Herod

Matthew 14:1-2 - At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, who has been raised from the dead. That is why thid power is at work in him."

These are the words of fear. Matthew goes on in the next sentence to tell how Herod had killed John the Baptist at the instigation of his wife. So, while others try to keep Jesus in his childhood box, Herod recognizes that these powers are real. His reaction is to focus on himself by making himself the cause of Jesus's powers. If he hadn't killed John, would Jesus still have them? He would answer no.

So, both are reactions of fear. Jesus's fellow townspeople are fearful of Jesus and so refuse to recognize how he has changed. Herod is speaking out of fear and guilt for having killed a holy man. Fear is a powerful emotion that keeps us stuck in ourselves and won't let our love for others out. We all have fears; big fears and small fears. What do we do with our fears? Do we box the fearful thing in or do we take on guilt? Do we obsess like Herod? Or do we open ourselves instead to God's love flowing through us like living water?
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