GOD'S WORD IN DAILY LIFE
15 November/Monday/33rd Week in Ordinary Time,
1Macc 1,10-15.41-43.54-57.62-63/Psa 119,53.61.134.150.155.158/Luke 18,35-43
By Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD
First Reading 1 Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-64
The persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes
There grew a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. It was then that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray. ‘Come,’ they said ‘let us reach an understanding with the pagans surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.’ This proposal proved acceptable, and a number of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise the pagan observances. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the pagans have, disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to the heathen rule as willing slaves of impiety.
Then the king issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that all were to become a single people, each renouncing his particular customs. All the pagans conformed to the king’s decree, and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath. The king erected the abomination of desolation above the altar; and altars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned. Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy of the covenant or practising the Law, the king’s decree sentenced him to death.
Yet there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy covenant, and they were executed. It was a dreadful wrath that visited Israel.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 118(119):53,61,134,150,155,158
Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your will.
I am seized with indignation at the wicked
who forsake your law.
Though the nets of the wicked ensnared me
I remembered your law.
Redeem me from man’s oppression
and I will keep your precepts.
Those who harm me unjustly draw near;
they are far from your law.
Salvation is far from the wicked
who are heedless of your statutes.
I look at the faithless with disgust;
they ignore your promise.
Gospel Acclamation John 8:12
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 18:35-43
'Son of David, have pity on me'
As Jesus drew near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging. When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied ‘let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’ And instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God for what had happened.
Reflection
The First Reading is a historical account of part of the Greek rule over Israel. The focus of the reading is part of the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was the son of King Antiochus who reigned from 223 to 187 B.C.E. The reign of the Hellenistic or Greek kings over Israel started in 334 B.C.E. with the conquests of Alexander the Great. Darius III who was a Persian king was defeated by Alexander the Great, thus bringing the Persian domination of the Ancient Near East to an end in that year. The kingdom of Alexander the Great extended from present day Egypt to modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was one of the most ferocious kings of the Seleucid dynasty. He introduced pagan worship into Israel and made himself into a god to be worshipped by the people. He desecrated the Temple of Jerusalem by placing a pagan statue above the altar of sacrifice. He profaned the Sabbath by organising pagan practices on that day.
It is interesting that many Jews embraced the religious abomination introduced by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. They no longer upheld the religion of their fathers and the Temple was now a place of pagan worship. The Jews decided to be like the nations around them, thus losing their unique identity as a nation set apart, a holy and kingly people who had Yahweh as their God. The rather massive turnaround of the people shows that they did not have strong religious roots. They were easily swayed by a false leader who took advantage of their desire to be like the neighbouring nations.
In situations such as this, there is always a small remnant that is faithful to the practices and beliefs of the fathers. They preferred death to contaminating themselves or abandoning the religion of their ancestors. These are the ones that the Books of Maccabees would focus on as the author narrates their courageous acts of resistance to the advance of Hellenistic practices in Israel. In our own times too, we have Christians who face persecution because they are not ready to give up their faith. We can think of regions where fundamentalists of other religions persecute Christians who fail to succumb to pressures to convert or abandon their faith. We can also think of nations in which Christian values are overturned by civil laws. We can think of laws that go against Christian morals and seek to drive God out of human life. The courageous example of the Maccabees that we shall be reflecting on in the coming days should help us in our effort to always remain faithful to the Lord. Like the blind man in the Gospel Reading today, we also need to cry out to Jesus and ask him to heal us of our blindness so that we can see clearly what would make us faithful to him. Let us be assured that at the end time the Lord would look favourably upon our faithfulness and offer us a place in his kingdom.