King Herod Antipas best exemplifies the kind of person who has nothing but fear of Jesus. His name may be associated with that kind of fear as his predecessor, Herod the Great, who massacred young children after Jesus’ birth, and which is found greatly disturbing (Matthew 2:1-18).
Herod had only anxiety about Jesus’ ministry, to the extent that he believed Jesus was John raised from the dead. Herod feared that the
preaching of John was coming true and worse, that Jesus may be the
Messiah who will topple him as King of the Jews.
Perhaps we too may be like Herod at some point in our lives. We may
have heard homilies during Mass that we do not like to hear. We may
have read passages from the Bible that we did not think is logical
or practical. There may have been times the Church called us to
take a stand against an obvious wrong in our country but instead of
taking an active role, we may have found an excuse not to do
anything because it affected our comfortable schedules.
Jesus actively works with us in spreading the Good News and
strengthening the bonds of love within our families and
communities. With his help, let us rid ourselves of our
impassiveness, anxieties, and apathy, which tempts us to do nothing
or keep our distance from God and the Church.