Commentary on the liturgy of February 5, 2021 by Don Luigi Maria Epicoco

At the center of today's Gospel is Herod's guilty conscience. In fact, the growing fame of Jesus awakens in him the sense of guilt for the infamous murder with which he had killed John the Baptist:

“King Herod heard about Jesus, since his name had meanwhile become famous. It was said: "John the Baptist has risen from the dead and for this reason the power of miracles works in him". Others instead said: "It is Elijah"; others still said: "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets." But Herod, on hearing about it, said: «That John whom I had beheaded has risen!» ”.

However much we try to escape from our conscience, it will haunt us to the end, until we take what it has to say seriously. There is a sixth sense within us, an ability to feel the truth for what it really is. And as much as life, choices, sins, circumstances, conditioning can soften this underlying sense that we have, what does not really correspond to the Truth continues to resonate in us as discomfort. This is why Herod does not find peace and manifests the typical neurosis that we all have when on the one hand we feel attracted to the truth and on the other we live against it:

“Herod had in fact had John arrested and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John said to Herod: "It is not lawful for you to keep your brother's wife". For this Herodias bore him a grudge and would have liked to have him killed, but he could not, because Herod feared John, knowing him just and holy, and watched over him; and even if in listening to him he was very perplexed, nevertheless he listened willingly ”.

How can you on the one hand feel fascinated by the truth and then let the lie win? Today's Gospel tells us this to unmask the same conflict that inhabits us and to warn us that in the long run, while feeling attraction for what is true if consequent choices are not made, sooner or later irreparable troubles are combined.