The Desire to See God

Homily for Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s passage can be divided into three distinct steps by Herod. First, Herod hears about all that is happening. Second, he is perplexed by what people are saying. Third, he keeps or continues trying to see Jesus. Although Herod is not commonly perceived in Scripture as an archetype for the spiritual life, his actions here do model an appropriate method for the spiritual life. Having heard about Jesus, Herod is perplexed which evokes a response – he hears, then considers, and then responds. As a result of hearing and of thinking he responds with the desire to see Jesus. To quote Luke: “And he kept trying to see him.”

There are many references in Scripture to the desire for a person to see God, face-to-face. If Herod was not acting on the basis of the threat that Jesus might be to his throne, his desire to see Jesus might have led him to repentance. This is where Herod trips up. Herod sees Jesus as a threat. Herod has heard things about Jesus and the power he has to heal and cure the sick, to expel demons, and to preach impressive sermons. He probably wants to see Jesus so that he can assess any weaknesses which he might use if Jesus threatens to take away his leadership role.

Though Jesus might be viewed as a threat to someone in power, the challenge that is brought by Christ is over the reign of sin, not over an earthly king. The power that Herod fears is the power that will save us and might have saved him as well. To gaze into the eyes of Jesus is to know life everlasting.

While Herod desires to see Jesus out of fear, we desire to see God because we know that God saves. The power of Christ is real, and we know that our desire to see Christ is to know his power to save us from sin.