Bible
Study: 1 Maccabees 1, 10 to 63. And Luke 18, 35 to 43.
Do you
notice that evil always seems more attractive than good? From our first reading
this morning, we see how evil readily spreads often beginning a person or a
group of persons and gradually seducing more and more people until the very
culture of the society itself becomes soaked in sin.
Just pick
out any evil in society today and trace its history. First you find some
persons doing it and they receive public condemnation for it. But no one is
bold enough to stop them or punish them, soon they start enticing others to try
their evil deed and they start attracting fans, then they reach out for the
king or the leader. They get into the shores of power and use their political
might to push for legislation on such evil deeds.
Just as we
see happening in our own day and time, so it was in the days of the Maccabees,
the king Antiochus Epiphanes actually passed into law the fact that the devoted
Israelites should abandon their traditional religious customs and embrace the
ways of evil. Many in obedience forgot the ways of God the Most High, they
sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath.
As if that
was not enough, the king erected the horrible abomination of pagan idols right
inside the holy places of worship in Jerusalem and the surrounding cities of
Judah. Then the people started burning the scrolls of the law. It is so
terrible how just a few persons can actually set entire cities ablaze with the
fire of evil and corruption such that what used to be considered the standard
of good behaviour all of a sudden is looked upon with contempt.
In the
midst of all these, there were some who refused to partake of such corruption. There
were many who could still stand their ground against evil and what became of
these persons? They suffered the pain of martyrdom. They preferred to die than
to go against their religious conviction. They alone had eyes to see that when
evil reigns in society, it is better to die for what is good and be rewarded
with eternal life than to swim in the river of evil for a while only to end up
later in eternal damnation.
It takes
great faith on our part to be prepared to die for the sake of righteousness
than to share in the cup of evil in the name of conformity.
In our
Gospel passage, Jesus heals a man who though was physically blind was able to
see with the eyes of faith. The moment he inquired and was told that it was
Jesus, he knew he had to shout to get Jesus’ attention, he knew only Jesus had
a solution to his physical condition. Eventually, when Jesus cured him, he
said: “Your faith has made you well.”
In the
face of the many evils which have become rampart in our society today, do I have
faith enough to stand my feet on remain in the path of goodness not minding
what anyone can do to me? Have I allowed myself to become blind to the extent
that I find it difficult to notice these abominable evils in the modern day
culture of my people some of which have even become enshrined in the law? Do I hold
a position of influence in society and prefer to listen to suggestions from
people who are immoral, corrupt and indecent simply because of the money I stand
to gain from them? What efforts am I making to revive the traditional morality
of old?
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, open my eyes to see evil for what it truly is and deepen my courage to
stand up to good even if such may cost my very life. I will rather die than share
from the banquet of evil and corruption. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy new week.
Note: The
book of Maccabees where our first reading is taken belongs to the collection of
Biblical books that are only found in the complete Bible. You may want to get
yourself the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
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