge: Be humble, by your baptism, become a slave of Christ, and do all things in His name, especially if you are in a position of authority.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Recent Comments