The Holy Martyrs Zenobius and Zenobia His Sister; Blessed Hieromartyr Olesky Zarytsky, priest.
Colossians 1:24-29; Luke 9:7-11.
Read Luke 9:7-11
In ancient China, the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent expeditions to search for the elixir of immortality. He feared death so deeply that he squandered wealth and lives chasing legends of islands where eternal life might be found. Ironically, the potions he took hastened his end, poisoned by the very cure he sought.
In today’s Gospel, Herod is also restless before the mystery of life and death. Word about Jesus reaches him, and he is perplexed: some say John the Baptist risen, others Elijah, others a prophet. Herod wonders, “Who is this about whom I hear such things?” The powerful king, surrounded by privilege and fear, cannot escape the question of Jesus. Like Qin Shi Huang, he wants answers, but without conversion. Curiosity without repentance leaves him unsettled.
By contrast, the crowds who seek Jesus find not confusion but clarity. They follow Him into the wilderness. He welcomes them, speaks of the kingdom of God, and heals those in need. Where Herod sits in a palace perplexed, ordinary people sit in the dust and receive life.
The contrast is deliberate. Worldly power, haunted by conscience, wonders who Jesus is but dares not draw near. The humble, desperate, and broken come close and are healed.
This Gospel presses us to ask: are we more like Herod, intrigued but uncommitted, or like the crowd, hungry and open? Jesus still welcomes, still speaks of the kingdom, still heals. The question is not who He is—Scripture answers that clearly. The question is whether we will go out to Him or remain in the safety of our self-constructed palaces.