2 Maccabees 10: Battle – Part IV
Friday, March 7, 2025
Second Maccabees is a narration of the revolt led by the Maccabeus family in the second century before Christ. Part of this narrative is a description of the political intrigue accompanying the physical battle. We can imagine the plotting and counter-plotting that took place. Chapter 10 describes how the faithful purified and re-dedicated their temple after they removed the profane statues placed in the sanctuary by Antiochus Epiphanes. We arrive breathless at the end of the chapter to read: . . . with hymns and thanksgiving they blessed the Lord who shows great kindness to Israel and gives them the victory.
We will find ourselves from time to time in a place of battle, unable to fully hear or see in the dust and din of clashing fears and realities. In these times of cacophony, it is difficult to hear the difference between the voice of God and our ego-centrist, inner voice of survival. For this reason, we turn to God frequently during our days and nights so that we might best hear God’s voice and respond to it rather than our own. During times of stress, we might fall back on John 10 in which Jesus tells us that faithful sheep will know the voice of the true shepherd so well that they will follow no other. This shepherd we follow is one who forgives continually, calls endlessly, and waits patiently. This shepherd will not lead falsely, will not abandon the flock, and he will go out in search of the last lost sheep to return it to the fold.
We are in the beginning of our Lenten journey and we are just commencing to unpack the baggage we have been carrying all winter. What is it we need to re-sanctify and re-pack? What is it that we need to sweep away forever? What is it that brings us such confusion that we cannot decide how to handle it? What are the battles we can wage on our own, and what are the battles we must hand over to God? Which of these battles are psychological? Which are emotional or physical? And which are purely spiritual?
All of these questions ask us to examine our own motivations and actions, but the most important questions are these. How do we thank God under all circumstances for the gift of who we are and what we have been called to be? What hymns of thanksgiving do we sing to bless the Lord? How do we tell this one who shows us great kindness and who gives us victory in our battles, that we are God’s and God’s alone?
Adapted from a reflection written on February 23, 2010.
Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes
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