HEROD the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him."

Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Today’s Gospel takes the form of a flashback. Long after Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded, he is haunted by the memory. The stories about Jesus’ powerful ministry remind Herod of the Baptist. The tetrarch is troubled in his conscience. If conscience is truly the "little voice of God in our hearts," the story shows that God never gives up on Herod. God is trying to reach out to Herod. The problem is Herod never ventures beyond curiosity and guilty feeling. Herod never makes a move to make amends.

Herod cannot forget what he did to John the Baptist. Memories of traumatic and powerful experiences embedded themselves deep into the person’s mind and heart. Healing of memories is not all about forgetting traumas and unpleasant events. In healing our memories, God makes us retain our recall of persons and events. Yet God changes the way we look into all these.

Jesus is considered by the people as a prophet and a miracle worker. Yet to the haunted Herod, he is a threat and a specter, because he is thought to be the Baptist redivivus. Herod will try to kill him to remove the specter. But the specter is in him.

SOURCE: "365 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.