“As
he finished saying these words, a certain Jew came forward in the
sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in
Modein according
to the king’s order. When
Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal; his heart was moved and his just
fury was aroused; he sprang forward and killed him
upon the altar. At
the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king who
was forcing them to sacrifice…”
What
the heck? Is our first reading
condoning murder?
When
facing such passages in the Old Testament, we must keep a few things in
mind. Granted, a daily Mass homily
cannot do justice to explaining the nuances of reading the Old Testament, but
here are a few pointers: First, we can’t lose the forest for the sake of the
trees. Second, Jesus hasn’t yet
come and we are in a period with a less clear understanding of God. Third, the Scriptures were written in
specific societies and have contexts in which to be read.
All
Scripture is inspired and teaches truth.
The truth in the story of Mattathias, the catalyst to the Maccabean
revolt, is that he sees evil and sin and cuts it off. He acts quickly and swiftly.
This
is what our Blessed Mother did every day.
Like any other person, Mary would have faced temptations to fall. Yet by God’s grace, she never did. She cut sin completely out of her life.
Especially
in the Confessional when someone confesses habitual sin, I try to guide people to consider what leads
up to sin. The battle is usually
won or lost, not at the moment of temptation, but in falling into near
occasions of sin. It is in this
moment we must strive to make decisions to cut sin out of our life.
May
we be like Mattathias in his zeal to root out evil. Mary ever sinless, pray for us.
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