The Holy Martyrs Trophimus, Theophilus and those with them (284-305); Miracle of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God against the Invaders (1675)
Read
1 Corinthians 6:20-7:12; Matthew 14:1-13
There is a certain amount of trepidation evident in Herod in today’s Gospel reading. On the one hand, he wants to show his guests that he is a king who keeps his oaths and promises. On the other hand, the oath he swore is outrageous. The oath involves the murder of an innocent man through lustful manipulation. What can this Gospel possibly teach us?
We also make impulsive decisions without first considering the consequences. Usually, after having considered the implications of our decision and how it can affect both our physical and spiritual life, we see the problems with our decision and its negative effects. Fear, however, paralyzes us as it does with Herod. The fear of being mocked, criticized, or hated stops us from changing our mind from the impulsive and often wrong decision to the right and just decision.
Herod had a way out of his impulsive and evil decision yet chose to stick with it. Brothers and sisters, when God offers us the just and right way out of an impulsive and evil decision, may we embrace it without worrying about whether they will mock, criticize, or hate us.