IN SEARCH OF MEANING

September 23, Thursday

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      The Edict of Darius let the Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem. Much reconstruction was waiting for them, but those who had remained in the land feared to be dispossessed of the land they had occupied in the meantime. The prophet Haggai reprimanded the returnees for building luxurious houses for themselves, while the temple still lay in ruins. Was this perhaps not the reason why there were many natural disasters?

      Herod, too, was puzzled about this man Jesus. He wanted to see this strange prophet about whom there were so many rumors. Does Jesus, do the gospel and life and our faith puzzle us? Are we in constant search of the deeper meaning of our Christian life?

 

First Reading: Haggai 1:1-8

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God’s Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
    but you haven’t much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
    but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
    but you’re always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
    but you can’t get warm.
And the people who work for you,
    what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
    a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.

That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.”

Then God said:

“Here’s what I want you to do:
    Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
    Do it just for me. Honor me.

 

Gospel: Luke 9:7-9

 Herod, the ruler, heard of these goings on and didn’t know what to think. There were people saying John had come back from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, still others that some prophet of long ago had shown up. Herod said, “But I killed John—took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?” Curious, he looked for a chance to see him in action.

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
you came to make all things new
through Jesus Christ, your Son.
Let him question us
and let us question ourselves
whether we give him in our lives
the place he deserves.
Make him the meaning
of all we are and do,
for he is our risen Lord for ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Who is he?

Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. Although not strictly speaking a ‘king’, Matthew and Mark gave him that title – following popular usage. Herod has recently beheaded John the Baptist. But now he is puzzled because he is being told that Jesus is the same John the Baptist risen from the dead.
Herod asks himself who this Jesus is, who is the talk of the town. The person of Jesus often prompted questions of this sort: Who is he? Where does he come from? When Jesus went to the synagogue of Nazareth for the first time, his own native people began to raise similar questions: where did he learn these things? We know him well; he is the carpenter’s son. After Jesus silenced that storm in the sea, Peter and the apostles raised the same question: “Who is this that even the heavens and the earth, the wind, the rain and even the storms obey him? Who is he?”
These questions may be asked out of curiosity. Have we ever asked ourselves this question? Who is Jesus to me? How do I know him? We do know the answers – in the Bible, through the sacraments, in prayer.
Pope Francis reflects on this passage and says that we come to know a lot about Jesus in the Catechism, and we should study it. However, the fact remains that knowing about Jesus through the Catechism “is not enough”: knowing him with the mind is a step in the right direction, but “in order to know Jesus, we need to enter into a dialogue with him. By talking with him, in prayer, on our knees. If you don’t pray, if you don’t talk to Jesus,” he said, “you don’t know him”.
The Pope in his reflection also speaks of a third way to know Jesus: “It is by following him, by going with him, by walking with him along the road of his ways”. If you know Jesus with these three languages: of mind, heart and action, then you can say that you know Jesus”. Therefore, in order truly to know him, it is necessary to read “what the Church tells us about him, to speak with him in prayer and to walk along the path of his ways with him”. This is the road, and everyone has a decision to make.

 

Video available on Youtube: Who is he?