The authority of mystery

The Gospel for today (Thursday, Week 25 of OT) recounts the perplexity of Herod the Tetrarch (Lk 9:7-9). Presumably he has heard about the great miracles this man from Nazareth has wrought: raising the dead to life, casting out demons, quelling storms, and healing the sick and lepers. Quite naturally, Herod asks, "who is this about whom I hear such things?" The opinion polls are divided. Some think it is John the Baptist risen from the dead, others Elijah, and still others one of the great prophets.

The consequence of categorization.

What is the response of Herod and the people to Jesus Christ, to this miraculous intervention of the divine in history? First, perplexity (Lk 9:7). How are we to understand this Jesus of Nazareth? How is it that a man from such a humble background could work such great miracles? There is something mysterious about this man, something that can't be explained. He does not fit our expectations. There is some power working in and through him whose source remains hidden. 

What is the response to the perplexity that this great mystery inspires in us? It is to categorize: to demystify the mystery, to desacralize the sacred, to make the mystery fit into human containers and expectations. The people place Jesus in their own categories--perhaps this is a great prophet, they say. Herod probably sees him as a miracle-worker with unusual teachings (cf. Lk 28:8). Of course, neither Herod nor the people are right in their assessment of Jesus's identity, though they are not entirely wrong, either.

Do we fit this pattern of behavior? Are we perplexed by the intervention of the divine in history, choosing to categorize the divine according to our expectations, in such a way that we are not entirely wrong, but still far from being right? Note that the people do see something divine in Jesus. They think he is a prophet, because he has wrought extraordinary miracles. And yet the true identity of Jesus, the God-man, still infinitely exceeds their grasp.

Are we fully alive to the working of God in our lives, or are we too busy categorizing God's actions, certain that we know how he does and does not act? In the present moment, we are usually not capable of discerning what is from God and what is not. Discernment requires times (cf. Mt 7:16). Rather than categorizing, would it not be safer to do as Mary does: pondering these things in our hearts (cf. Lk 2:19)? She, who has encountered the deepest mystery, gives it the deepest reverence. 

"Mary, treasured all of these things..."

Herod is not without redeemable qualities. In his perplexity, he "endeavored to see him," to see Christ, though almost certainly for the wrong reasons (Lk 8:9). But we would do well to follow Herod's lead, endeavoring to see Christ, although we should do so inspired by a genuine faith, a faith that seeks holiness, and not out of trivial curiosity. We can bring this faith to all our activities today: our work, recreation, and relationships, seeking to encounter Christ, remaining always open to the possibility of encountering the divine. And when we do encounter Christ, or think that we may have, we must remember to let God be God, as Mary does--to let time unfold the fruit of the mystery present at every moment of existence. Not to categorize immediately, but to respect the authority and logic of mystery, which draws us inexplicably to holiness.