Am I a John the Baptist or an Herodias, a Herod?

Today we celebrate the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel reading relates the circumstances that led to his beheading. We have the contrast of two persons: one who is in sync with the will of God, who, in the words of Micah 6:8, does “what is right,”  loves “loyalty” (to God and to one’s faith) and walks “humbly” with his God.  Herod, Herodias and their daughter, on the contrary, are in sync with this world’s values, are blinded by their egos and guided by selfishness and sin.

 All of us face the same challenges: to listen to the good spirits within us or to follow bad spirits, to be alert to that which is of God or that which is not of God, that is, the voice of selfishness, maliciousness, evil inclinations, that of  pleasing the crowd and clinging to a decision that we have come to know, in our heart of hearts, is not of God’s making.  We can choose to avoid embarrassment when we are wrong and follow through with poor choices or humbling ourselves to do what is right when others are clamoring for us to follow ways contrary to the Commandments and to Gospel living.