Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 5, 2021
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.
Herod has an issue with John the Baptist. John called out Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias. For this offense, Herod has him arrested and thrown in prison.
There is a very interesting wrinkle in this story. Herodias wants John to be executed but Herod protects him because he “feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man.” Herod certainly understands that there would be political consequences for killing a popular public figure for doing nothing more than stating the facts about his unlawful marriage. The interesting wrinkle is the line: “When he [Herod] heard him [John], he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.”
Herod, liked to listen to him. Herod was under no obligation to listen to John. He had the power to keep John locked away so that he wouldn’t have to listen to him and no one else could be influenced by his preaching. And yet, he let him speak. What’s more, he enjoyed listening to him even though “he was greatly perplexed” by John. Clearly, John was not offering empty platitudes like the others in Herod’s royal court. He was prompting Herod to really think.
Who are the people in my life who may seem to be adversaries but may actually be messengers–or even prophets–if I would take the time to listen to them? Do I have the intellectual courage to enjoy being perplexed by someone who holds a different worldview than my own?
Herod is certainly no hero in this story but if this passage is a tragedy of John the Baptist it is also, in a sense, a tragedy of Herod. If only he might have continued to listen to John, perhaps he might have moved from perplexity to conversion. We have the opportunity to do what Herod did not: we can hear the witness of this strange prophet and heed his resounding cry: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”
Prayer
Lord, you suffered the news of the death of your herald and companion John the Baptist. Yet you also discerned in his death the power of his faith, for he was willing to give everything for his belief in God. Be close to us and those we love in all our trials. Help us to rely on the power of our faith in you, that our witness in times of trial may be a light for others. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Agatha is one of the most famous virgin martyrs in the Catholic tradition. Like many early saints, it can be difficult to know what aspects of her legend are historically accurate, but her witness to the faith is undoubtedly a source of ongoing inspiration for us today.
It is said that she was a young, beautiful girl from a rich and well-known family in the early Church. As young girl, she resolutely declared herself a Christian in the midst of a persecution and promised her life to God.
A Roman official who admired her beauty tried to blackmail her. He threatened to charge her as a Christian unless she consented to sex with him. She refused, so he placed her in a brothel. There, she denied customers, and was thrown into prison, where she was beaten and tortured.
None of this succeeded in turning her from her faith, and she was sent back to her cell without food or drink for four days. There, she was comforted by a vision of St. Peter, who filled her dungeon with heavenly light.
She was further tortured until death. One of the tortures she suffered was to have her breasts cut off, which is why she is patron against breast cancer.
St. Agatha is named in one of the Eucharistic prayers at Mass and her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Her image was created by Matthew Alderman '06 and is used here with his permission. In it, she holds a smoldering bowl and a metal snipper. She is honored in Sicily because devotion to her has stopped eruptions of the nearby volcano, Mt. Etna. By extension, she is patron saint of guilds of bell makers, either because fire alarms use bells, or because the casting of a bell involves lava-like molten metal.
Her feast day is a major celebration for the people of Sicily, where she was martyred, both because of her protection and because she is an emblem of the people's struggle against Roman rule. The motto below her image reads, Mentem sanctam spontaneam, honorem Deo et patriae liberationem, which translates to, "A Saintly and spontaneous mind, love of God and liberation of the homeland."
St. Agatha, patron saint for protection from breast cancer and fire—pray for us!
Image Credit: Illustration by Notre Dame alumnus Matthew Alderman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of his art. Used here with permission.