Setting our Agendas Aside

In today’s Gospel, Luke 9: 7-9, Luke tells us about Herod the Tetrarch, who is concerned that John the Baptist, whom he beheaded has returned to life.  John was a threat to Herod—“Don’t tell me he is back,” Herod must have wondered. “I want to see him.”  He is motivated by fear, jealousy, envy.  Jesus is an enemy as was John the Baptist who confronted his immorality.

You and I are not different from Herod. When you and I have made choices that we know are wrong, we, too, fear being exposed.   We know when our ambitions are false, based on jealousy, envy and pride.  In those times, the ego avoids confrontations.  We do not want to be put in a position where we come up short. That is human nature at work, not the work of the Spirit.

Jesus knew Herod’s heart.  When they came face to face in court, Jesus had nothing to say to him. Herod’s heart was hardened. His eyes blinded. His ears deaf to the Word of God, to Truth. He had already compromised  his integrity in the worst possible way: taking the life of a human being to save face. And nothing had really changed—hence the fear of John the Baptist returning to haunt him in the person of Jesus.

We may ask ourselves: are we using religion, religious life, priesthood, marriage, our job or positions for the wrong reasons? Do we want to see Jesus out of curiosity? Do we want to be or do whatever to advance our personal  agendas?   To know the answer to those questions, we need to  be honest with ourselves in the solitude of our hearts. We need to be willing to expose ourselves to grace, to THE Word of God, to lay bare my innermost thoughts before God and allow God to change us.  The agendas we push forward with God are the same agendas we push forward in our day to day affairs  (cf. Mt 25: 31-46--“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me.” That translates into “However you approach your brother and sister, you approach me”).

Yes, living religion sincerely, living our lives with integrity,  is very challenging. It involves total transformation into the mind of Christ. Our personal agendas need to be set aside for God’s agenda.  That is hard to do and can only be done through the Spirit working within us freely.