Gospel LK 9:7-9

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
But Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
Reflection:
Herod the tetrarch was a cruel and ruthless ruler. He beheaded John the Baptist without regard for man or God.
Hearing of the miracles that Jesus was performing,  Herod was frightened that John’s spirit had come back to haunt him.
Herod  the tetrarch was the son of Herod the Great, an even more ruthless ruler than himself.
Each of us is shaped by our environment and the influences of people in our life.
Herod the tetrarch’s father was the King, who, upon hearing of the birth of the Messiah, sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to murder every male child under the age of two.
Is it any wonder that someone raised in such an environment would become so immoral?
Still, like you and me, Herod was made in the image of God.
Curious about Jesus, Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.”
No matter how far a person has strayed from the purity of his birth, there lies deep within every human heart the desire to know God.
“There is no heart so distorted that God cannot reshape it.”   – –  Unknown