[Originally posted here 12 years ago.]
(For the audio version of this post, visit https://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Mass-Blog-for-the-Fourteenth-Sunday-in-Ordinary-Time-2026.mp3)
Poor King Herod. Which one? Take your pick. They were all pathetic individuals in their lust for power under the boot of the Roman Empire. At the root of that lust was fear; fear of losing the earthly trappings that come with power. Among these are wealth, fame, luxury, ego-stroking and fear itself –the fear the Herods could inflict on others. The Herods were convinced fear would keep them in power. The pathetic thing about such power-lust is that anyone claiming it can never be free from their own burdensome fear of power-loss.
The legacy of the Herods survives to this day in every seat of power around the world. It’s the cause of all wars and the root of all evil. But it was the laws of man from which the Son of Man came to free mankind. His mission was presaged in this Sunday’s first reading from the book of Zechariah (zec 9:9-10):
“See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.”
For the Herods, peace was the enemy because with peace there is no fear, and thus they could wield no power. That’s why Jesus was such a threat to the Herods. His mission: free mankind from slavery to the flesh and release us to the custody of the Holy Spirit. This would allow us to re-enter the realm of innocence for which we were created. In this Sunday’s gospel reading from Matthew (mt 11:25-30) we are invited to reclaim the innocent wisdom God equipped us with at birth but lost as we became enslaved to the human folly our world disguises as wisdom:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. … Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
The curse of Adam was that our souls would be weighed down by our flesh. But our Creator took pity on us and sent his Son to free our souls. Paul reveals the key to that freedom in his letter to the Romans (rom 8:9, 11-13)—under whose empire the Herods used slavery to make their own mortal burden lighter:
“If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
A life free of fear is the Paradise for which God created us. Let’s reclaim it.
–Tom Andel
Trusting in God’s Divine Providence is one of the biggest challenges in life, especially for men, where your worldly value is often equal to your power. Without our fear, the emperors have nothing.
And with our faith, we have everything!
I was struck by the concept of the innocence each person is born with and glorified at our Baptism into the faith. How sad this is so often undermined through our sinful human nature, and the lifelong struggle to stay true to our baptismal promise.
Life’s journey is one constant struggle to prove our love to God above all else. Thanks be to God for the gift of his church to lead the way for us.
Our constant challenge is to prove our love of God to ourselves at key moments throughout our lives.
Yes, fear was the root of the Herods’ pursuit of power. Their wealth, authority, and control were not signs of strength, but symptoms of insecurity. The Herods symbolize the human tendency to seek security through control rather than through trust in God.
At the end of the day, reflecting on life’s trials often reveals where my true loyalties lie. Those moments expose whether I trusted God or clung to the world’s temporary securities. They remind me that placing my confidence not in what I can control, but in God’s providence and grace, leads me closer to the ultimate Good, who is God Himself.
At the end of the days that we measure is the beginning of the One without measure. Thanks for your inspiration, George.
To quote the 20th century poet Notorious BIG, “Mo’ Money, Mo Problemz”. We see how that worked out for both him and his collaborator, Diddy.
So much in our world today revolves around valuing life by possessions and clout. It is easy to see what that path leads to–yet maybe through selective sight, we stay blind to this timeless truth.
I pray for simple peace and contentment for all who read this.
We should also cite the 20th Century bard Jon Bon Jovi, in whose song, “The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same,” he sings, Ah, is it just me or does anybody see? The new improved tomorrow isn’t what it used to be. Yesterday keeps coming ’round, it’s just reality. It’s the same damn song with a different melody.”
And he proved his song correct because he was just repurposing the classic sentiment from the Book of Ecclesiastes which states:
“Nothing is new under the sun! Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. There is no remembrance of past generations; nor will future generations be remembered by those who come after them.*
Could OUR generation prove these scholars wrong?