HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I.
THEME: The beheading of John the Baptist.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Hebrews 13:1-8
Psalm 26:1,3,5,8-9
Mark 6:14-29
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
GREEN
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
Today’s first reading calls on us to ‘keep in mind those who are in prison, as those you were in prison with them’. We are reminded of the words of Jesus in the gospels, ‘I was in prison and you came to see me’. He doesn’t say, ‘I was unjustly imprisoned and you came to see me’. Jesus identifies himself with all prisoners; those who visit them visit him. In caring for those in prison, we care for the Lord himself; in rejecting or ignoring those in prison we reject and ignore the Lord.
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*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
In the gospel reading, John the Baptist is in the prison of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. His treatment in prison is in stark contrast to the call of Jesus in the gospels and the call of today’s first reading. He had challenged Herod for breaking God’s law by marrying Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. It seems that it was Herodias who put pressure on Herod to put John in prison. Nothing has changed much.
When Herod offered to give her daughter whatever she wanted, after she danced for him, Herodias prompted her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod was too morally weak to refuse her request. Jesus would suffer a similar fate at the hands of powerful people, because they found his message too disturbing.
*CONCLUSION*
How do we respond when we hear a word addressed to us that leaves us feeling uncomfortable? We can be tempted to make little of the messenger rather than being open to the possibility that the Lord may be saying something important to us through this message that we find so unsettling. It is always worth asking, ‘Is the Lord trying to show me something here?
May we all have a Blessed Weekend.
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