Today’s 1st reading is a very brave demonstration of faith in God.
Jeremiah totally surrendered his fate to the hands of those people who are out
to get him even to the point of death so that he could speak out the words that
God asked him to proclaim. What courage and strength that he was willing to go
through it all for the sake of the word of God. We are better off than Jeremiah
knowing that witnessing to the word of God every day of our life does not put us
in a life threatening situation like in his time. This should inspire us to really be of
service to the word of God in our own way as we live our life each day. God
is always there for us. He has been warning and instructing us to change our
ways for the better because He knows exactly what await those who refuse to
follow His path. When we encounter some obstacles or problems in life we must
take them as warning signs from the Lord that life’s road ahead is not passable
or will be a difficult one to take. Or it is better to make a detour and find
another route. No matter what God’s bidding may be there should be no doubt on
our part that each step we make with God’s guidance is always worth
taking. The travel may be long and hard
but it will surely get us where we are going if we just listen to the voice of
the Lord. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Jer 26:11-16, 24
...Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen
to the voice of the LORD your God, so that the LORD will repent of the evil
with which he threatens you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and
right. But mark well: if you put me to death, it is innocent blood you bring on
yourselves, on this city and its citizens. For in truth it was the LORD who
sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear."
We should not have any fear or hesitation in carrying out the task
that the Lord has given us just like Jeremiah. For we know that the Lord in His
great love, is always there for us. What matters most is that we always
call on God and allow His saving power to rescue us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ps 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34
Responsorial Psalm
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Rescue me out of the mire; may I not sink! may I be rescued from
my foes, and from the watery depths. Let not the flood-waters overwhelm me, nor
the abyss swallow me up, nor the pit close its mouth over me. But I am
afflicted and in pain; let your saving help protect me, God,
The gospel reading for today is about the beheading of St. John the Baptist by
King Herod. Based on the gospel his motivations were fear of the people and not
of God and his reputation as king. He was bent on giving everyone what they
want. Why? So he could gain recognition, affection and much attention. For him
it was all about pleasing the crowd and making people happy no matter what the
consequences are. We, too sometimes fall into this trap and maybe we’re not
going around murdering people, killing or harming them as Herod did. We kind of
harm and murder people in different ways. Sometimes by killing their reputation
and damaging their spiritual life. What’s worse is that sometimes we can do
this in many ways and not even aware of it. These are both self centered and
ungodly in nature. We sometimes end up just like King Herod who failed to
act in accordance to what is pleasing to God. We may not have beheaded and
killed a person physically but could be in other aspects whenever we succumb to
selfish and worldly desires. This happens when we are being motivated to do something
based on the standards of men instead of God. In our fight to stand up for what
is right we encounter a lot of difficulties and go through really rough times.
Sometimes we have to cut off ourselves from seemingly legitimate pleasures in
life. It is not easy to uphold the truth but we should not compromise this for
anything in this world. Let us always remain focused on Jesus and the truth. We
are called by Jesus to be light and salt. But it is not easy because we are
surrounded by so many pressures and the trend out there. We have our friends
and relatives who are constantly influencing us. It’s so difficult to make the
right decisions and do the right thing. As we can see in the gospel there is so
much difference in the life of Jesus and John and the life of Herod. Jesus and
John are not concerned about who receives them and who doesn’t because they are
out there to do the will of the Father. Jesus loves us and nothing stops Him.
Not even rejection and not receiving attention and affirmation that we all desire
and crave. We can look into our lives and the things that we do and say on a
daily basis when we’re around our families and friends or in the midst of our
co workers. Attention, affirmation and recognition is not a bad thing but if it
affects and compromises our walk with God then it’s wrong. Overcoming these
things is very difficult but all is possible with the Lord if we are fixed on
Him. We just
don’t rely on hearsays and hand me downs info, do we? Today’s gospel clearly
shows how totally misled Herod was in believing such a thing about Jesus. We
are no different from Herod if we are not clear about the things of our faith.
We must not confuse vital truths in our faith which we sometimes do when we do
not take the initiative of learning, knowing and growing more in our knowledge
of the word of God. As St. Jerome
Matthew 14:1-12
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to
his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the
dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him." Now Herod had
arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the
wife of his brother Philip, 4 for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for
you to have her.” 5 Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for
they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the
daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7
so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8 Prompted by her
mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9
The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were
present, he ordered that it be given, 10 and he had John beheaded in the
prison.
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