November 10, 2013

Bulletin November 10, 2013
32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C
2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20: 27-38
During my priesthood I’ve encountered people who said there was no heaven and earth, but they said, ‘I try to live a good life.’ Knowing that you can never win an argument, I still asked them, ’could you explain to me what you mean by a good life. ‘ ‘Well, I try not to get in people’s way...I try to be nice to people...I try to respect people...I try and if it works, fine...if it doesn’t I just continue on in my life doing what I feel and generally keeping the laws of society.’ It was an honest answer, but to me it seemed like this person just went through the motions, and really wasn’t that concerned with others. I wondered if this man’s life was inspiring to people who lived and worked with him? Did he show care and compassion...did he go out of his way...did he feel that ‘I only walk this way once, and I can be an influence to help those who watch and follow me?’ It was hard for me to see that he lived for anyone else but himself. I certainly can be wrong...but his response made me think about the first reading from the Book of Maccabees.
The book recounts the efforts of a very religious family forced to go against the Jewish dietary laws. After the death of Alexander the Great, Syria controlled the East, yet the influences of the Greek culture and customs were still very strong. And very many of the Israelites ‘compromised’ their Jewish faith to go along with the new rulers. In today’s reading, royal officers attempted to bully a Jewish family to violate its dietary laws by eating pork. Even with the threat of torture and death, seven brothers bravely defended their faith. They said so eloquently that they put their faith in God. Even though they could be deprived of life on earth they would live on in the realm of God. There is no question that they were martyrs for their faith and are with God. Countless thousands, millions even with similar stories are a part of the history of Christianity.
In the Gospel the Sadducees are the ones challenging Jesus; this party is only mentioned in the New Testament. They were a group within Judaism that had members that belonged to the priestly aristocracy coupled with their dependents and supporters. They were more religious than political and were influential because of their wealth and contacts. Their faith was based on the Torah, the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). Since there is no mention of resurrection of the dead in these books, they rejected it. So they come to Jesus with their inane question. They certainly thought that this would make Jesus look foolish. And Jesus talks about false prophets...those who feel they know the ‘right way’, and their way is the right way not matter what...’my way right or wrong.’
Living the Word has a fascinating reflection: “To get the full impact of the first reading, I strongly suggest you go to your Bible and read Second Maccabees, Chapter 7 (where today’s first reading is from). You wonder what the mother of the Maccabees would have said to the Sadducees trying to trap Jesus over belief in the resurrection of the body. How would this woman, who watched the thugs of a sadistic king cruelly torture with whips and scourges her seven sons over their refusal to eat pork, ever have been able to encourage her sons to remain faithful to God’s law without a belief in the resurrection? This belief was her rock. It justified her taking the long view, that their death, in fidelity to God, gives way to a bodily resurrection.”
It’s also good to go back and to look at the different Creeds (Apostles and Nicene) which specify what faith in God is all about. It is good to reflect on Jesus telling us that He was sent to tell us that God loves every single person ever created and God wants every single person to be in heaven with Him. Jesus said this and proved God’s love by the sacrifice of His life which redeemed every person. Can we understand this? A spiritual classic which really should be read by everyone interested in getting to know God deeper is the Cloud of Unknowing. The author says, “...God can be loved, but not thought”...and he suggests that ‘we only begin to know God when we realize that we do not know Him and cannot know Him in any full way in this life.’ So God, by gifting us with faith and so many, many gifts, asks each, ‘Will you trust me in this?’
I find it so comforting that my life has a purpose...I find it very reassuring to know that I have a God who cares for me and for what I do for Him...I find it especially consoling to know that this God wants me to be in heaven with Him...I find it exceedingly encouraging that God has given me gifts so that in using them to touch others, and in believing in Jesus and living His way, I will be in heaven with Him. I find it awesome that I have a part to play and that I am not a ‘nothing’ but that I am loved. ‘Hope’ is the key word here. St Paul reminded the Romans in 8:22-25, “We were saved by this hope, and let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we do not yet see. For whoever hopes when he can see? But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.” (The New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips) AND our faith promises us that ‘we will be with God.’ For this reason the title of Bishops Fulton Sheen’s TV program is so apropos: Life is Worth Living! So I reflect on:
Living the Word asks:

• “What does belief in the resurrection of the body tell you about God?
  
• What does it tell you about your own body? Does it have any implications for how you treat your body?”
  

• I find it interesting to reflect on the people who are my friends. I had very different impressions of some when I first met them...I certainly misjudged them...now they are special. How can I learn to overcome my initial prejudicial behavior?
  
• Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly coming on the scene...am I putting more value on my worldly concerns versus my preparing for the kingdom of God?
  
• Sacred Space 2013 tells me to “...pray with compassion for all those whose reason and intelligence is missing the humility to accept the truths that faith uncovers. I give thanks for the intuitions and insights that have been given to me.”
  

A good exercise today is to sit and make a list of my good and bad characteristics. How can I use the good ones to overcome the ones that are less desirable?