23/09/2021 Reflection 1284 (Bro. Alson Pais OP on Luke 9:7-9)
Like us on Facebook at / indiandominicans write to us: [email protected] Website: www.dominicans.in My dear brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel we read about the perplexity of King Herod when he heard about Jesus. Herod had imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist. The reason behind this cruel treatment was John the Baptist had confronted him regarding his illicit relationship with his brother’s wife. John the Baptist was the voice that cried out in the wilderness, proclaiming about repentance and preparing the way for the Lord. This voice was smothered and killed by King Herod. And when he heard about Jesus he was perplexed. My dear brothers and sisters, even today the voice that cries out in the wilderness is smothered and killed. It is the voice that is found in all of us. It is the voice through which God speaks to us, the inner voice. “The father dwelling … in my own depths communicates to me,” writes the modern mystic Thomas Merton. It is this voice, whenever we do something which is not good, confronts us. Just as John the Baptist confronted Herod for his wrong conduct. But like Herod, we may shun this voice. The reason behind shunning this voice may be many. Maybe because of our pride, our selfish motives, may be because of the crowd mentality which calls us to abandon this voice and settle with the comfort of conventional wrong ideas. But today’s Gospel beautifully illustrates how Herod is given a second chance. Herod, though he had killed the voice, he has been given a second chance to repent his sins and mend his way of life. For, the news about Jesus had reached his ears. The voice he had killed, but now the Word himself had come. My dear brothers and sisters, the gospel shows that when we shun our inner voice and go astray, Jesus, the word of God, comes in search of us. Like a good shepherd who leaves behind all the ninety-nine sheep in order to find the lost one. The inner voice is the source through which God speaks to us. Whenever we shun our voice, the Word of God manifests himself before us through varied ways, maybe through scriptures as he did to St Augustine, maybe through a vision as he did to St Paul, maybe through our own fellow beings who are in need of love and care as he did to St Teresa of Kolkata, maybe through our daily household chores as he did to St Teresa of child Jesus. By manifesting himself through varied ways he once again rejuvenates our inner voice which we throttle. The only thing we need to do is to be open to welcome the Word into our lives, the source of our inner voice. Let us then dear brothers and sisters, ask for the grace so that when we shun our inner voice, we may recognize the manifest Word who is Christ Jesus himself. Amen #dominicanmediamission #DOMINICANFRIARSINDIA