Reading 1
1 Mc 6:1-13
As King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces,
he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,
famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and that its temple was very rich,
containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons
left there by Alexander, son of Philip,
king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city.
But he could not do so,
because his plan became known to the people of the city
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army
and been driven back by the children of Israel;
that they had grown strong
by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions
taken from the armies they had destroyed;
that they had pulled down the Abomination
which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem;
and that they had surrounded with high walls
both the sanctuary, as it had been before,
and his city of Beth-zur.
When the king heard this news,
he was struck with fear and very much shaken.
Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
“Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
Gospel
Lk 20:27-40
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 ‘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.”
Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
Meditation: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13
How peculiar that Antiochus said to himself, “I was kindly and beloved in my rule”?(1 Maccabees 6:12)!
From the information here, we know that he thoroughly plundered Jerusalem, tortured and destroyed its inhabitants, was in the process of attacking Judah again, and was proposing to capture and pillage nearby Elymais. Torture, murder, destruction, theft, and forcible restraint do not paint the picture of a generous and compassionate ruler.
Clearly, Antiochus had no real or accurate idea about his life—at least, not until he stopped and thought things over. Then he recognized the terribly wicked way he had lived.
Maybe not to the extent of King Antiochus, but we all run the risk of becoming so preoccupied with ourselves that we don’t take the time to examine what we are doing and the effect our actions may have on other people.
So let’s get in the habit of asking: “How have I acted today toward the people I encountered?” Let’s also ask: “What has God been saying to me about the way I act toward them in general?” “Why is it that I can be so kind and generous at times, but then so sharp and critical at other times?” Asking questions like these can give the Holy Spirit a chance to show us some of our deeper drives and motivations—the good ones as well as the bad ones.
The last thing any of us wants is to die “in bitter grief, in a foreign land” as Antiochus did (1 Maccabees 6:13). The “foreign land” for us is any place where Christ doesn’t reign in our lives. It’s any world that we have constructed that feeds our selfish inclinations instead of honoring the Lord and his people.
The Holy Spirit wants to help us see ourselves as we really are. He wants to show us how to get out of any foreign land that we have fallen into. He’s just waiting for us to ask him to build up our virtues and to change any of our “foreign” ways. A simple daily examination is one of the best ways we can learn more about ourselves. It’s also one of the best ways we can ask the Spirit to show us how to live in God’s way of love.
“Holy Spirit, help me to begin to see myself truthfully, rejoicing in your life in me and facing what needs to change.”
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