Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the regrets I have in life is that my faith has never been severely tested. I have never lived underground, my life has never been in danger, or I have never had to choose between my family and my faith. I wonder if faith would mean something different had it to be challenged in a serious way. Do you wonder the same ? How can we know how precious our faith in Jesus is unless it is tested?
Let me provide the context for today’s readings. In 332 BC the Greeks conquered what we know today as the Holy Land. They ruled Palestine for a good century and a half. Around 167 BC, in an effort to unify the many different people under his rule, Antiochus IV Epiphanes imposed Greek language, customs, and religion on all of them including the Jews. As a result the Jews were compelled to eat renounce Yahweh and eat pig’s meat – an abomination to the Jews. The book of Maccabees is an account of Greek rule and particularly, the persecution of the non complying Israelites at their hands. Today’s reading recounts the story of a mother and her seven sons who were martyred for their refusal to eat pork.
This reading draws our attention to two things. First, we are made aware of the heroism of the mother and her seven persecuted sons. Today’s reading does not include the gory details of the persecution. One of the brothers had his tongue, his hands and feet cut off. He was scalped and then burnt in a large cauldron in the sight of every one. The same treatment was meted out to each of his six brothers in the sight of the mother. The second reason for this story being included among the Sunday readings is the profession of faith made by one of the brothers. He said to the King, “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever” (2 Mac 7:9). Here we see a very clear reference to ‘after-life,” a belief that was alien to early Judaism. Belief in the resurrection and after-life began to develop only about 150 years before Jesus at the time of the Maccabees. By the time of Jesus, the resurrection from the dead was accepted as an article of Jewish faith, except for the Sadducees. The Sadducees accepted the teachings of only the first five books of the Old Testament (early Judaism) and in these books belief in the afterlife is not specifically mentioned.
This connects us to the gospel reading. The gospel beings with the words, “Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus….” (Lk 20:27) They create a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers as each of them died one after another. The case was meant to impress upon others the futility of the belief in after life. Jesus answers the Sadducees by pointing out that the belief in life after death is actually found in the Pentateuch. That is why he says, “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord,’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive” (Lk 20:37-38). The last statement of today gospel reading becomes the most hopeful statement in all of scripture. The God we believe in, is a “God of the living and not of the dead and to him all are alive.”
Let me offer three practical implications for today:
1. I find the story of the mother and her three children very inspiring. Their faithfulness to God and their fidelity to the Covenant faith are exemplary. The question that comes to my mind is – how were they able to endure such suffering and still stay faithful? The answer lies in the ultimate death of the martyrs. Both in the Jewish tradition and in Christianity martyrdom is the most profound act of worship. Worship, ideally, has two dimensions. It one thing to worship God in God’s house; it is in quite another thing to transform life into an act of worship. An ideal life is when there is no dichotomy between these two dimensions of worship. The persecuted mother and her sons give witness – both to their faith in God and how this faith is connected to their life. They who chose to offer their life as a sacrifice, as an act of worship before their God. This mother and their sons challenge us today to make our lives an act of worship.
2. Let me take the first point a little further. Not all of us have the privilege of martyrdom. But each of us has privilege to the martyrdom of the living. The way of fashion our lives and our character is also an act of worship. We admire the mother and her sons for their sense of purpose in life, their courage in the midst of trial, and their willingness to die rather than compromise their faith. But they were men and woman of character even before their martyrdom. When the time came, true to their character, they offered their exemplary life as an act of worship. What does this mean for us today? We can be living martyrs by fashioning our lives as a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is a disciple because he or she has an undeniably Christian character; and character is proven in the daily events of life. Truth-telling v/s an easy lie, honesty v/s cunning, pure mind v/s giving into the promiscuity and eroticism of today’s culture, reconciliation v/s resentment, kindness and gentleness v/s self-centered existence, limitless love v/s prejudice and hatreds, sobriety v/s addictions – the list can be long. In the midst of the vagaries of life, a disciple must strive to live the life of Jesus. Thinking like Jesus, talking like Jesus and acting like Jesus is another form or martyrdom - an act of profound worship.
3. Where is the good news is all of this? The good news is not totally missing. Today's readings tell us that no matter how life might turn out; no matter how much we suffer in faithfulness to God and for discipleship, at the end of the road, there is a tender and loving God waiting for us. As Jesus says, our God is a “God of the living and not of the dead.” All our strife to live a life of integrity, honesty, love, peace, justice is not without reason. The harder our struggle and more sincere can be our life worship. The more intense our suffering the greater the chance to make our life an act of worship. The greater the struggle the stronger our chance to build a Christian character. Our radical and faithful discipleship is our surest way to God. And at the end of our life stands a God of limitless and immeasurable love – the God of the living and the dead.
As we gather around this altar, let us pray for two things. First, let us ask Christ to give us the courage to be men and women of character. Let our discipleship be uncompromising. Second, let us worship Christ because it is Christ’s fidelity and love for us that makes this Eucharist possible. Let this gathering and our life be an act of worship to him.
Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph