John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Today’s Gospel reading describes an age-old clash between good and evil: John proclaims what is truthful, and Herod’s wife holds a deadly grudge. It sounds like the beginning of a murder mystery, an archetypal human story. Anybody can harbor this grudge to kill, if not literally, then certainly in spirit. Although Jesus doesn’t appear in this passage, what he said elsewhere in the Gospel applies: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” The body survives what can devastate the soul, and there are those whose grudges mean to destroy the soul.
God, help me understand that I will encounter in my life people whose aim is to persecute me and other Christians because of you. Because I am Christian, there are people who mean to mistreat me. Against that, there is power that shines through in words and deeds inspired by the Holy Spirit. From the first reading, Saint Paul says, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” It’s hard for me to imagine someone as tough and resilient as Saint Paul saying that he was afraid. But although he came in weakness and fear and trembling, he knew his strength was in the crucified and risen Christ and “with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”
Jesus, I know you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. How is it that the body given up to crucifixion is the body that becomes our Eucharistic food, your real presence? Against any doubt I might have in your real presence, it is no trick or deception that you are there before me. Stay with me today and shield all who are persecuted—body and soul—by the work of the Evil One because of your holy name.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.