Why King Herod Couldn’t See Jesus and Its Implications for Us!

Why King Herod Couldn’t See Jesus and Its Implications for Us!

Over the last several days we hear that the Israelites return home to Israel.

The Persian king tells the Israelites to go home and build a temple to God. We hear, while they agree, the Israelites do return home, but do not immediately build a temple. They build homes for themselves to try to get things back to where they were before. Hear more within the Homily and its significance.

In today’s Gospel we hear an odd reading. We hear that King Herod is confused as to who Jesus really is! He is told he is another John the Baptist. That is not possible, since he had John beheaded. Herod is confused and wants to meet Jesus.

Why do we have this Gospel reading? Why is this important?

There is something curious within this brief reading. Herod is curious and puzzled by Jesus. Many calls Jesus a great prophet, but Herod doesn’t know who this one is. He recognizes Jesus but is unclear who Jesus is. Then the Gospel reading ends with a curious statement. King Herod kept trying to see him. What an odd ending.

Why is it odd? Seeing Jesus was easy enough to do, if one was truly interested in seeing him. He was always surrounded by crowds. It couldn’t be very hard to see Jesus . . . if one wanted to and really tried. The king wanted to see Jesus . . . but couldn’t.

The Holy Spirit, through St. Luke tells us the answer. Seeing Jesus is not a trivial thing. Listen to Why King Herod Couldn’t See Jesus. Listen to this Meditation Media and understand its impact on our own spiritual journey.