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| “The Feast of Herod” (detail) by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1633 |
Reading 1: Haggai
1:1-8
On the first day of the sixth
month in the second year of King Darius,
The word of the LORD came
through the prophet Haggai
to the governor of Judah,
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest
Joshua, son of Jehozadak:
Thus says the LORD of
hosts:
This people says:
“The time has not yet come to
rebuild the house of the LORD.”
(Then this word of the LORD
came through Haggai, the prophet:)
Is it time for you to dwell
in your own paneled houses,
while this house lies in
ruins?
Now thus says the LORD of
hosts:
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have
brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not
been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been
exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but
not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with
holes in it.
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
Go up into the hill country;
bring timber, and build the
house
That I may take pleasure in
it
and receive my glory, says
the LORD.
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Commentary on Hg 1:1-8
The Prophet
Haggai was the first of the Minor Prophets and a contemporary of Ezra. It is suggested that he was either a priest
or a cultic prophet heavily involved in temple worship. [4] Here the Prophet calls on the people to rebuild the Temple
in Jerusalem
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of
the faithful.
Let Israel
let the children of Zion
R. The Lord takes delight
in his people.
Let them praise his name in
the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him
with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his
people,
and he adorns the lowly with
victory.
R. The Lord takes delight
in his people.
Let the faithful exult in
glory;
let them sing for joy upon
their couches;
Let the high praises of God
be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his
faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight
in his people.
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Commentary on Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
Psalm 149 is a
communal song of praise, rejoicing in God’s kingship and inviting the faithful
to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the
lowly and hope to the oppressed. The psalmist calls to the faithful to give
praise in the assembly of the people – to give witness to their faith publicly
– communally; as God’s chosen ones.
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Gospel: Luke
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.
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Commentary on Lk 9:7-9
This passage from
St. Luke’s Gospel begins a section that assembles incidents from the life of
the Lord. In this introduction, King
Herod asks the question “Who then is
this about whom I hear such things?” The proposed identities
of Jesus coincide directly with the later report of the disciples to Jesus in Luke
9:18-19. Confusion about Jesus’ identity will be
clarified in the subsequent passages as his divinity is revealed.
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Reflection:
There are days at work, at
school, or in the home when no matter how hard we work, we don’t feel like
we’ve accomplished enough or perhaps done the “right things”. There is an emptiness; a mild feeling of
frustration that we can’t quite pull into focus. It’s like the cherished recipe passed down
from generation to generation but missing one ingredient. It looks the same when finished but when
eaten it’s not quite right – something is missing.
The prophet Haggi points this
out to the people of Israel Babylonia . Haggi sees the temple foundation has been
laid but no further work has been done and points out that no matter how hard
the people work they will not feel prosperity, no matter how much they eat they
will not be filled – there is a missing ingredient and that ingredient is the
worship and praise of God.
In a similar way, King Herod
must feel that, with the loss of St. John the Baptist, something is not quite
right. He questions his advisors
regarding the identity of Jesus about whom he has heard. That queasy feeling that God’s justice is
coming for him is growing again and he needs to know why. He has seen St. John’s head on a platter and
knows Jesus is not the Baptist somehow returned from the dead – but who is
it? It’s the missing ingredient.
Back to our own sense that
something is missing. When we have those
feelings, even if we believe we have done all we should have done in a given
situation, it is likely that we have relied too heavily on our own efforts and
not allowed the Lord to be present in our actions. When we listen to our internal voice of faith,
one cultivated in prayer, echoed in Sacred Scripture, and strengthened in the
sacraments, we will feel complete.
Our prayer today is that all
the ingredients are present and applied in the right order. We pray that the Lord, through the Holy
Spirit will support the work of our hands this day and bring us peace.
Pax
[1]
S.S
Commemoratio
[2]
The picture is “The Feast of Herod” (detail) by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1633
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, pp.388, 6
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