Mtr Mary Trainor

“(Herod)...tried to see him.” Luke 9:9c

Dear friend,

Driving along the other day, I activated my music library through Siri. Something went wrong. Instead of playing the artist I requested, Siri mobilized my entire music library. It took awhile to realize what happened. The choices went from Willie Nelson to Chopin to Bruce Springsteen to Ella Fitzgerald. I was perplexed at first, but when the Christmas music started I knew for sure that Siri had gone rogue.

I didn’t know how to fix it so I simply enjoyed some holiday music. As I drove along to “O Little Town of Bethlehem” one verse stood out in that hair-on-the-neck sort of way that says to pay attention: “Cast out our sin and enter in, be born to us today.”

Herod Antipas was one of the most loathsome figures in history. He had some Biblical rivals in the loathsome category, to be sure: His father, Herod the Great, ordered the massacre of infants in hope of eliminating the Baby Jesus. Then, of course, there’s Judas Iscariot, the betrayer.

Today we engage the wonderfully rich passage from Luke (9:1-17) that begins with Jesus’ sending out of the Twelve and ends with him feeding the five thousand. Wedged between these two historic Gospel moments there is this small sentence: (Herod) tried to see him.

In previous readings, I have been almost annoyed by the placement of the brief Herod section between two major events in Jesus’ journey. Today, what once seemed an interruption now has my full attention: Herod tried to see him.

Weak, greedy, in love with power, Herod had many shameful and cruel deeds on his resume. Among the most unsavory, however, was when he married his brother’s wife. That landed him in trouble with John the Baptist, which led to John’s arrest and ultimate beheading.

We sense from other Gospel accounts that Herod not only feared John, he also respected him, seeking his counsel even while the Baptist was jailed. Herod acknowledged that John was a holy man.

Now Herod has heard of Jesus’ activities, and it startles him. Who is this man? Is he the ghost of John? And so he tries to see him.

Do we recognize the power of God working in Herod? Did John’s prophetic words penetrate the hard exterior? Do we catch a glimpse, however fleeting, of vulnerability? A longing? A hope for meaning? Something “more” that could not be satisfied through power and ambition?

All humanity is born—even the Herods—in the image of God. We bear the imprint of the Creator’s Love. And we bear it always. Sin comes to us along the way. It lures us with promises of an easier path, of success and power and fame. Often we submit to its call. Herod certainly did, over and over. Even so, the voice of the Maker was still within, beckoning to Herod. Did he hear the call of the Holy One? Did he try to answer?

“Cast out our sin and enter in, be born to us today.”

Mtr. Mary