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Even in the Darkest of Nights

4th Friday in the Ordinary Time


TODAY'S GOSPEL (Mark 6:14-29) veers away from the ministerial account of Jesus and retells on a portion of the life of Herod and the beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Saint Mark tells on how Herodias, the concubine Herod and the wife of Herod's brother Philip, plotted to have John killed.
 
Of all Herod's faults, he was right in one thing: John was a holy person. Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man and kept him safe (v. 20a). That respect was so strong that even Herodias could not plot to kill John openly. However, although life also involves respect for the beloved, respect is not love. A person can respect another without loving him. And Herod was a slave to his pride, vanity, and sexual impulses. When these vices started to demand commitment, Herod could not deny it even at the cost of killing the holy man John.
 
Herod still had the grace of insight into the heart of John. He knew John accurately enough. But a life devoid of love, and ruled by the excesses of a sinful life, he finally succumbed to another sin--the murder of an innocent man.
 
Loveless life is a life in darkness; although a ray of light may still be available for our eyes to see. A few graces can still reach us. But letting go of the darkness in favor of the light can be almost impossible to do. Usually, the heart and mind had got used to giving in to the demads of sins that the bondage is so strong the person cannot break the chain alone with help from the Divine.
 
And the irony of it, the darker the state of soul is, the weaker the will is to cry to God for help. The only hope remaining lies where the fundamental option of the person is: is it for God? or against God? Because if that fundamental option is not for God, then the prospect of getting out of that dark dungeon of sinfulness would be nil. If the heart of man refuses the love of God--or worse even denies the existence of God--he will turn away from the only light that enters the darkness and focus his sights instead at exploring the darkness. Eventually, he learns by habit to treasure the darkness and can think of even getting out of it.
 
The good thing is the imperfect humanity in us. Imperfect as we are, unlike the angels of perfection, even in our evildoings and sinfulness, we are not perfect too. We are imperfect even in our evildoings. And there too lies the hope of our salvation. Somehow, somewhere, in the mindboggling mystery of God's love, the Holy Spirit might break through the stranglehold of evil and sins; and God manages to rescue the person from perdition.
 
That's the worst prognosis a soul can be. But for those of us who continued to love imperfectly, who still opted for God through an imperfect and weak will, whose love still smacked of self-love somehow, we can be more fortunate than we ever realized. The grace of God is so much with us, working each moment each day to help us be transformed into a true reflection of our Father. We need only to let ourselves be loved by God, letting His love consume our being and put it on fire with His love. That's treasure that we are invited to partake as a child of God.
 
FATHER, thank you for the undying and ever-faithful love that you have for me. Thank you for your patience on my imperfections, even in times I ignore You and even insulted You with how I live this life You have given me. Above all, thank you for making me Your child, very unworthy as I am, a brother/sister to Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
LORD, thank you for the sacrifice that you have made so that the love of God be opened to us overflowing. Thank you for always staying with us through the Holy Spirit, and continuing to join us in our most heart-rending disasters in life. Thank you for lending your arms in carrying us in times when we can no longer stand or walk in our own strength. Thank you for keeping us safe as we trudge the dangerous pathways back home to the Father. Amen.
 
 
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