Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, February 28, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Herod was suffering from a guilty conscience. John had called him out on his unlawful marriage to his brother’s ex-wife. Herod would have liked to kill John outright, but he was afraid to set off the crowds of John’s adorers. So he stuck him in jail and figured that was the end of it. But This same brother’s ex-wife—now his wife, Herodias—hatched a plan to force Herod’s hand. In the end, Herod was tricked into executing John.
Now here comes Jesus and everyone is talking about his incredible prophetic powers and presence. Herod starts having a moment like in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, where his guilt leads him straight into irrational speculation. Jesus must be John the Baptist raised from the dead, he thinks. I killed John and he’s come back even more powerful. Is he going to come for me? Are my days numbered?
Guilt is poison to the mind and heart. It drives us into shame and self-hatred. It separates us from those around us. It makes us question our very sanity. The only antidote to this poison is forgiveness. God’s forgiveness, which is freely given without our even having to ask for it, and self-forgiveness, which is far harder to achieve, but with God’s help is possible. I don’t know if Herod ever found that forgiveness for what he did to John the Baptist. All I know is that there is nothing I have done or left undone that God can’t help me forgive myself for.
What do I need to forgive myself for today?
