Friday, November 20, 2015

Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Maccabees 4:36-37.52-59, Lucas 19:45-48)

Although the Books of Maccabees do not have a place in the Jewish Bible, they contain some of the greatest testimony to the Law and the Temple.  Today’s passage from the First Book of the Maccabees relates the founding event of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. 

In the reading Mattathias Maccabeus’ son Judas declares an annual celebration for the Jews.  He has just led a successful uprising against the foreign rulers.  With the war exacting its terrible price the whole nation has learned the value of religious freedom.  

Although the situation is not really comparable today, the bishops of the United States are concerned about religious freedom.  They regard some government rules regulating medical care as conflicting with traditional Catholic morals.  They rightfully will not allow Catholic hospitals to perform abortions or sterilizations.  And they cannot justify supplying medical insurance that subsidizes contraceptive services.  Hopefully the Church will not have to close its hospitals or stop purchasing insurance for employees.  Yet that is one alternative in its ongoing dispute with the federal government.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(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 faith of the people, which is considered necessary for Israel’s survival.

We must not commend actions such as Mattathias’ if done today; nevertheless, we best condemn 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 lay aside all forms of violence, even capital punishment.  He implores us to love our enemies, which does not necessarily exclude putting him to death but certainly suggests it.  Capital punishment, as the Church teaches, is a penalty of last resort when the common good is genuinely and severely threatened.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

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

A proverb states life is God’s gift to us and what we make of our life is our gift to God.  The proverb may not be biblical, but it does encapsulate Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel.

Context is emphasized here.  Jesus is mounting the heights of Jerusalem.  He has just awarded Zacchaeus for sharing his fortune with the poor.  Now he signals blessings for those who use their resources for the glory of God.  Is he saying that individuals earn salvation by their good deeds?  As odious as the concept may be to some, in a sense Jesus is saying just that.  But the gold coin must also be taken into account.  It is the grace by which one can act.  It comes from the sacrifice Jesus is about to make on Calvary.

We cannot win salvation for ourselves because it is a gift from God.  But God does not belittle human freedom.  Rather he enables us to perform meritorious works.  When we bring food to shut-ins in July, not so much with the holidays approaching when everyone wants to feel good about themselves, we secure our place in God’s kingdom.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious

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

Old age suffers a lot. The elderly regularly experience memory loss and loss of friends.  Their bodies naturally weaken and they are more susceptible to disease.  But seniors need not suffer the loss of integrity.  In fact, they have the opportunity to demonstrate the most glorious trait of all – a life surrender to love of God and neighbor.  Such is the witness of Eleazar in today’s first reading.

The old man is being tempted to eat forbidden pork.  It is not that pork is bad in itself but that eating it clearly defies God’s commandment in the Mosaic law.  Eleazar refuses to eat it.  Then he is encouraged to feign eating it to save himself from execution.  Eleazar recognizes this as an even greater outrage.  He would be intentionally deceiving others – an intrinsic evil.  Eleazar chooses the high road.  He allows himself to be executed rather than disobey God’s law.  His courageous deed echoes through the centuries.

Our love for God will probably never be tested to the extent that Eleazar’s was.  That itself is reason to thank God.  Yet we are called to give testimony to our love for God by giving special attention to the poor and marginalized.  When we go out of our way to talk with a lonely person, we demonstrate the love of God just as surely as we would by fasting a whole week.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

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

The language of faith is often undercut by popular thinking.  When a person says that she “believes” something, most people hear a modicum of doubt in her voice.  They understand her to mean that she does not know for sure but only thinks that what she says is true.  This kind of qualified assertion is hardly what the Church understands by faith.  Faith is a way of knowing with more certainty, not less, that what is said is true.  The reason for such conviction is that the tenets of faith have been revealed by the Lord.

In the gospel the unnamed blind man, called Bartimaeus in Mark’s version, demonstrates real faith.  Not wavering a bit, he acts on his belief that Jesus is the Messiah by making a scene.  Because such faith is always rewarded, the man receives the sight which he requests.  The gospel adds that he wastes no time to follow Jesus.  True faith in Jesus can do no less.

In a way it is understandable why many people possess faith that is tainted by doubt.  Some Catholics put at the heart of faith things of lesser importance.  A woman, for example, worried that there is one way and no other to pray the rosary.  But the rosary is not part of the liturgy and may be prayed in any dignified way as the Divine Chaplet movement has demonstrated.  Truths at the heart of faith –the Trinity, the Incarnation, the resurrection from the dead, etc. -- are non-negotiable.  We should accept these truths with all our mind and, more importantly, live then with all our heart.