When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. – Luke 23:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 20, 2014): Luke 23

As a kid I remember going to the circus whenever it came to town. Once there and safely sitting in my seat, I was enchanted by the trapeze artists and wire walkers performing their trade high above the circus floor, and amazed by the lion tamers entering the cages with the dangerous animals and enticing them to do their tricks, and of course I was astonished by the dancing elephants and a number of other jugglers and sword swallowers and other minor functionaries that were trying desperately to keep my attention and provide for me an evening of entertainment. For a kid, the circus was always a magical place. It is a place of dreams and wonder, a place where things can be seen and experienced that can be experienced absolutely nowhere else. And what is seen has the ability to spark the imagination of the young who gather to watch – and to dream.

According to Luke, the Pharisees had at one point warned Jesus to get out of town because Herod wanted him dead (Luke 13:31), but while Luke records the words of Pharisees, he does not just accept them. And according to Luke, the Pharisees friendly warning was not based in fact. The truth was that Herod couldn’t wait to meet the miracle worker of Galilee.

But Herod wanted to meet Jesus as a curiosity, not because he believed in the claims of Jesus. Specifically, Herod had heard that Jesus might be John the Baptist come back to life. And Herod, as the one who had ordered the execution of John, wanted to check the rumor out and see if Jesus truly was John.  At the very least, he was hoping that Jesus would provide entertainment for the afternoon – that finally the circus was coming to town and Herod was going to have a front row seat. For the king, who probably didn’t believe that he could chase after the rabbi and still maintain his dignity, having the rabbi sent to him was a great stroke of luck.

But Herod was not really chasing after God. All he wanted was the show. What he wanted was the gifts that flowed from the hands God. But what God had always desired was to be simply wanted for his presence. King David wrote “My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8). We are simply to seek God’s presence, and not the things that flow from his hand.

We still struggle with wanting the gifts of God. As long as things are going right and we receive the benefits and actions that flow from the hand of God, we feel that God is honoring us. But we seldom get quiet and just enjoy the presence of God in our lives. Herod had one of the greatest opportunities that could be presented to anyone living on this planet. God was coming to be with him – the very presence of God was going to meet with Herod. But Herod passed up the presence of god in hope for a moment of entertainment. And he probably never understood how much he had lost on the one afternoon that he spent with Jesus.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: John 18