The Greeks had great disdain for the Jews and sought to replace the Jewish faith and culture by importing as much Greek culture, philosophy, and religion into the holy land as possible. They went so far as to suppress Jewish worship in the Jerusalem Temple, placing the idol of a pagan God upon the altar, and allowing only pagan rituals to be performed there.
After years of oppression, the Jews had enough and revolted against the Greeks. In the passage from first Maccabees we heard today, there had been an important victory, the Jerusalem temple had been reclaimed, cleansed, redecorated, and reconsecrated in an 8 day celebratory ritual. The anniversary of the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple is celebrated to this day by the Jews in the festival of Hanukah.
Now, it’s going to be about 20-30 more years of hard fighting. A portion of the Jews will even side with the Greeks in the upcoming years and betray their own people. But notice, that in this effort to reclaim their land and drive out their oppressors, the faithful first reclaim their temple, cleanse it of foreign influence, and rededicate it to God in a celebratory festival.
This shows the priority of faith at work. The Maccabees recognized the importance of Temple first, God first, faith first, even in a time of war. They recognized that any true liberation from their enemy, victory in the only real war that matters, comes from God and must be directed by God. And knowing that they would face fierce retribution from the Greeks for taking back the temple, they took time to celebrate with joy. What a powerful model for people of faith as we face what seems to be an ongoing war for our own culture.
About 175 years later, as we heard in our Gospel today, our Lord visited the temple, and he finds that worldly corruption has reentered the Temple once again, and it had been allowed to reenter, it had been welcomed by the Jewish authorities of the day—the pharisees, and scribes, and Sadducees, and Sanhedrin. The very ones that were supposed to be guarding the Temple, through negligence and their own selfishness and pride, had allowed worldly corruption to take the place of the worship of God.
So, the Lord leads a sort of one-man revolt, driving out those who have replaced prayer with thievery, and condemning those who have allowed corruption to flourish.
These two stories seem to indicate that God is pretty serious about keeping his Temple, keeping his Church free from corrupting influences—worldly error, selfish leaders, lukewarm faith. It is a perpetual task to remain vigilant against corruption, to learn our faith well, for truth is the great bulwark against error and heresy, and to pray, especially to Our Lady, to come to the aid of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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For blessings upon the Bishops returning home from their annual meeting Baltimore that they may be men of deep faith, courage, and responsibility for the integrity and mission of the Church.
For the protection of our young people from the corrupting influences of our culture; and for families and communities experiencing division may know the peace and reconciliation that comes from Christ.
For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, or for those who will die today: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special favor and consolation.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
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