|
The story of the seven
brothers who bravely approached their execution is certainly a story of
heroic courage. But, it is much more. It is a story of heroic witness
to faith, something that has been happening with great frequency
lately. Did you know that there were more Christian martyrs during the
20th century than in all of the previous 19 Christian centuries? Why
were these people willing to suffer and to be put to death for their
faith?
With their mother
watching on as each of her seven sons is savagely executed, we are told,
even the king and his attendants marveled at each boy’s courage. But,
it was the fourth brother’s proclamation of faith just prior to his
execution is crucial for today’s reflections. This boy 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.
“Hope tells me I
will live,” the fourth brother preaches to his executioners, “and
justice tells me that you will die with no hope of life.” With the
divine judgment having been pronounced, the human judgment only needed
to be carried out to its bloody conclusion.
Did the young boy
and his brothers rise from the dead and go to heaven? Did the king and
those who executed the seven boys eventually die with nothing but a
grave as their end? Who’s to know? I certainly don’t know. But,
I do I know the boys (and all those martyrs, too) certainly hoped so.
With the arrival of
fall and winter not far behind, it’s natural to wonder about life, the
meaning of life, and the reality of death. As we contemplate these very
complex and difficult matters to the heart of our existence as human
beings, we find ourselves wondering about things like that question,
“Whatever did become of those seven brothers or all of those martyrs for
the faith?”
The pronouncement of
the fourth brother—to live with no hope in the resurrection of the dead
is to lead a rather dismal, frightful, and sad existence—is something we
don’t oftentimes ponder or perhaps ponder enough. The simple fact for
those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead is that no
matter what joy or personal fulfillment they experience, all of that has
absolutely no permanent worth or value because everything they long for,
everything they hope for, everything they plan for, and everything that
brings them joy and happiness, they must leave behind as the last breath
of life is sucked out of them and they return to dust. There will be no
memories, no joys, and absolutely no future. With no hope in the
resurrection of the dead, they know one thing infallibly: each one day
will be providing fodder for maggots and worms.
In that sense, to
live with no hope in the resurrection of the dead is to exist in “The
Night of the Living Dead.” Yes, they are alive. They walk. They
breathe. They talk. They work. And, they love. But, with no
assurance other than a grave is in their future, life itself becomes a
harsh and cruel joke as everything that brings joy in life is taken away
by Death. The cruelest irony, of course, is that most—if not all—of us
won’t be remembered 50 or 80 and, certainly, 80 years after we return to
dust.
Don’t believe me?
Try this little test:
a. What was your maternal grandmother’s first name? She was
alive when you were young, perhaps 20 or 30 years ago.
b. What was your maternal great-grandmother’s first name?
For many of us, she was alive when we were infants, perhaps 40 or 50
years ago.
c. What was her mother’s first name? That, what was your
great-great-grandmother’s first name? She was alive about 70 or 80
years ago and, if it weren’t for her, you and I wouldn’t be alive
today. But, most of us can’t even identify her first name!
The purpose of this
little test is to remind us that although we may think we’re important,
all of the things we do are important, and all of the things we possess
are important, the simple fact of the matter is that not one iota of
this—including ourselves—will be remembered perhaps 80 or 100 years from
now.
Now, to live with
hope in the resurrection of the dead—note that, like the fourth son, I
said “hope” not “factual knowledge”—requires leading a “purpose-filled”
existence. All of the joy and all of the personal fulfillment
experienced does have permanent worth and value because everything we
long for, everything we hope for, everything we plan for, and everything
that brings us joy and happiness prepares us for the freedom that one
day will be ours as God’s sons and daughters when that last breath of
life is sucked out of us and we return to dust. All of those memories
and all of those joys don’t wither, fad, and disappear. No, they
prepare us for an eternal future where we will live in God along with
all of those who lived in the hope of the resurrection. “Life is not
ended, transformed” we are told in the Preface for the Mass of the Dead.
By the way, do you
know why those four brothers were executed? It was because they refused
to capitulate to the social pressure being exerted upon each of them to
conform with pagan culture by breaking one of the rules of the Jewish
faith. Which rule? The one that forbade them from eating pork.
Think of it this
way. Each of seven brothers was asked: “Your life or a ham sandwich?
What will it be?”
Taken at face value,
it seems such a trivial matter, doesn’t it? After all, many of the
onlookers—including fellow Israelites—were likely asking, “What does God
care if the boys eat one ham sandwich?”, and concluded, “Just go ahead
and eat the sandwich!” Or, it is easy to conceive of the mother of the
seven boys begging her sons to eat that darn ham sandwich. After all,
if all of her sons are faithful Jews, they will be executed. Then, the
mother is left entirely alone.
And, many of us
might concur. After all, what does God care:
…if I miss Mass on Sundays and the Holy Days of Obligation?
…if I don’t fast and abstain on the days appointed by the
Church?
…if I don’t receive Communion during the Easter season?
…if I don’t follow the laws of the Church regarding marriage?
…if I don’t contribute to the support of the Church?
Well, the point
isn’t that God cares. The truth be told, God probably doesn’t care.
How is any one of us to know what God cares about? No, the point is
that we care about God and, as Catholics, we make conscious choices to
live a certain way. One pathway—that of fidelity—means making choices
based upon the hope in the resurrection of the dead, as exemplified by
those seven boys. The other pathway—the way of infidelity—means making
those choices based upon the infallible knowledge that we will one day
end up as dust.
When we make our
choices based upon hope in the resurrection of the dead, we demonstrate
that we care about God, not the other way around as many of us would
like. Who wouldn’t rather sleep in on Sundays and Holy Days of
Obligation? Who wouldn’t rather enjoy one’s choice of food and beverage
every day of the year? So what if people just show up for Church on
Christmas and Easter, at least they came? So what if we’re living
together? Who is the Church to dictate to people when and how to get
married? Why should I give any money to the Church? God doesn’t care
about any of these things!
Again, that’s
“backwards thinking” to justify one’s having chosen the pathway of
infidelity. The issue isn’t whether God cares about these things or
not. No, the issue is whether we care about God or not. For Catholics,
these are the six simple ways by which we demonstrate that we care for
God minimally.
In a similar way to
the seven brothers, as Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem where he knew he was
going to be executed, Jesus warned the Sadducees who believed that life
ends in death, “God…is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to
him all are alive.” Looking the religious authorities square in the
eyes, Jesus didn’t flinch from witnessing to his faith, whether they
liked it or not.
Think about this:
Jesus could have turned his back on Jerusalem, returned to Nazareth, and
resumed his life as a carpenter (which, by the way, was a pretty
lucrative trade in his day). Jesus could have chucked all of the
preaching about all of that God’s reign stuff, gone off and gotten
married, had a family with a gaggle of kids, and happily lived out his
days until he returned to dust.
Had Jesus followed
this path of infidelity, not only wouldn’t we be here today but, more
importantly, we’d also have no evidence of the resurrection of the dead!
As Jesus was growing
up, the gospels tell us, he was a faithful Jew. Jesus not only
consciously chose to go the Temple, but he also taught in the Temple
even as a youngster. Jesus chose not only to follow the rules of his
religion, but when he saw them violated, Jesus also became angry and
challenged those who not only broke the letter of the law but also the
spirit of the law. When challenged in public by the Jewish religious
officials, Jesus didn’t hesitate to take them to task, calling them
hypocrites on many occasions. When they desecrated the Temple, Jesus
drove them out.
We may think that
all of those little things—those simple religious rules—are meaningless,
not only for ourselves but also for God. But, we end up deluding
ourselves because it is in the practice of those seemingly trifling
religious things that we develop the courage we need, if—like those
seven brothers and Jesus—we are to witness to our faith when big things
are demanded. Fidelity just doesn’t happen. No, it develops and it is
strengthened as we meet the challenges in the little things so that we
are better prepared to meet the challenges in the big things.
As we go about our
lives in a culture perhaps the majority of whose members have been
seduced by the false promises offered by secularism, materialism, and
consumerism, we can choose to eat that ham sandwich and to turn our
backs on Jerusalem. The choice of infidelity is ours to make, the
choice whereby we demonstrate that we have no hope in the resurrection
of the dead. But, the choice of fidelity is also ours to make. We can
also choose to confront secularism, materialism, and consumerism—what
Pope John Paul II identified as breeding the “culture of death”—by
refusing to eat that ham sandwich or to turn our backs on Jerusalem.
But, like those seven brothers and Jesus, the only way we will have the
strength to demonstrate our hope in the resurrection of the dead is to
strengthen ourselves by the practice of our faith, beginning with the
simple things!
The fact is that, in
the end, those rules aren’t unimportant. No, they engage us in
practicing the self-discipline by which we choose to make God important
in our lives. Furthermore, if we are to witness courageously in our
world to the truth of our faith in the resurrection of the dead, the
fourth brother has taught us a very important lesson by not eating that
ham sandwich, namely, there is no guarantee of the resurrection of the
dead. No, what we have is confidence in the things we hope for. And,
because Jesus didn’t turn his back on Jerusalem, we also have evidence
of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
As Jesus warned the
Sadducees: “God… is not God of the dead, but of the living for to him
all are alive” (Luke 20:38).
A brief
commercial break...
With only
43 days left until Christmas Day, the people at Magnificat® produce a
companion edition for the season of Advent. Similar to a what older
Catholics may remember as a "prayer book," the companion edition
contains all sorts of prayers, readings, reflections, art, and
activities for every member of the family to prepare each day of the
season of Advent for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
Grandparents might consider purchasing a copy for themselves and copies
for each of their grandchildren. Confirmation sponsors might consider
purchasing a copy for themselves as well as the person they sponsored in
the faith. Spouses might purchase a copy for themselves and use it for
daily prayer during the season of Advent. Parents might purchase a copy
for the family and use it to lead prayer before dinner each evening.
At a
price of $3.95 for 1-4 copies plus $1 shipping/handling, $2.50 for 5-9
copies plus $3 shipping/handling, and $1.50 for 10-49 copies (plus $5
shipping/handling), the companion edition makes a perfect and very
affordable opportunity to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas
as well as an Advent gift to spur family, friends, and colleagues toward
greater spiritual growth during the season of Advent.
The
companion edition has a limited press run that sells out each year.
Furthermore, orders are filled in the order received. So, place your
order early.
To place
an order for the 2007 companion edition of Magnificat® for the season of
Advent, call
1-970-416-6670 or email
specialissue@intrepidgroup.com for ordering information.
|
HOMILY
