THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR C
2 Mc 7:1-2,9-14; Ps 17
2 Thes 2:16-3:6; Lk 20:27-38
THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION
The first reading of today comes from the second book of Maccabees. After the death of Alexandra the Great in 323 BC, his vast empire was divided among his generals. One of them was Seleucus who expanded and built the Seleucid dynasty. At that time, the empire was ruled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes who decided to bring a cultural and religious uniformity in the empire. By this, every other religion was prohibited and everything Greek was promoted. This was resisted by the Jewish people especially the family of Judas son of Mattathias, who were honourably called by the name Maccabees.
Our first reading is part of the story of the martyrdom of the seven Maccabean brothers and later their mother when they refused to eat pork in obedience to God’s commandment. as directed by the emperor Antiochus.
The king wanted them to give up their faith and worship the gods of the Greek culture. But they refused and so were killed. They died because they refused to violate the Law of God.
Four of the brothers made some statements before they died and these statements highlight an aspect of belief in the resurrection:
The first brother said, “We are ready to die rather than transgress the Laws of God”. This statement affirms a courageous fidelity to God in the face of death. For us today, it is in the face of being cancelled or labelled or isolated and sometimes even prevented from enjoying some services. But we must not forget that we are children of God, special to him because we have been redeemed by the precious blood of his son. For this reason, we live by the laws of God not the laws or ideas of men. Nothing is stronger than our joy in submission to God. We must be courageous obedience to the Laws of God. A Christian for whom the lure of Heaven is not enough is not worthy of the name and status. Jesus assures us, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though he die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jn 11:25-26).
The second son said, “You are depriving us of this life but the king of the universe will raise us up again”. This is a statement of hope for a life beyond the physical. As believers in Jesus Christ, we believe that death is not our end. We are not afraid of death. We believe that there is resurrection for us. If the people of the Old Testament were not afraid to die because of the hope of an afterlife, how much more those of us who have received the promise of Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead (Col. 1:18). Jesus has overcome death and he will grant us also life everlasting. This is what we believe.
The third son said, “It was from heaven that I received these, for the sake of his laws I disdain them. From him I hope to receive them again”. This is an affirmation that God who created life can also restore it beyond death. God has the capacity to reach us even beyond the grave. Many are afraid of death because they have lost faith in God and have lived their lives only for this world. Many have been swayed by the false promises of this world such that they cannot live for life beyond this world. We are called to live our lives for heaven. We are just passing through this world. It is not our permanent place. We are made for heaven.
The fourth son said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the God-given hope of being restored to life by him; but for you there will be no resurrection to life”. This points to the fact that resurrection is only for those who have been faithful. Have you been faithful? Or you are living life according to your own ideas and sentiments. God desires resurrection for all of us but he will not force us. We choose or reject it by the choices we make and by our lifestyle.
The resurrection is true and it is real. I believe it because Jesus promised it and the church teaches it. It is true because God loves us beyond death. How can he who created us in his own image and likeness and saved us by the blood of his son make us disappear into nothingness.
Does your hope and faith in God embolden you like these young men and their mother to hold on to the commandment of God?
Do you have the courage to stand against the tyranny of the godlessness of the world in order to inherit resurrection?
BY Rev. Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
