Thursday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time (2)

Before the party even begins, it helps to remember who Herod is. This is Herod Antipas, not a great king but a client ruler, dependent on Rome, anxious about his position, skilled at survival rather than leadership. He lives close to power but never fully secure in it. He …

David is near the end of his life, and he speaks out of experience rather than ambition. He tells Solomon what his own failures have taught him. Stay close to God. Walk in his ways. Be faithful from the inside, not just on the surface. David has learned that strength is not …