This Blog uses the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church to discover wisdom for living.

 Reading 1, 1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63

10 From these there grew a wicked offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes son of King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the 107th year of the kingdom of the Greeks.11 It was then that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray. ‘Come,’ they said, ‘let us ally ourselves with the gentiles surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.’

12 This proposal proved acceptable,13 and a number of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise the gentiles’ observances.14 So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the gentiles have,15 disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to gentile rule as willing slaves of impiety.

41 The king then issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that all were to become a single people, each nation renouncing its particular customs.42 All the gentiles conformed to the king’s decree, 43 and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath.

54 On the fifteenth day of Chislev in the year 145 the king built the appalling abomination on top of the altar of burnt offering; and altars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah55 and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets.56 Any books of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned. 57 Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy of the covenant or practising the Law, the king’s decree sentenced him to death.

62 Yet there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. 63 They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy covenant, and they were executed.

 It’s interesting that a practice viewed by western Christians as not only harmless but also beneficial should have seemed abominable to faithful Jews: going to the gym. There were clearly other Jews who identified modern Greek customs as progressive, freeing up Jews to participate in the cultural and economic life of the Greek empire. These events took place from 175BCE and are recounted by an orthodox Jewish writer around 100BCE.

There is a question as to the point when a religious believer should not only oppose an offensive law or custom, but rebel against the state itself. The Christian tradition, especially after its incorporation into the Roman establishment in the 4^th century CE, has been more indulgent to the state, than the Jewish tradition had been, prior to the disastrous rebellions of 70CE and 135CE. Calvinism in 16^th century CE resumed a more robust stance towards the state, especially with regard to matters of worship. The notion of toleration towards other religions did not sit easily with the Seleucid kings, the Jewish opposition, or indeed with Christians, when they gained power in a state.

The “appalling abomination” was an altar of Zeus the placing of which in the Temple was designed to insult Jewish worshippers. Passionate and non-violent opposition to acts of state oppression of any section of the population seems to me to be a Christian duty. Given the atrocities of not only some Islamic groups, but also of the pro-life lobby in the USA, I think it’s vital to emphasise that violent opposition is usually wrong.

Gospel, Lk 18:35-43

35 Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging.

"No more coins for the blind beggar"

6 When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, 37 and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by.

38 So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ 39 The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’

40 Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him,41 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied, ‘let me see again.’ 42 Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’

43 And instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God.

Commentators on this passage are at pains to emphasise its symbolic meaning. A person is freed from blindness and follows Jesus (I once was lost but now am found/was blind but now I see.) I want to focus on it as another story of Jesus encountering an awkward person. As in the case of a woman who kisses his feet, or the mothers who bring children for him to bless, Jesus is unfazed by what is offensive to others, here a beggar who shouts repeatedly for help. A self- important Rabbi would have ignored a smelly pest of this sort. But Jesus attends to the man and asks him the crucial question, “What do you want?” Perhaps another beggar would have asked for alms, but this one asks for sight, which will bring his begging to an end. Jesus is concerned to restore the man to active life, not to prolong his beggary. There is widespread criticism in Britain of the so-called “benefit culture” which traps people in poverty, while costing the state a lot of money. If, as we should, we devise strategies that could lift people out of dependence, we will surely find that they cost more, not less.