First reading Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Nothing is new and all is vanity
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises. Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers go. All things are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fill of hearing. What was will be again; what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it may be said, ‘Look now, this is new.’ Already, long before our time, it existed. Only no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be remembered.
Responsorial Psalm 89(90):3-6,12-14,17
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You turn men back to dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.
You sweep men away like a dream,
like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades.
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.
Gospel Luke 9:7-9
‘John? I beheaded him; so who is this?’
Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was being done by Jesus; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus.
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Who is this Jesus?
“Who is this I hear such reports about?” This was the question that Herod asked. Though he had asked the right question, he did not have the interest to search for the answer. Herod was anxious to see Jesus because He had heard of all He had done and was curious about him. Unfortunately, his curiosity did not lead him to have the desire to learn from Jesus or to follow Him closely.
In our prayer today, let us ask Jesus, “Who are you?”. We will never fully come to the complete truth of who Jesus is in this earthly life. Thus, we are called to go on this journey of faith of never stopping to search, discover, and learn who Jesus is and what He means to us. There is always more to Jesus for us to know and fall in love with. Let us desire to know Jesus more so as to follow Him more closely and love Him more deeply.
Reflective question:
Do I humble enough to go on this journey of knowing Jesus more?
Do I humble enough to go on this journey of knowing Jesus more?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
