Some say, "Seeing is believing."  I suspect King Herod in today's Gospel reading might agree.  He had heard many things about Jesus, from many different voices.  Some were saying John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded, was risen from the dead.  Some thought Jesus was a manifestation of the long-awaited Elijah figure.  Some thought Jesus was a great prophet.  "Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" Herod asked.  And the Gospel reading concludes:  "And he kept trying to see him."

As though seeing Jesus would trump all the things Herod had heard about Jesus, perhaps we are prone to a similar approach when it comes to our relationship with God.  Who or what is God?  How do we know God?  Is God all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-forgiving?  What have we heard about God?  From whence come the many voices that tell us who or what God is?  What have we seen that tells us about who God is?  Why does a loving God permit suffering in our lives, even the suffering of innocent people?  St. Ignatius of Loyola tells us to "find God in all things," and when we look at the suffering of those we love, where do we see and hear God?

When I worked at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, I encountered many parents struggling with their children's terminal illnesses and defects of body, mind, and spirit.  They were a lot like Herod in the Gospel today.  "They kept trying to see (God)…"  Of course, they heard all about God's love, God's fidelity, God's mercy and healing.  What they saw, however, was their beloved child wasting away from leukemia or cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.  What they heard was their child asking, "Mom, why can't I go outside and play?  Dad, why do I feel so sick all the time?  Make it stop hurting!"  Sometimes, their children died without warning, without symptoms, like my nephew, Christopher, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).  Where was God?

"They kept trying to see."

Like the Jews returning from the Exile in today's first reading from Haggai, they were unsure about where and how to find God.  They had longed to rebuild the Temple of Solomon, destroyed during the Babylonian siege.  The Temple in Jerusalem had been a sign of their unity and prosperity, and a sign of the presence of God among them.  When would God return to them?  When would God allow them to rebuild the Holy Place, God's own abode?  They thought the time had not yet come, but God had other plans.  "'Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and receive my glory,' says the Lord."

The time had come!  Salvation was at hand!  The Lord was about to redeem the people, the children of Zion!  As in today's psalm, "The Lord takes delight in his people!  The Lord loves his people!"  This is the voice that matters most, the voice that tells us time and again, "You are my Beloved!"  It is the voice Jesus heard at His baptism and at His transfiguration.  He listened for that voice, and heard it well when all the other voices shouted:  "False Messiah!  False Prophet!  You are not our King!  You blasphemer!  You reprobate!  Crucify!  Crucify!"  Where was God in that cacophony of hatred and violence?

Jesus saw, Jesus heard, Jesus knew that God was in the voice that said:  "You are my Beloved."  Can we listen for that voice today?

Prayer:  God of all kindness, today we come before You as Your children, unfaithful, hurting and in need.  We trust in Your love and forgiveness, we Your people in whom You delight!  Teach us to listen to You, to see You, and to be faithful to our covenant with You and with one another.  Show us that it is more important to love than to be right, and to be grateful than to understand.  We bless You and praise You forever!  Amen.