Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Scripture

This week we have been reading selections from the books of Maccabees. The stories we’ve encountered have depicted the conflict within Jerusalem, and, in particular they have highlighted the heroics of the Jewish people who failed to bow to the demands of the king. These people refused to blaspheme God by forsaking His law and instead accepted death at the hands of their non-Jewish rulers.

We have these readings at the end of our liturgical year for several reasons. One of these is that they highlight the sense of conflict that arises in trying to do God’s will. Another reason is that they draw our attention toward Jerusalem. Today’s passage is a bit different than the other passages from Maccabees because Mattathias not only refuses to dishonor God’s law but he actively fights against the king’s commands. He kills one of his own people, who had turned traitor, and he also kills the king’s messenger.

While such a reaction might seem strong to us today, it was a desperate situation for the Jewish people. Mattathias was moved to fight for God, but he did not take it as a personal mission to kill everyone who was against him. Rather, he fled as soon as possible to a place where Jews could live according to their ritual law and hence continue to worship the one true God. What mattered to Mattathias (and to Eleazar and the seven sons who refused to eat pork) was living for God, dying for God, and worshiping God in every facet of his life. 

The gospel passage from Luke foretells the impending destruction of the city of Jerusalem. Again, we have a picture of conflict – in this case it is the conflict that is yet to come. We might notice that as Jesus describes what is to come, he does not say it gleefully. Yes, this is a city that did not recognize its savior in its midst. Yes, it is the city wherein Jesus was to be condemned unjustly, scourged, and put to death by crucifixion. But Jesus does not rejoice in the destruction of Jerusalem. He weeps. This is a powerful depiction of human emotion, indicating Jesus’ love for Jerusalem and all the people within it.  And yet, while these readings draw our attention to the sorrow and unrest accompanying the conflict of everyday life, especially in trying to do God’s will, they ought also to draw our attention beyond conflict to the “saving power of God”:

“To the upright I will show the saving power of God” says the psalm refrain (Ps 50:23b). And this is what keeps us going. Our story does not end with the destruction of Jerusalem, either at the time of Maccabees or at the time following Jesus. Like Jesus, we should be saddened by the conflict in Jerusalem, including the conflict that exists there in our age. But we also remember that ultimately we are called to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city envisioned by John in the book of Revelation. It is the New Jerusalem that is at peace, unified by its unanimous worship of God. As we approach the end of this liturgical year, we are reminded that our ultimate citizenship is not of any country here on earth.

Our home is in heaven, in this heavenly Jerusalem where we will be intimately united with all who worship in that holy Temple. Here we will join in celebrating the lamb who was slain to save us, and whose body and blood we even now receive in the Eucharist, our foretaste of that eternal celebration. Conflict on earth will inevitably arise. We cannot look for easy peace, nor can we perpetuate violence by harboring anger in our hearts. We must always, instead, accept the saving power of God, trusting that, in the end, we are not responsible for saving ourselves. Christ our King has lived for us, suffered for us, died for us, and risen that we might share in the divine life of the Trinity in the heavenly city of Jerusalem. Let us pray that we might receive the riches of grace God offers us in Christ Jesus that we may grow in holiness each day, becoming ever more prepared to share in that divine life.

Maria Morrow