February 03, Friday, 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrew 13:1-6 & Mark 6:14-29
The liturgy of the word today is an invitation to preserve brotherly love and not to forget hospitality. It also affirms that, Christians must be freed from any obligation to traditional sacrifices, for, with Jesus, all becomes new and the content of sacrifice is the ethical attitudes. Every ethical attitude is liturgical. Hence, for Christians are imperative: a fraternal charity that is expressed in hospitality and care for the prisoners; respect for the matrimonial union as a place of worship; the detachment from money; the respect for the guides of the community as representatives of Christ.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about defending the truth and denouncing injustices, out of love. The news Herod receives about Jesus leads him to associate him with John the Baptist. Everything indicates that Herod is haunted by the memory of the crime he has committed against the Prophet.
Herod and Herodias personify unjust and impious actions. Both abuse authority, public institutions, and commitments. They squander wealth that should be at the service of the common good, exploit people, extort, they kill arbitrarily and cruelly.
On the other hand, John the Baptist embodies the just who are handed over to the exploiters. He represents those who suffer the consequences of the responsibility of their prophetic mission, of expressing indignation at seeing truth and justice trampled and of exclaiming: that is not right!
This Gospels account makes room for the mission of Jesus and to illuminate the causes and motives of the ultimate destiny of Jesus and his followers. Following Jesus not only involves one’s time and resources, furthermore, it even implies the risk of losing one's own life, bearing witness to Him and defending the truth. A follower of Christ who challenges those in power will surely suffer very important consequences, risking life for the truth.
For reflection:
Considering Herod: what can we learn from the way he grants the daughter’s request?
Considering Herodias? How many times do we cover up the truth for self-interest?
Considering John? What lesson do we learn from his persecution?
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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