Read St. Luke 23:7–12
1. When Pilate found that the Jews were determined on the death of Jesus, he tried to get rid of the responsibility by sending Him to Herod. Herod rejoiced to see Him. In his vanity he expected that Our Lord would be glad to conciliate him by performing some miracle in his presence. Vain expectation! It is only for the humble and pure of heart that Our Lord works miracles. Yet I expect Him to work for me, proud and selfish as I am, miracles of grace, to enable me to easily overcome long-rooted faults, to attain a spirit of prayer and close union with Him. How can I hope for this while I am so full of the worldly spirit of Herod?
2. Our Lord was ready enough to speak to Pilate, and even to Caiphas; but for Herod He had not a word. There is something terrible in this silence in the presence of the sensual, hardened reprobate. There is something in a sensual life that shuts the ears of men so that the whispers of grace never seem to reach them. If I want Our Lord to speak to me, the first thing is to see that I do not indulge my body inordinately.
3. Herod was also the incarnation of self-satisfied worldliness. He was munificent, popular, successful; but he was hateful in God’s sight, and rejected by Him, so that Our Lord showed an aversion to him that He showed to none else. What a lesson for us! The reprobate Herod surrounded by flatterers and admirers; the Eternal Wisdom of God dressed in a fool’s dress and treated as an idiot!
Source: Clarke, R. F. (1889). The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations for Every Day in Lent (p. 33). Benziger Brothers.
1. When Pilate found that the Jews were determined on the death of Jesus, he tried to get rid of the responsibility by sending Him to Herod. Herod rejoiced to see Him. In his vanity he expected that Our Lord would be glad to conciliate him by performing some miracle in his presence. Vain expectation! It is only for the humble and pure of heart that Our Lord works miracles. Yet I expect Him to work for me, proud and selfish as I am, miracles of grace, to enable me to easily overcome long-rooted faults, to attain a spirit of prayer and close union with Him. How can I hope for this while I am so full of the worldly spirit of Herod?
2. Our Lord was ready enough to speak to Pilate, and even to Caiphas; but for Herod He had not a word. There is something terrible in this silence in the presence of the sensual, hardened reprobate. There is something in a sensual life that shuts the ears of men so that the whispers of grace never seem to reach them. If I want Our Lord to speak to me, the first thing is to see that I do not indulge my body inordinately.
3. Herod was also the incarnation of self-satisfied worldliness. He was munificent, popular, successful; but he was hateful in God’s sight, and rejected by Him, so that Our Lord showed an aversion to him that He showed to none else. What a lesson for us! The reprobate Herod surrounded by flatterers and admirers; the Eternal Wisdom of God dressed in a fool’s dress and treated as an idiot!
Source: Clarke, R. F. (1889). The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations for Every Day in Lent (p. 33). Benziger Brothers.
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