On the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist

I have to preach at adoration tonight and I've been thinking...

We were created to fall in love with God
To know Him and serve Him.

That is why we are here
That is the purpose of
each and every one of our days.
each and every one of the breaths we take

We are here
To love God and to find our way home to Him

God longs for us to find Him
Our destiny is to be with God forever.
Our mission is to bring as many as we can.

God did not just create us and say "see ya..."
God is not some distant watchmaker who winds up creation and let's it run its course

God's desire for us is so strong that
He sent his son to come to us,
And Jesus
paid the price of our sin and taught us how to live and love

Yes God is present in our lives
even those who don't know Jesus or have never heard his Word
can find their way home

You see God
Always acting
Always seeking our attention
God is forever placing in our path little signs
which if we are attentive
draw us to him

Beauty
Harmony
Nature
Wonder
The ability to love
and the experience of being loved
All of these

Our experience of all of these things and so many more
lead and draw home to God

Have you ever watched a moth and a light... It comes to the light and flies away but it always comes back

It can't stay away
It is drawn to the light.
So are we..
We are naturally drawn to God

What does all of this have to do with the Beheading of John the Baptist ?

Herod was a worldly man
a man of worldly pleasures
Power, influence, sensuality, whatever..

But his was intrigued by John the Baptist
He was drawn to him and indirectly drawn to God

Even though John did not mince his words about Herod's relationship with his brothers wife.

The Gospel even said Herod liked to listen to him.
Respected Him

And when the request for the head of John the Baptist was made he regretted his offer
but his pride,
what people might think of him took precedence over everything else

And he gave the girl her mother's wish

You see holy ones...
sadly as strange as it might seem
even with all that God does for us

... It is possible to say no to Him.

And while we really don't know what Herod's ultimate fate was...
It doesn't look good

He was lost in himself
Lost in his power and wealth
Lost in his pride
So very lost.

And I guess the question we all have to ask is this
Are we aware of God's Presence in our Lives ?
Are we aware of all of the signs which God places on our path to guide us Home
Are we walking toward Him

And if not
What is holding us back..
Why can't we make progress

Why don't we see, hear or respond to the many invitations of God

I really thought a lot about that today here are a few possibilities....

I guess
For some it could be a lack of silence

I think many of us set up sound barriers to keep us from hearing or experiencing the quiet invitations of God
We hide in our noise

So many of us keep hyper active schedules busy lives so that we don't or can't
take time to see and experience the beauty and harmony around us.
To feel the gentle embrace of a loving creator in a gentle breeze.

Some of us are just full of ourselves, lost in ourselves not willing or afraid to let God
in... to give God control
We hold on so tight....

For a while there was hope for Herod..
He was listening
His heart was moved..
Remember ...He liked listening to John


God is speaking to us
God is active in our lives
God is continually calling us home

Let's pray for the grace to listen
Let's pray for the grace to seek Him
Let us thank God for the good people
the prophets who call us to more

Let pray for the Grace to find our way home

Amen.