Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time(Click here for readings)
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, "...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..."
This is absurd. The question posed by the Sadducees is absurd. This doesn't happen! Who in their right mind would marry a woman who had just knocked off all their siblings? No one. And let's be honest: if these were my brothers, I would have told this lady long ago to get the hell away from me.
Interestingly enough, this question reminds me of the type of questions people ask me regarding the Sacrament of Confession. "Father, what would you do if someone came into the confessional and confessed they had planted an atomic bomb in the city? Would you call the police?" Or, "Would you call the police if someone told you they kidnapped a child?"
Similar to the Sadducees' question, these questions (scenarios) are absolutely ridiculous. First of all, if criminals knew I could call the police they would never go to confession. Second, criminals do not go to confession before they commit a crime, they go afterwards. Third, sinners go to confession for forgiveness, not for notoriety.
So why do some people like to ask these types of questions? Because they want to break our resolve, our principle.
A Mother and Her Seven Boys. Today's first reading is taken from the book of Maccabees. "It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: 'What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.'"
Well, they did. All seven of them.
When I first read this passage, I thought to myself, "just eat the pork!" But my mind has been coco-washed by weak secular principles where life is regarded is higher esteem than principles. I immediately turned the argument around: Wait a minute. Is it absurd to die over pork or is it absurd to be willing to kill someone over pork?
This scene goes way beyond eating pork. It is all about creating fear, division. It is all about imposing one's power over an entire nation, a people. It is all about ridiculing a people. It is all about creating fear among the people.
Is this not what so many secular organization do today? "We will sue you if you do not stop that prayer service from happening!" "We will sue you if you do not take that cross down."
May we never forget what these seven brave young men never forgot: A king is nothing in the presence of a principle.
Are you ready to fight for your principles? Are you ready to die for them as well? Are you ready to stand up to a bully? I hope so. Bullies exist only because people allow themselves to be bullied. They fear losing their life more than they fear losing their dignity.
If you want to stop a bully then you have to look them square in the eyes and stand up to them. If you do this, even the surrounding crowd will have a change of heart. "The king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing."
The saints are sane people in an insane world! Far too many Christians have become weak due to wealth and comfort. They consider living a principle. It is not. Life is not a principle. It is a weakness.
Be strong! Be Christian strong! There will be days when we wish we never knew Jesus, but those days will be short in comparison to eternity.
They consider living a principle. It is not. Life is not a principle. It is a weakness.
ReplyDeleteFather, what do you mean that life is a weakness? I don't understand.
Mary