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“Death of Seven Brothers”
by Jean-Baptiste de Vignaly,1781 |
Readings for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law.
One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:
"What do you expect to achieve by questioning us?
We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors."
At the point of death he said:
"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.
It is for his laws that we are dying."
After him the third suffered their cruel sport.
He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,
and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
"It was from Heaven that I received these;
for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again."
Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage,
because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.
After he had died,
they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
When he was near death, he said,
"It is my choice to die at the hands of men
with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;
but for you, there will be no resurrection to life."
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Commentary on 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14
This selection from the Second Book of Maccabees provides examples of courage in the face of extreme cruelty based upon belief in the resurrection on the last day. This is one of the important theological ideas expounded upon in the book and provides a framework for our later understanding of the importance of Christ’s sacrifice and promise.
CCC: 2 Mc 7:9 992; 2 Mc 7:14 992
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Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O Lord, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
My steps have been steadfast in your paths,
my feet have not faltered.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Keep me as the apple of your eye,
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
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Commentary on Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
The lament of David in this passage from Psalm 17 follows nicely from the prayers of the unjustly persecuted brothers in 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14. Faith in God’s salvation will follow those who keep firm to God’s commands.
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2 Thessalonians 2:16--3:5
Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
and word.
Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us,
so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified,
as it did among you,
and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
for not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful;
he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you,
you are doing and will continue to do.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the endurance of Christ.
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Commentary on 2 Thes 2:16--3:5
This reading is comprised of the final verses of the second chapter of Second Thessalonians and the first verses of the third and final chapter. In this passage, we see St. Paul encouraging the church of Thessalonica to keep firm to the gospel values about which he instructed them, and then, beginning in the third chapter, he asks for prayers for his ongoing mission to spread the gospel message.
CCC: 2 Thes 3:1-13 1577; 2 Thes 3:1 1590
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Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
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."
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Commentary on Lk 20:27-38
This passage from St. Luke’s Gospel is closely is rooted in 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14. It has the same basic subject, the resurrection, and it uses seven brothers as part of the lesson. The real linkage comes as Christ refutes the Sadducees, whose role, because of their rejection of the resurrection, would ironically parallel the evil king in 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14. Jesus chides them as “children of this age,” a reference to their simplistic understanding of Mosaic Law.
The apparent dismissal of marriage in heaven is not refuting marriage in this life, but rather pointing to the fact that the earthly purposes of marriage (i.e. propagation of the race through children and assisting one’s spouse to grow in holiness) are not necessary in heaven since: “Life in heaven will no longer require populating the Church and sanctifying spouses. Rather the righteous will live as angels, who beget no offspring and worship God continually (cf. Isaiah 6:2-3; Revelation 5:11, 12).”[5] (From notes on Matthew 22:30)
“The burning bush episode shows that Yahweh identified himself with the patriarchs long after their death (Exodus 3:6). If Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still with God, then life must endure beyond death and a future resurrection is implied in the Pentateuch.”[6]
CCC: Lk 20:36 330
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Or
Shorter From: Luke 20:27, 34-38
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward.
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
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."
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Commentary on Lk 20:27, 34-38
The shorter version of this Gospel story really focuses on the nature of the spirit at the resurrection. Jesus says that, while the bonds of love and friendship remain, the resurrected are like angels for “they are children of God.”
The apparent dismissal of marriage in heaven is not refuting marriage in this life, but rather pointing to the fact that the earthly purposes of marriage (i.e. propagation of the race through children and assisting one’s spouse to grow in holiness) are not necessary in heaven since: “Life in heaven will no longer require populating the Church and sanctifying spouses. Rather the righteous will live as angels, who beget no offspring and worship God continually (cf. Isaiah 6:2-3; Revelation 5:11, 12).”[7] (from notes on Matthew 22:30)
CCC: Lk 20:36 330
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Homily:
For those of you who may not remember me, I am Deacon Jim Miles, or Deacon Jim the Elder. I’ve been away since Easter getting a hip replaced (although I’m still doing a bit of the “hip-hop and am still disen-genuflected). Forgive me if I am a bit rusty, even though I am told titanium cannot rust.
Sacred Scripture this morning should give us some serious pause. As you have heard for the past few months every Sunday, we have a serious duty to perform in this democratic country of ours. This coming week, for those who have not cast absentee ballots, it is voting day. It is important that those who are eligible to do so go to the polls and, armed with the foreknowledge of what decisions are requested, cast our votes for state and local leadership and policy. The bishops in the State of Michigan have especially encouraged all the faithful to recognize the blatant disregard for life and family contained in Proposition 3 and encouraged us to be faithful to our core beliefs and vote no on this proposed modification to our state’s constitution.
Sacred Scripture should indeed give us pause – it has been calculated by pollsters that over half of those professing to be Catholic will vote for people running for public office or for proposals governing policy and the law that reject Catholic social teaching. In essence they become like so many figures from our biblical history that turn away from the faith and follow their secular contemporaries. These individuals almost always find the path they have chosen to follow leading them to misery, humiliation, and in many cases spiritual death.
Like the mother of the seven sons who refused to do something as seeming simple as eating pork and were willing to die instead, steadfast adherence to the precepts of their faith was so important it was worth torture and death. Would that we all could have that strength of conviction.
We can go next to St. Paul in his teaching to the Thessalonians:
Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
for not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful.
We hear his encouragement as well as that of our shepherds. Indeed, the people of Thessalonica were facing persecution for their faith. They were being pressured to abandon their moral principles in favor of the laxer Roman laws. Does that not sound familiar?
And finally let us look at Jesus’ on-going tension between himself and the Jewish leadership of his day, the scribes and Pharisees. Using what almost seemed like a parallel to the story from Maccabees with their example of seven brothers, they were attempting to use the law of Moses to confound the Lord because they did not believe in God’s promised resurrection. Resurrection, the ultimate gift of love for God’s prized possession, was denied by these so-called leaders. They could not conceive of a God who loved so deeply that he would send his Son into the world to make sure his law was properly understood.
Unless we forget, let us remember what proclaiming that message bought him: persecution and ultimately death. The road of the faithful is not always easy and certainly not popular.
Think for a moment about what your vote, the expression of your beliefs, is choosing.
Choosing to vote for the protection of parental rights, the ability of parents to teach and inform their children about their moral values and principles.
Or abdicating that right to the government who will now decide what morality is for your children.
Choosing to vote for the protection of life from conception to natural death.
Or abdicating not only the preservation of those innocent lives but all of the controls that regulate and govern health care institutions responsible for “reproductive health.”
Finally, look at the positions taken by the candidates for public office. If they support the moral options anathema to the Church’s moral dictates, even a vote against Proposition 3, will not deter those who would fundamentally provide a move toward sexual anarchy in our society with no consequences, the agenda of the Evil One.
Like so many things in our lives, the questions of morality before us are not always clear. They are clouded by caveats and exceptions often proposed to dilute our moral position.
This coming week we encourage all who are eligible to participate in the democratic process and vote. We also encourage all who are voting to look not just at party lines or historical loyalties but look at the fundamental principles and follow your faith. God is, after all, watching.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Death of Seven Brothers” by Jean-Baptiste de Vignaly,1781.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 47.
[6] Ibid. p.146.
[7] Ibid. p. 47.
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