SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES
Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
My dear encountered couples:
King Herod was haunted by what he had done to John the Baptist. That’s why he was so quick to think Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life. He knew he had done wrong and deserved to be punished for his crime. Do you suppose he was haunted by the memory of beheading John for the rest of his life? He should have given better thought to what he was about to do before he did it. Maybe we should take that suggestion to heart more often.
Most likely, we will not have to be confronted with the deeply dark levels of activities central to this gruesome history: murder, lying, deadly deception, extreme evil, vicious violence and raucous retribution. But is there anything you ever did that haunts you? You may have confessed it in confession and light candles religiously to show your regret, but it still bothers you, the memory just won’t leave you alone. And it doesn’t have to be anything really serious like pushing your best friend in front of a bus for criticizing the color of your hair; it can just be a word you said at a party, a remark you made over the telephone. “Why did I say that? How could I even think such a thing?”
We could all probably put a little more thought into our words before we speak them. Time usually takes care of smoothing such things out, but family feuds have been started, friends and their ways have been parted by an unkind word, a thoughtless remark dropped from a lip with an attitude.
“Herod the tetrarch, having heard of Jesus’ reputation, exclaimed to his courtiers, “This man is John the Baptizer, raised from the dead.” He should have thought about the consequences of what he was about to do before he did it. And so more often should we.
Let us pray. Loving God, teach us your ways and give us the courage to live faithful to your call to live and love as Jesus taught us and as your Holy Spirit invites us.
