“John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” (Lk 9:9)
FIRST READING: ECCL 1:2-11
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.
What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!”
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.
There is no remembrance of the men of old;
nor of those to come will there be any remembrance
among those who come after them.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY: LK 9:7-9
From the Gospel according to Luke
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.
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Lk 9:7-9)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
Today's Word of God tells all humanity that: the life of Jesus Christ when He was on earth was a mystery, because He was both true God and true man.
God is the God of love. He gave up everything in Heaven to come down to earth as a human, to die and be resurrected to save humanity. On the path through which Jesus preached the Gospel, He continued the mission of John the Baptist. He preached and performed more miracles than John to show people that power and strength come from God. He raised the dead, restored sight to the blind, gave hearing to the deaf, and made the lame walk; and Jesus' reputation spread throughout the land of Judea and Israel.
Because the news about Jesus had spread throughout all the nations of that time, when it reached the ears of King Herod, the king who ruled the people. The king longed to meet Jesus, the man with talent and power to perform many miracles, simply because he was curious and investigated the miracles that Jesus had performed.
Through the actions of King Herod, God wanted to tell everyone: come to God, come to the mystery of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, do not seek to be curious about the miracles that Jesus had performed, instead come to listen to God's call to repent and abandon the path of sin, to reconcile with God, to reconcile with your brothers and sisters, that is the miracle that God invites everyone to seek. Live and practice according to the teachings of Jesus when he was on earth. Do not be like King Herod, who only wanted to meet Jesus Christ because he was curious to see miracles. However, he did not practice, did not live lovingly as Saint John invited.
Today's Word of God teaches everyone a lesson, which is:
- We must fear God above all things and love others as ourselves
- We must always avoid sin so that God may answer our prayers and petitions.
- Do not live in the same way as Herod, who did not fear God. He thought he had all the power over his people and country so he could do whatever he wanted. Because in this world, there is only one God who is the only king over all mankind.
- Always worship and fear one king, that is God, who has all the power over our bodies and souls. Those who live according to God's teachings will be protected by God and receive eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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