HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMES
Heb 13:1-8, Mark 6:14-29
THEME: THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE
The state of the conscience is capable of adversely affecting sense of judgement. The mind is at ease only when it’s free; with a clear conscience, a taste of eternity is experienced.
Beloved, we can see in today’s gospel how the mere sight of Jesus, brought Herod back to his previous atrocity. And he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
It is quite painful when repressed negative memories resurface again. It may fester old wounds and disturb one’s sanity.
As a result of greed and insatiable lust for a woman, Herod converted the wife of his brother, Philip. When John told him it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife, he was adamant, instead of showing remorse, he imprisoned John. Remarkably, the occasion that gave rise to the beheading of John would have been averted if Herod had listened to him.
In like manner, when we fail to censor our lives or accept faults, we run the risk of creating more rooms for sins. Increase in transgression is tantamount to increased confusion. Everything around us keeps reminding us of our dark past. This can be unsettling until we are bold enough to accept our faults and make amends.
And again, every encounter we have with Jesus, every close walk we have with him will always make us conscious of those areas we need to address.
May our encounter with the Lord help us to make a thorough examination of conscience. And may his spirit lead us to true conversion. Amen.
