As you think about Herod and his place in the life of Jesus, there is, so it seems, deep within this man more than an ounce of hope. Hope is real in our hearts when we are willing and free to make a Leap of Faith (the name of a movie and a soon to be produced Broadway play).
For hope to be real, for hope to give us new inspiration and direction we have to discover if we have truly opened our hearts to Jesus and the message he brings to us.
How many would have accepted Herod or even been aware from his words that deep within the very unpopular king was seeking acceptance, seeking to end the confusion in his life? And, to be honest, how many times have we come upon others who are in the same boat? And, most likely, we, too, have been pulling a oar in the same boat.
Our role as followers of Jesus is to be open -- open to his words to us, open to him present in others especially in those who may not think or speak or act as we would like of them. Read carefully the words of Jesus about Herod and try to gain his sense of helping a confused and troubled man.
So what, then, is hope? How do we bring it into our lives and ultimately into the lives of others? If we do not fully understand it, how can we enjoy the graces it offers us?
So what, then, is hope? How do we bring it into our lives and ultimately into the lives of others? If we do not fully understand it, how can we enjoy the graces it offers us?
