There may be one common trait among the seniors and elderly.
And that is they repeat certain things with a certain regularity.
And after some time, we could almost guess what they will be saying with their first few words .
Whatever we may want to call it, the seniors and elderly keep repeating these stories because those were the lessons that they have learnt in life.
And they want the next generation to learn those lessons because they see the same mistakes being made again and again.
In the 1st reading, there is this profound lesson of life as the Preacher says: Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
For those who understand the wisdom of the seniors and elders, they will follow the lessons that they are teaching and find peace and happiness in life.
But for those who give in to vanity and want to gain all in this life, then like Herod in the gospel, they will be anxious and worried.
In fact, Herod eventually got to see Jesus, but it was for his entertainment and there was no enlightenment.
Let us keep repeating the lessons we learnt from the seniors and elders, so that we will live life wisely and happily.