Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hope you had a great week. I am making my way through the story of the Maccabees--told twice, in two adjoining books. Candidly, it has not been my favorite section of the Old Testament. A lot of history and politics and intrigue. But a little light on the spiritual side. I've tried to provide some thoughts and comments that I hope you'll find interesting. Cameos by Tony Soprano, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra, among others.

Here you go...

1 Maccabees 1-5

1 Maccabees 6-9:22

1 Maccabees 9:23-12

1 Maccabees 13-16

Do You Know Where You're Headed?

2 Maccabees 1-7

And here is the link to the Sunday Snippets page:

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Enjoy!

Have a great week.

2 Maccabees 1-7

2 Maccabees is an abridged version of a five-volume Greek history book that is now lost to the ages. It begins with the period preceding 1 Maccabees, but then continues on through that period (and perhaps past it--I haven't finished it yet). 

For the most part, this section is more historical than spiritual. It recounts still more political intrigue, betrayals, maneuvering for office, etc. High priests with grand ambitions lead the people away from God and the law, plot each others' demise, and bribe the powerful to gain advantage. Many Jews are led astray, drawn to the attractions of the Greek life. These events set the stage for the heroics of the Maccabees, who will come on the scene shortly.

What struck me in this section, though, are the stories of the martyrdom of the scribe, Eleazar, followed by the story of the mother and her seven sons. In both stories, the protagonists refuse the king's order that they eat pork, in violation of God's law. They willingly and joyfully embrace martyrdom, secure in the knowledge that they are pleasing God. And for the first time, the concept of life after death for the faithful and obedient is raised in the Old Testament. It is described as a resurrection of the body and a community of those who have passed to the next life. It is beautifully evoked and described by the seven sons and their mother in their dying words. The mother encourages her sons:

Since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each man's beginning, as He brings about the origin of everything, He, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of His law.

And the last of her sons, facing death, says:

My brothers, after enduring brief pain, have drunk of never-failing life, under God's covenant.

These stories are incredibly powerful. The courage and the hope in the Lord exhibited by these martyrs are marvelous and humbling examples to me.  

1 Maccabees 6-9:22

The Lord strengthens those who believe in Him, and He delivers them from their enemies. This, in a nutshell, is the theme of this section (and the preceding section) of 1 Maccabees. Upon learning of the defeat of Lysias at the hands of the Maccabees, King Antiochus IV is grief-stricken and dies. But not before realizing that his evil treatment of the Israelites, and his desecration of their holy place, is what brought on his defeat. He appoints an heir, and a royal consul, Philip, to oversee his upbringing, and dies. Meanwhile, Lysias continues his pursuit of the Jewish people--until he hears that the king has died. He appoints his own heir to the king and fights on. But when he hears that Philip is returning with an army, he makes peace with the Jews, granting them the freedom to practice their own religion. He returns to fight and defeat Philip.

The scene shifts to the reign of Demetrius, an heir in the line of Antiochus. Spurred on by "impious men of Israel", he sends emissaries to the Jewish people to feign a desire for peace, but with the ultimate aim of conquering them. Judas and his brothers are not fooled, and they are victorious in the battles that follow. At least until Bacchides and Alcius are sent back again by Demetrius with an even larger army. Some of the troops under Judas' command flee in fear, but Judas takes his small band of men into battle. They fight valiantly for a time, but are ultimately overwhelmed and Judas is slain. 

1 Maccabees 1-5

After the reign of Alexander, the lands he conquered were divided among his officers.  They and their offspring ruled the various lands. One of these leaders, Antiochus Epiphanes, becomes King of the Greeks and commences an era of aggressive attacks against the Jewish people across many cities. In some locations, the Jewish people respond meekly, unable or unwilling to fight back and in this way bringing shame upon the descendants of Jacob. The king goes so far as to forbid the practice of any religion other than that of the Gentiles. Again, some Jews acquiesce. But some, most prominently Mattathias and his five sons, openly challenge the edict and the prevailing political situation. They refuse to obey the edict; they refuse to run and hide, as some of the Jews did, but instead, they fight back bravely and successfully. 

As Mattathias is dying, he gathers his sons together and instructs them to "be zealous for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers." He encourages them as follows:

Consider this from generation to generation, that none who hope in him shall fail in strength. Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory ends in corruption and worms. Today he is exalted, and tomorrow he is not to be found, because he has returned to his dust, and his schemes have perished.  Children! be courageous and strong in keeping the law, for by it you shall be glorified.

What a wonderful and hopeful idea, that no one who hopes in God shall fail in strength.  The notion of being zealous for the law and strong in keeping the law takes me back again to the concept of faithfulness of heart. To reset, David is the paradigm of the Old Testament man who lives rightly--not because he was perfect, but because he was faithful of heart. He desired to do right, to honor God's commands, to do so lovingly and faithfully, and to hope and trust in God. It is just this sort of faithfulness of heart that Mattathias hopes to leave as his legacy in his sons.

What follows are many scenes (too many to describe) that essentially repeat the same chain of events: A Gentile leader persecutes Jews in the community or gathers an army to attack the Jews; the sons of Mattathias--the Maccabees--led by the warrior Judas, gather their own army and defeat the Gentiles, killing them and (often) plundering their belongings. At one point the victorious Jewish army recaptures Mount Zion and the desecrated temple. They rebuild, restore, and reconsecrate the temple and the altar, setting off eight days of celebration that are re-enacted today during the feast of Hannukah.