24 September 2026 Thursday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Lk 9:7-9
Today is Thursday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Luke describes the reaction of Herod the tetrarch when he heard of all Jesus had done, and the response of the Jewish people of Jesus’ time. I would like to offer some reflections on this text.
First, Saint Luke tells us: Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening, and he was utterly perplexed (cf. Lk 9:7).
In our own lives we meet all manner of people, who often tell us of the things they have experienced. Herod was no different: no doubt some told him of the events unfolding among the Jewish people. Jesus of Nazareth was proclaiming His Kingdom and His heavenly Father; He was healing the sick, driving out demons, and raising the dead to life. All this left Herod bewildered.
Next, Saint Luke records: Some said, “John has been raised from the dead.” Others said, “Elijah has appeared.” Still others said, “One of the ancient prophets has risen” (cf. Lk 9:8). They spoke thus because they recognized in Jesus the likeness of John the Baptist and the marks of a risen ancient prophet. Like John, Jesus preached repentance and proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom. Filled with the spirit of Elijah, He always did His Father’s will. By His Precious Blood poured out on the Cross, and the water that flowed from His pierced side, by the Spirit of truth whom He sent to His Apostles after His resurrection, and by His most holy Body and Blood given to us at the Last Supper, He safeguards all those whom the Father has given Him. All who believe in Him, and who receive Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, no longer live solely for this passing world, but for the world of God which He proclaims — rekindling in them a longing for the happiness of eternal life, and enabling them to live this present life well.
Finally, Saint Luke tells us: But Herod said, “John I beheaded; who then is this about whom I hear such things?” He kept seeking to see Him (cf. Lk 9:9). Clearly, Herod never truly accepted Jesus. This is plain to see in the same Evangelist’s account of Herod’s encounter with Jesus: When Herod saw Jesus, he was overjoyed. He had long wanted to see Him, having heard about Him and hoping to see some sign performed by Him. So he questioned Jesus at length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers treated Him with contempt, mocking Him, arraying Him in a splendid robe, and sending Him back to Pilate (cf. Lk 23:8-11). In Herod’s mind, only a great prophet like Elijah could raise the dead (cf. 1 Kgs 17:17-24); only the prophets of old could declare the mysteries hidden by God from ages past. He dismissed Jesus as merely a carpenter, whose mother was Mary and whose father was Joseph — and he never acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God.
Today, we are called to be children of God. This means learning from Jesus to understand the Kingdom of God rightly; it means imitating John the Baptist and Elijah, growing in likeness to Christ in thought, word, and deed, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, living this life well, proclaiming God’s love for the world, and bearing witness to that love in our actions.
O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbor, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
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