Day 301: Rising Again

2 Maccabees 4:1-22 Jason bribed the king to take the office of high priest from his brother Onias. Unlike Onias, Jason was not conscientious in upholding the Jewish Law, and, under his command, the priests neglected to make the proper sacrifices. Jason was also an advocate for Hellenization, endorsing the king’s agenda to force Greek culture and religion upon the Jews as a means to unify the kingdom. Jason’s construction of a Greek gymnasium adjacent to the Temple was a calculated move to draw the Jews, particularly the young, away from the Temple and into the spectacle of athletics; for the Greeks the gymnasium served as a place not only for physical conditioning and sporting events but also for mentoring and educating young boys. The required attendance of the Jewish youth conflicted with the study of the Jewish faith, and the opportunities for formation in the Law and the Commandments.

Ch 4:5-6 Onias acted on behalf of the common good, which ought to be the primary concern of every government official as well as for every citizen. (CCC 1905-1912)

Ch 4:16-17 The governance of every institution and society must have as its guiding light the principle of natural law, which reflects the eternal wisdom of God. Neglect of moral law leads to infringements of the rights and freedom of the individuals composing society. (CCC 2244)

Ch 4:18 Quadrennial games: The Greeks introduced these international competitions to their neighbors. These competitions would be revived in the late nineteenth century as the Olympic games. 

Ch 4:20 Triremes: These warships, which featured sails and three rows of oarsmen on each side, were in common use at the time.

Ch 4:23-29 As seen earlier with Jason’s ascendancy, the office of the high priest required appointment by the king at that time and was determined not by moral integrity or hereditary but by the subjective preference of a pagan king. It was a powerful office that exercised a large degree of civil authority in carrying out the king’s wishes. Menelaus won a bidding war with Jason and succeeded him as high priest. 

Ch 4:30-38 Menelaus made a profit for himself by selling the precious Temple vessels to pagans. He gave some to Andronicus, one of the king’s officials, as leverage to have Onias killed. Paradoxically, King Antiochus had such a high regard for Onias that he executed Andronicus instead. The author saw this execution as a show of divine justice.

Ch 4:39-50 God is always just but acts according to his inscrutable ways. God’s justice will always prevail and, in spite of the difficulties, will eventually yield an abundance of good. (CCC 1040, 2091)

Sirach 48:1 Fire is used often in Scripture to symbolize the action of the Holy Spirit. Recall in particular how John the Baptist associated Baptism “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Lk 3:16) and how the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the form of “tongues as of fire” (cf. Acts 2:3-4). (CCC 696)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• We got the chance to go through the stories that we KNOW NOW

• Maybe you’ve known them for a long time

• Maybe you know all these stories of Elijah and Elisha...and we go all the way back to Adam in the last verse of Sirach today

• BUT…

• MAN!! (OH MAN!!)

• Those stories like Josiah

• We remember that guy

• Yeah, Josiah was one of those righteous kings, he and David

• To know the story IS SUCH A GIFT!!

• It is one of those gifts we get these last couple of days as we leave the Old Testament and journey into the New Testament

• That is one of the things that we keep reminding ourselves of the FACT that...

• The Old Testament is REVEALED in the New

• The New Testament is HIDDEN in the Old

• A few short days...maybe 11 days from now

• We will be firmly planted in the New Testament starting with the Gospel of Luke

• Then Acts of the Apostles

• Romans

• OH GOSH!!

• It’s coming fast!!

• We also got to hear a retelling of the story of the Greek customs being introduced in 2 Maccabees Ch 4

• We get a little more “on-the-ground” vision

• Before, it was like “Oh the Greeks came into Jerusalem and they had decided to put up a gymnasium. And then some of the Jews were unfaithful to their mark of circumcision and actually undid the mark of circumcision.”

• HERE…

• We have some of the people “on-the-ground” who did this

• Jason 

• GOSH!!

• We have this backstabbing again and again and again

• Jason is one of these people

• Jason, the brother of Onias, he obtained the high priesthood by CORRUPTION

• Everyone seems like they are obtaining the high priesthood at this place at this time by CORRUPTION

• “Hey, I promise to pay even more than the guy before me.”

• BUT…

• Here is Jason, in addition to getting the High Priesthood for himself, who promised to pay more money if he could establish a gymnasium

• For what?

• To enroll the body of youth in it

• To enroll the men of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch

• This is such an interesting thing

• Jason is setting up a gymnasium

• He’s not necessarily going to the old men or the old people 

• He goes to the youth and decides basically, “If we can increase the Hellenization (the Greek-ifying) of the young people, then soon...soon….they will abandon the practice of the Covenant. They will abandon the practice of the faithfulness to the God of Israel. To THE God.”

• So Jason keeps introducing these things 

• He also started quadrennial games in Ch 4:18

• They are introducing Greek customs and culture

• BUT…

• The people doing this are also very connected to the Temple

• They are installing themselves in a deceptive way as high priests

• We recognize this corruption INTERNALLY

• It’s not just people from the outside

• It’s not just here’s the king who is introducing this kind of thing

• This is PEOPLE ON THE GROUND who hold both position of HIGH PRIEST and the PERSON WHO IS INTRODUCING GREEK CUSTOMS

• We recognize the corruption, not only of the youth, but of the religious figures at this time

• You can see why they’re coming, Judas Maccabeus and his brothers

• Because it’s not simply where they have to fight against the Greeks

• “Oh, this is what it would look like to have our brothers and sisters, our fellow Jews, who are now adopting the practices of the Greeks and trying to depict them as completely not inconsistent with the faith of our fathers. It’s not inconsistent with the Jewish faith.”

• WHILE IT ABSOLUTELY IS!!

• On to Proverbs 24:16, “For the righteous man falls seven times, and rises again…”

• This is an important WORD FOR US!!

• When we recognize our weakness, it can be discouraging

• “Gosh, Lord, how often am I unfaithful to you?”

• It can be INCREDIBLY DISCOURAGING

• BUT…

• Here is Proverbs reminding us that...EVEN THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON FALLS SEVEN TIMES A DAY

• IN FACT…

• The righteous person even falls SEVEN TIMES A DAY

• BUT…

• What also happens?

• The righteous man falls seven times AND RISES AGAIN!!

• THAT IS THE KEY!!

• Throughout the course of these 301 DAYS, we have heard the story of MANY FALLS

• SO MUCH CORRUPTION

• SO MUCH SIN

• AND YET…

• What happens?

• God keeps POURING OUT HIS MERCY

• God keeps POURING OUT HIS GOODNESS

• God keeps POURING OUT HIS GRACE

• And what happens?

• GOD RAISES UP HIS PEOPLE AGAIN!!

• So yes, even if you find YOURSELF falling seven times a day…

• BE LIKE THAT RIGHTEOUS PERSON

• THE RIGHTEOUS MAN FALLS SEVEN TIMES AND RISES AGAIN

• SO DON’T GIVE UP!!

• THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN BEAT US!!

• GOD’S GRACE IS FOR YOU!!

• GOD LOVES YOU!!

• GOD IS POURING OUT HIS GRACE UPON YOU!!

• The ONLY THING that could EVER actually stop us if we just DID NOT LET HIM PICK US UP AGAIN

• If we got so DISCOURAGED by our falling seven times seven times a day

• Or seven times a day…

• That we just STOPPED LETTING HIM PICK US UP

• SO…

• RISE UP AGAIN

• LET THE LORD’S GRACE AND LOVE MEET YOU RIGHT NOW

• AND DEFEAT DISCOURAGEMENT BY THE COURAGE THAT COMES FROM HIM

• Does that make sense?

• That last part was very preachy…

• BUT…

• IT IS TRUE!!

• SO THERE!!

• FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU!!

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. Thank you so much. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for your action and your presence in our lives and in every single day, every moment, gosh Lord, you hold us in being. You hold us in existence and not only do you hold us in existence, but you hold us in your arms and you hold us close to you. Please help us not squirm away, help us not wiggle out of your grasp. But help us always to find ourselves placed firmly in your will, firmly in your heart in everything. Let your Grace be upon us, because Lord God, left to ourselves we can do nothing. But we do all things by your Grace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”