Understanding Power

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the uses of power in our society that may bring us closer to God and each other and those applications that draw us into conflict and death.

Power of Truth

The reading from the First Book of Maccabees describes the Last Days of Antiochus Epiphanes.

* [6:1] Elam: in fact, the mountainous region north of the Persian Gulf, rather than a city. The city may have been Persepolis. This section continues the story from 3:37 and pertains to events preceding those in 4:37–39.

* [6:16] The one hundred and forty-ninth year: September 22, 164, to October 9, 163 B.C. A Babylonian list of the Seleucid kings indicates that Antiochus died in November or early December of 164, about the same time as the rededication of the Temple. (1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)

Psalm 9 praises God’s Power and Justice.

* [Psalms 9–10] Ps 9 and Ps 10 in the Hebrew text have been transmitted as separate poems but they actually form a single acrostic poem and are so transmitted in the Greek and Latin tradition. Each verse of the two Psalms begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet (though several letters have no corresponding stanza). The Psalm states loosely connected themes: the rescue of the helpless poor from their enemies, God’s worldwide judgment and rule over the nations, the psalmist’s own concern for rescue (Ps 9:14–15). (Psalms, PSALM 9, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus addresses the Question about the Resurrection.

* [20:28–33] The Sadducees’ question, based on the law of levirate marriage recorded in Dt 25:5–10, ridicules the idea of the resurrection. Jesus rejects their naive understanding of the resurrection (Lk 20:35–36) and then argues on behalf of the resurrection of the dead on the basis of the written law (Lk 20:37–38) that the Sadducees accept. See also notes on Mt 22:23–33.

* [20:36] Because they are the ones who will rise: literally, “being sons of the resurrection.” (Luke, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)

Elvin Cardoso, S.J. comments that through the teachings of Jesus, we are enlightened that those deemed worthy shall transcend mortality and embrace a new existence akin to that of spiritual beings. No longer bound by the limitations of death, we shall be reborn as children of God.

We find solace in the profound understanding that God supremely governs all aspects of creation. He reigns as the God of the living, maintaining ultimate control over the intricate unfolding of existence. Indeed, it is inevitable that in the complexities of life, goodness shall inevitably triumph over evil. (Cardoso, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus cites Moses to affirm the resurrection,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"The Savior also demonstrated the great ignorance of the Sadducees by bringing forward their own leader Moses, who was clearly acquainted with the resurrection of the dead. He set God before us saying in the bush, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob' (Exodus 3:6). Of whom is he God, if, according to their argument, these have ceased to live? He is the God of the living. They certainly will rise when his almighty right hand brings them and all that are on the earth there. For people not to believe that this will happen is worthy perhaps of the ignorance of the Sadducees, but it is altogether unworthy of those who love Christ. We believe in him who says, 'I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25). He will raise the dead suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, and at the last trumpet. It shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52). For Christ our common Savior will transfer us into incorruption, glory and to an incorruptible life."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 136) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 20:27-40 comments that even the Sadducees agreed that there was no god of the dead who could lay claim to them. So like the patriarchs of old, the righteous who die in God’s friendship are not lost forever in the shadowy underworld of Sheol (Psalm 115:17-18). They are still with the Lord.

If all are alive to God, then hope is the only real answer to the sin we see in ourselves and in the world. Despair and cynicism and bitterness and condemnation? They all fall away in the presence of a God who never gives up on us. They all pale in the face of a God who always holds out hope.

Today is a good day to reaffirm your faith in the mercy of the Lord. It’s also a good day to let his love banish any anxiety you might have over loved ones who have yet to believe in Christ. He is the God of the living who offers life to everyone. There’s always hope!

“All praise to you, Jesus, for your persistent love!” (Meditation on Luke 20:27-40, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a weekly summary of Creation and Connectedness.

We seek the wisdom of the Spirit to recognize the power of truth, beauty, and goodness as it is demonstrated by the people we encounter on our journey.

 

References

Cardoso, E. (2023, November 24). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/112523.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/20?27 

Meditation on Luke 20:27-40. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/11/25/836431/ 

1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/6?1 

Psalms, PSALM 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/9?2 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). All Live to Him. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 25, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=nov25