Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Luke 9:7-9)
Nothing belies the first reading today more than the second. The preacher Qoheleth says, “There is nothing
new under the sun,” but Herod is startled by what he hears of Jesus. Since Jesus, things have not been like they
used to be nor can they ever be so again.
He has changed the world uniquely.
Once on Christmas Eve it started to snow. The white flakes were falling gently to the
earth in the dusk of the evening. People
were rightly worrying about traffic jams as they hurried home and then to
services. But the snow was a reminder of
the wonder of the birth of Christ.
Heaven was coming to earth in beauty and peace.
Christ has renewed our hearts. Because of him, we know – despite appearances
to the contrary – that we have an eternal destiny. We want to let his words and example form our
lives. We want them to root out the
egotism that makes it seem like things will never change.
