Homily, November 6, 2022
From The Pastor
The month of November has for centuries honored the dead. Even prior to the biblical age of Abraham, Moses, and the early beginnings of Jewish culture, human civilizations have honored the dead with rituals, burial preparations, and various forms of religious practices. Human nature holds a dignity and reverence grounded in bonds of love evidenced in social-communal living. Prior to the movements of Judeo-Christian faith and its religious practices, humans were drawn to a sacred sense of being in the loss of community members or loved ones who have died.
This sacred sense of the value of human life is disrupted by the ravages of sin and evil. The first reading describes a time after the diaspora of the Jewish people caused by the invasion of conquering nations. Many Jews fled to other countries for safety and security of life. At the time, Greeks dominated the biblical world and sought control over conquered populations. Greek rule forced all people to abandon former religious and cultural practices to fully adopt the Greek culture. This background, common as it remains in the world today, is the setting of the first reading. The Maccabee brothers and those resisting the Greek culture revolted against this oppression.
The point of the reading is the unwavering courage and conviction of those refusing to give up the faith they held in the Lord their God. The point is to encourage us by their steadfast faith that we might gain strength and courage in our own time to hold faith in a resisting and defiant culture.
What is to be gained by the violence and oppression of people who seek power and control over others? I am struck by the question of the tortured brother. “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are prepared to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” What is gained by such oppression attained through violence, war, hatred, and control of peoples? Conquerors feel the power of their control over others usually for the sake of wealth and sustained power. Until they themselves are conquered, the cycle of evil and oppression continues.
The ravages of such behavior lead to hatred, anger, and resentment among the conquered and the oppressed. Disunity and division grow, and people become restless inclining them to violence and retaliation against the oppressor. Human dignity is diminished, and the stability of society is threatened as people feel a lack of autonomy or any control over their lives. For many, faith in God is threatened by the weight of desperate social circumstances that appear to have no resolution. Hopelessness and despair increase. A sense of separation builds, and loneliness sets in as people mistrust others and try to make it on their own. It can seem like God is absent.
What can be achieved by faith? The tortured brothers and their faith-filled mother are a good example. When the tortured brother is ready to die for the laws of his ancestors, he is surrendering his life for something much greater than a set of religious rules. This courageous man is giving witness to the living God through whom he embraces Divine truth, providence, and mercy. He is not defending the coat of cultural religion, but the secure hope in the truth of a God of love, justice, and dignity for all people, especially the poor and the oppressed.
Mature faith builds courage, inspires hope, and lives with trust in the providence of God who is just and true. Mature faith builds inner strength realized and experienced through a deep inner knowing of the presence of God. Faith in God builds and nurtures self-worth and self-respect. From this secure inner knowing of self-love grows a dignity and respect for others. If I believe I am loved, valued, and worthy to the Lord my God, how can I believe that all others are not similarly valued, loved, and worthy to God? Am I better than others? Should I have the right to take power and control over others? Clearly not. We are brothers and sisters to the same God and Lord. We have all been given the same redemptive love from the Lord Jesus with the promise of eternal life.
Secure faith in God builds happiness and stability of life through relationship with others as we share a common humanity. God the Lord is God and redeemer for all peoples. Only in the lie of evil and the disorder of sin do we suffer the illusion of having power over others. More often than we think power reveals itself in judgement, prejudice, and fear we hold towards others.
What we achieve by faith is the joyful hope gained in love as the gift of our Divine Creator. We gain the peace of a happy death in the promise of eternal life as well as the consolation that our loved ones now rest in Divine glory. One day we will all be together in the unitive love promised by God. On this earthly journey, let us live with love for others with the courage and conviction of faith to leave the world a better place before we enter the bliss of heaven. Your presence in the world matters. Secure in faith, give a lively witness to the love we profess.
Father John Esper
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