Thursday of Week 25 in Ordinary Time
Hag 1:1-8
Lk 9:7-9
And he was anxious to see Jesus.
Herod was a powerful man. He had soldiers, wealth, influence. Yet, Luke tells us he was anxious to see Jesus (Lk 9:9). That word ‘anxious’ is striking. It suggests restlessness, urgency, even discomfort. Why would someone like Herod, who had everything at his command, feel anxious about meeting a wandering rabbi from Nazareth?
We know what it feels like to be anxious to meet someone. Think of waiting for a job interview, a long-lost friend, or a person you admire. Your heart beats faster, your mind races. You rehearse what you might say. You imagine what the meeting will reveal, perhaps something good, perhaps something you fear.
What about Jesus? Are there moments when we are truly anxious to see Him, not just in a pious way, but with that mix of longing and unease? When we are carrying guilt, do we secretly wonder what His gaze will show us? When we are desperate for guidance, do we long for Him to break the silence? When life feels heavy, are we anxious for Him to act, to console, to rescue?
Herod’s anxiety was not the holy kind. It was born of curiosity, perhaps fear of what this Jesus might mean for his own power. Yet the Gospels remind us that anxiety before Jesus can be a starting point. It means we have not become indifferent.
There is a kind of holy anxiety, a trembling expectation, that runs through Scripture. Zacchaeus climbed a tree just to see Jesus pass by. The haemorrhaging woman pressed through the crowd to touch His cloak. Even the disciples, terrified on the boat, asked: “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
To feel anxious to see Jesus is to admit that an encounter with Him will change us. It might heal us. It might forgive us. It might call us to let go of something we cling to. And that is both thrilling and unsettling.
Perhaps the question is not whether we feel anxious to see Jesus, but why we do or do not. Are we too comfortable to be anxious? Too busy to notice Him passing by? Or too afraid of what He might ask of us if we truly meet Him?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stacey Fernandez)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know my restless heart. Draw me near when I seek You. Make me desire to see You, even when it unsettles me. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord, for always meeting me where I am, especially in my restlessness.
OXYGEN 
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