Thursday, September 24, 2020 - 25th week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9, 7-9 - I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord. No one goes to the Father without passing through me.
It is in this Gospel that we can say that "the righteous shall not die". Even after the death of John the Baptist, whom he had beheaded, Herod did not have a clear conscience; he was obsessed with the question: "But who is this man of whom I hear such things spoken? John the Baptist, who would have disturbed his pleasures, is no more. It is certain that he did not believe in the resurrection to dare to think that John had risen from the dead. His conscience is so troubled that even at night he cannot sleep and his thoughts are gone. John is called the forerunner of Jesus; he is a righteous man whom Jesus himself seems to continue and fulfill the truth he stood for, for he testified of Jesus, that Jesus who is truth and life.
Suddenly Jesus became famous for performing many miracles. Herod reflects those who did wrong, thinking that death would silence the truth. Now Jesus, the perfect Truth, has awakened Herod's conscience. As a result, he wanted to see Jesus. He wants to see Jesus because he seems to be a competitor who distracts the attention of the crowd from him. When Jesus was condemned, he saw, but it was a meeting that did not lead him on the path of repentance. It was not a desire that led to conversion and salvation.
For us, the desire to see Jesus will bring us happiness, leading us to a union of life with Him. Meeting Him leads us to new life. We see Jesus when we pray together, we see Jesus in various sacramental celebrations especially the Eucharist, we see Jesus among the poor: those who are persecuted for justice, those who are oppressed. In other words, when we do the good of the poor, we do it to Jesus himself. So for us disciples of Jesus, these acts of love for God and neighbor ease our conscience, bring joy and peace. Amen.
