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.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
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.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
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.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
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.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
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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God, the centre of our lives
“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?” (1st reading). On the surface level, the book of Ecclesiastes seems to offer a message of despair and hopelessness. The Preacher looks at life and views it as vanity, meaningless and emptiness. Yet he asserts that pursuing success, wealth, comfort, and material things is futile without God at the centre of our lives.
In the gospel, Herod, the Tetrarch, is curious about Jesus, having heard many stories about Him. His desire is fulfilled when Pilate sends Jesus to him during the passion story. However, Herod does not make use of the opportunity to know Jesus; instead, he chooses to mock Him. Herod is obsessed with power and has no room for faith in God. Today, Jesus invites us once more to deeply know and love Him so that we can put Him at the centre of our lives. In Him, we find the true meaning of life.
Reflective question:
What is Jesus’ message to me today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
