“Where is Jesus and what is he up to?” a sermon for the 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER (18 May 2025)
Where’s Jesus? In 1893, Oscar Wilde wrote a one-act play called Salome . Here is an excerpt, where the dialogue takes place in the court of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. The biblical background for this scene is Lk. 9.1-9 : “Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal… They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news… Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him .” Salome (1893) HEROD Concerning whom then did he speak? FIRST NAZARENE Concerning Messiah,...