Friday, November 22, 2013

Memorial of Saint Cecilia, martyr

(I Maccabees 4:36-37.52-59; Luke 19:45-48)

Today’s first reading from I Maccabees gives the biblical reference for the contemporary Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.   The passage tells of how the Jews burnt offerings and sang hymns of praise for eight days to celebrate the rededication of the Temple 165 years or so before Jesus’ birth.  According to one tradition after plans for the festivity were decreed, the people discovered that there was only enough consecrated oil left to burn for one day.  Undeterred, they went ahead with the celebration as planned and to their amazement found the oil burning for the full eight days.  For this reason Hanukkah is sometimes called the “Feast of Lights.”  As a testimony to the miracle of the oil, Jews today will eat fried foods throughout the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah.

Jesus not only celebrated the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, as Hanukkah is more traditionally named, he had a great sensibility for the Temple as the meeting place of God and humanity.  For this reason he chases the money changers from its confines as today’s gospel relates.  His followers later noted how Jesus himself is the prime referent for the human encounter with God and in this sense has replaced the Temple.  Nevertheless, Christians still need places to pray so they construct temples, which in English at least are usually called churches.  But at the dedication of Catholic churches it is always Jesus who is glorified.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(I Maccabees 2:15-29; Luke 19:41-44)

With secure ways to imprison violent convicts most Western countries and many American states have abandoned capital punishment for most crimes.  The exception to this rule is treason which still carries the death penalty in states like Michigan, the first English-speaking jurisdiction to ban it for other felonies.  These facts provide context to understanding the two killings that shock sensitive readers in the passage from I Maccabees today.

Mattathias takes the lives of a Jew who was offering an illegitimate sacrifice and of the king’s messenger, probably not Jewish, who is promoting the abominable sacrifices.  At least the death of his first victim is mandated by the Law (Deuteronomy 13:7-10).  But both killings should be taken as legitimate execution.  Just as some contemporary jurisdictions treat treason as the only capital crime, sacrifice to idols in ancient Israel is uniquely offensive.  It violates the Covenant in a way that not only affronts the Lord but diminishes the people’s faith, which is necessary for Israel’s survival.

Although we cannot commend actions such as Mattathias’ if done today, we should be cautious about condemning the Jewish hero.  Jesus never faces such a critical situation although he does use force in cleansing the Temple.  It is his teaching, however, that inclines us to veer away from capital punishment.  He implores us to love our enemy, which does not preclude putting him to death, but certainly bids mercy.  Capital punishment, as the Church teaches, is a penalty of last resort when the common good is genuinely and severely threatened.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Maccabees 7:1.20-31; Luke 19:11-28)

Author Flannery O’Connor once wrote that she was a Catholic “not like someone else would be a Baptist or a Methodist, but like someone else would be an atheist.”  This is to say that she would do more than go to church on Sunday but would invest herself in her religion by defending it and showing how it makes the most sense.  Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel exhorts his followers to do something similar.

The parable is as disturbing as it is revealing.  Why is the dimwit who doesn’t invest his gold coin treated so roughly?  Why are those who did not want the noblemen as their king slaughtered?  There are no good answers to these questions because they are irrelevant.  As in many other parables Jesus is not advocating that his hearers imitate the examples he makes.  Rather he wants them to take note of the situation at hand.  The Kingdom of God is breaking into the world.  One can either seize the opportunity and be abundantly rewarded or pass it by.  There is a third option – to reject the presence of the Kingdom -- which is tantamount to self-destruction.

Catholicism has so much to offer humans not because every Catholic is perfect or even good but because the Church presents the opportunity to know Christ both physically and spiritually.  We know him through the saintliness of many fellow travelers, people like Pope Francis.  We also know him in the sacraments where he heals and nourishes us.  Of course, we know him in the gospels and also in the truths that have been handed down through his apostles and their successors.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Maccabees 6:18-31; Luke 19:1-10)

There is a cliché saying that old age with all its limitations is better than the alternative, meaning death.  Eleazar in the reading from II Maccabees today disproves that line.  At once he shows where true glory lies and how to attain it.

The situation is hardly impossible although it may seem far-fetched in many societies today.  Eleazar is coaxed to fake eating pork, prohibited in the Jewish diet, in order to conform to the dictates of the cultural imperialists of his time.  Made wise with his years, Eleazar realizes that old men and women are to teach youth the virtues of loyalty and devotion.  Even though it will cost him his life, he knows that he must not lead younger people astray by pretending to eat the tabooed meat.  Of course, he realizes as well that his persecutors could only spare his physical life.  They cannot bestow upon him eternal life which comes as a gift from God to those who do his will.

Too often today old people emulate youth rather than vice versa.  It is not that young people have nothing to teach the elderly.  Some demonstrate edifying toleration for different kinds of people that is worthy of imitation.  Nevertheless, as we grow old, we hopefully become wise and pass our wisdom to younger generations.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Maccabees 1:10-15.41-43.54-57.62-63; Luke 18:35-43)

Last week the bishops of the United States made another appeal to Catholics regarding religious freedom.  The bishops believe that the right of Catholics to practice their faith is being restricted by the federal government’s new health care law.  The law will obligate Catholic agencies and employers to provide insurance for such treatments as contraception, abortifacient drugs and devices, and sterilization.  The bishops feel some of the outrage of the Book of Maccabees in the first reading today.

Maccabees recounts how the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes imposed pagan customs on the people of Israel.  Claiming the need for national unity, Antiochus violated the Temple and destroyed copies of Sacred Scripture.  According to the reading, the king ordered that Jews disregard their Law which made them God’s holy people.  The story of how good Jews defied the king’s commands will be told for the rest of the week.

Some people claim that the issues involved in the health care act do not force Catholics to give direct support to evil.  But it does mandate complicity in what the Church has judged wrong for centuries.  The bishops are making a stand on a critical principle.  As they say in their statement, they are four square in favor of genuine health care for the poor.  Nevertheless, Catholics and people of other faith traditions  must be allowed not just to go to church on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday but to practice their faith every day of the week.