Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 9:7-9

“John I beheaded.  Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”

Herod the Tetrarch was greatly perplexed about the testimony being given by various individuals about Jesus.  His perplexity is understandable, given that the testimonies differ greatly.  The evangelist notes in today’s Gospel passage that Herod kept trying to see Jesus.  Yet according to the Gospel accounts, Jesus and Herod the Tetrarch (also known as Herod Antipas) did not meet until Jesus was arrested during Holy Week [Luke 23:8].

In this we have a portrait:  Herod as the modern man in today’s world.  Do we recognize ourselves in this portrait?  Is our interest in encountering Jesus half-hearted, or less than full-hearted?  To what lengths are we willing to go to seek out Jesus in order to encounter Him?  Do we listen to the false witness of others, or seek out a face-to-face encounter with the Lord?  Do we keep the Lord at arm’s length?

Herod is an anti-type of the Christian disciple.  We must be zealous in seeking for the Lord, listening to His Word, and putting His Word into action.