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Several years back, I was invited by the Diocese of Pittsburg to address an audience of Catholic educators at an event the Diocese was hosting. I accepted the invitation, wrote my talk, and flew to Pittsburg on the day before I was to deliver my talk. Nothing unusual…so far.... I got up early the next morning , put some finishing touches on it during breakfast, and then walked from the hotel to the Pittsburg Convention Center to scout things out. Once again, nothing unusual...so far.... Upon arriving at the Convention Center, I proceeded to the auditorium where I was scheduled to deliver my talk. There I discovered Dr. Alan Keyes addressing the audience. Dr. Keyes is a conservative black, Catholic political activist, author, diplomat, candidate for President of the United States, and—as I knew from having heard to Dr. Keyes address audiences on several previous occasions—a dynamic and engaging speaker. The subject of his address was the decline of traditional morality in the United States, what this portends, and how Catholic educators could be crucial in forming what may be a small group of what potentially could be activist, adult Catholic citizens who would challenge and maybe even turn around the nation’s moral decline. It would be an understatement to say that Dr. Keyes had the audience of Catholic educators “in the palm of his hand.” Many members of the audience were ecstatic, applauding after practically every statement Dr. Keyes uttered. And, at several points during his address, members of the audience gave Dr. Keyes a standing ovation. Now, this was something unusual because I normally would have been the “warm-up act” for the “headliner.” Taking all of this in, I felt a sense of terror welling up within me. I was wondering: “Just how in the Sam’s Hill am I going to follow this?” Well, I feel that way this morning after hearing the story of the Maccabean boys and their mother. How could I possibly do better than that? It’s such a fabulous story of faith and witness to faith. To a man and a mother, each put faith and its practice ahead of any fear of death. That is, each refused to violate Jewish religious law because of their firm belief that their faith and its practice had consequences, both mortal and immortal. The Maccabeans directly confronted and overcame a temptation in their culture which all of us face today in our culture, namely, to deny our faith and its practice by shrinking back because we fear we may have to suffer. We experience this temptation when we ask ourselves simple questions like: · What difference does it make if I don’t pray daily? · What difference does it make if I don’t read the Bible? · What difference does it make if I don’t attend Church? · What difference does it make if I don’t fast and abstain? · What difference does it make if I don’t confess my sins?
·
What
difference does it make if I don’t admonish sinners, instruct the
ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs
patiently, and forgive injuries? Of course, the story of the Maccabees presents the opposition situation: · Would each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to pray daily? · Would each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to read the Bible? · Would each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to attend Church? · Would each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to fast and abstain? · Would each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to confess my sins?
·
Would
each of us be willing to die if we weren’t allowed to admonish
sinners, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the
sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, and forgive injuries? We then compound matters as we experience are tempted and ask ourselves even more important questions, like: · What difference does it make if I don’t challenge Catholic legislators to put their faith into practice? · What difference does it make if don’t stand up for the unborn? · What difference does it make if I don’t protest same sex marriage and defend the sanctity of traditional marriage and the family?
·
What
difference does it make if I don’t visit the sick and imprisoned,
feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, or
shelter the homeless? Of course, the story of the Maccabees presents the opposite situation: · Would each of us be willing to be put to death if we weren’t allowed to challenge Catholic legislators to put their faith into practice? · Would each of us be willing to be put to death if we weren’t allowed to stand up for the unborn? · Would each of us be willing to be put to death if we weren’t allowed to protest same sex marriage and defend the sanctity of traditional marriage and the family?
·
Would
each of us be willing to be put to death if we weren’t allowed to
visit the sick and imprisoned, feed the hungry and give drink to the
thirsty, clothe the naked, or shelter the homeless? The Maccabees’ heroic witness teaches us that our faith and its practice does have consequences, for example, when we stand for something in a culture whose majority demands that people of faith stand for everything and when we do right things in a culture whose majority demands that people of faith do things right. And what may those consequences be? They could include being made the butt of jokes, of appearing foolish being rejected, and perhaps even risking the death of what we believe are important relationships or perhaps, even physical death. Faith and the practice of it—like the Maccabees—requires that we not cower before the altar of those and other such fears, but to be heroic—and yes, to embrace suffering—in a culture where the majority of people believe that truth is a matter of how they feel rather than doing what God’s truth requires. That heroic witness might take the form of a parent who does not waver, but who upholds the importance of developing character, courage, virtue, and values when a whiny and teary-eyed child or teenager says, “But, Mom.… But, Dad.” That heroic witness might also take the form of a young person who listens to the Holy Spirit—the “Teacher Within”—and stands up for truth, for virtue, and for values by withstanding the very powerful force exerted by peer pressure. Small acts of witnessing to our faith in its practice like these develop within us the disciplines needed if we are to give heroic witness in big ways, like the Japanese martyrs, Maximilian Kolbe, and the Maccabees who stood foursquare against the culture of their days. What made it possible for all of these people to endure torture and even death? Their belief in the resurrection of the dead. Every Sunday, we proclaim our belief “in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” (“Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi”). But, in light of the witness of people like the Japanese martyrs, Maximilian Kolbe, and the Maccabees, do we proclaim this faith knowing that doing so carries with it real responsibilities and real consequences? Or, do we just glibly pay lip service to a statement we don’t even know what its words mean or perhaps even could care less about? A couple of years back, a National Opinion Research Center opinion poll indicated that 59% of Americans don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. I suspect that not much has changed in that regard since the poll was taken. So, how many of us does that opinion reflect? Might this explain why so many Catholics fear proclaiming their faith in daily practice, even in the most simple of things? Might this explain why it is easier for most Catholics to stand for everything and to do things right so that they don’t stand for something and rock the boat by doing right things? A good place to begin understanding the Church’s belief in the resurrection of the dead is not by studying that belief per se but by reading Section #3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which explains what it means to live in Christ as well as our vocation and dignity as human beings because all of this is what prepares us for the resurrection of the dead. The Catechism notes:
The
vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be
transformed into the image of the Father’s only Son. This vocation
takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the
divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole.
(#1877) As St. Paul admonished the Corinthians: “For if Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, of what use is our faith?” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Unless we believe that the true meaning of our lives consists in showing forth the image of God, our belief in the resurrection of the dead is utterly and completely meaningless. Our faith and its practice each and every day is how we actively engage in preparing ourselves for what we believe, namely, the resurrection of the dead. Each day, every one of us is challenged in different ways to put our faith into practice. St. Paul reminds us that we are not alone in meeting these challenges:
...the
Lord is faithful; Today’s scripture reminds us of one particular belief, one that the majority of people in our culture do not believe. When we witness to our belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, as did the Japanese martyrs, Maximilian Kolbe, and the Maccabees, it is the Lord who is faithful, who strengthens and guards us, who directs our hearts to the love of God and the endurance of Christ as we contradict what our culture takes for granted: all that matters is to be experienced and maximized in this life. By showing forth the image of God in an alien and hostile culture, our witness to our faith and its practice has consequences in the life of the world to come.
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HOMILY
