Daily Readings - Sat Nov 20 2021
1 Maccabees
1And king Antiochus was traveling through the upper regions, and he heard that the city of Elymais in Persia was very noble and abundant in silver and gold2and that the temple in it was very opulent, and that there were, in that place, coverings of gold, and breastplates and shields, which Alexander, the son of Philip, king of Macedonia, who reigned first in Greece, had left behind3So he came and sought to seize the city and to pillage it. And he was not able, because this plan became known to those who were in the city4And they rose up in battle, and he fled away from there, and he departed with great sadness, and he returned into Babylon5And someone arrived to report to him in Persia, that those who were in the land of Judah were forced to flee the camp6and that Lysias went forth with a particularly strong army, and he was forced to flee before the face of the Jews, and that they were strengthened by the weapons, and resources, and many spoils which they seized from the camps they demolished7and that they had destroyed the abomination, which he had established on the altar that was in Jerusalem, and that the sanctuary, just as before, had been encircled with high walls, along with Bethzur, his city8And it happened that, when the king heard these words, he was terrified and very moved. And he fell down on his bed, and he fell into feebleness out of grief. For it had not happened to him as he had intended9And he was in that place through many days. For a great grief was renewed in him, and he concluded that he would die10And he called all his friends, and he said to them: "Sleep has withdrawn from my eyes, and I am declining, and my heart has collapsed out of anxiety11And I said in my heart: How much trouble has come to me, and what floods of sorrow there are, where I am now! I used to be cheerful and beloved in my power12Truly, now, I remember the evils that I did in Jerusalem, from which place I also took away all the spoils of gold and silver that were in it, and I sent to carry away the inhabitants of Judah without cause13Therefore, I know that it is because of this that these evils have found me. And behold, I perish with great sorrow in a foreign land.
Luke
27Now some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, approached him. And they questioned him28saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote for us: If any man’s brother will have died, having a wife, and if he does not have any children, then his brother should take her as his wife, and he should raise up offspring for his brother29And so there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and he died without sons30And the next one married her, and he also died without a son31And the third married her, and similarly all seven, and none of them left behind any offspring, and they each died32Last of all, the woman also died33In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For certainly all seven had her as a wife.34And so, Jesus said to them: "The children of this age marry and are given in marriage35Yet truly, those who shall be held worthy of that age, and of the resurrection from the dead, will neither be married, nor take wives36For they can no longer die. For they are equal to the Angels, and they are children of God, since they are children of the resurrection37For in truth, the dead do rise again, as Moses also showed beside the bush, when he called the Lord: ‘The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.38And so he is not the God of the dead, but of the living. For all are alive to him.39Then some of the scribes, in response, said to him, "Teacher, you have spoken well.40And they no longer dared to question him about anything
Sermon
The first reading from 1 Maccabees presents us with a dramatic turn of events for King Antiochus, who had once been so confident in his power and wealth. His failed attempt to plunder the temple in Elymais and his subsequent defeat by the Jews led to a profound crisis. Antiochus, once a man of strength and authority, is now overwhelmed by grief, physical weakness, and a deep sense of regret. He realizes too late the gravity of his injustices, particularly his oppression of the Jewish people and his desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem. This reading reminds us that sin and injustice, though they may seem to bring temporary gain, ultimately lead to ruin and sorrow. Antiochus’s story is a cautionary tale about the consequences of pride and the importance of humility.
In the Gospel, Jesus engages with the Sadducees, who question him about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees, who did not believe in the afterlife, present a complex scenario involving a woman who marries seven brothers in succession, all of whom die childless. They ask whose wife she would be in the resurrection. Jesus responds by explaining that the way we understand marriage and relationships in this life does not apply to the next. In the age to come, we will not be bound by the same limitations of death and sin. Jesus emphasizes that the resurrection is not a continuation of this life but a transformation into something entirely new. He also reminds us that God is the God of the living, not the dead, and that all are alive in his presence.
Both readings invite us to reflect on the nature of life, death, and our ultimate destiny. Antiochus’s story teaches us that true strength comes not from power or wealth but from living justly and humbly. Jesus’s teaching on the resurrection challenges us to think beyond the limits of this world and to trust in God’s promise of eternal life. As we navigate the challenges of our daily lives, we are called to live with integrity, to seek forgiveness for our sins, and to hope in the promise of eternal life with God. Let us strive to live in such a way that we may one day experience the fullness of life that God has prepared for us.