Sunday Homily, November, 2007, 32nd in Ordinary Time
Readings: 2 Maccabees, 7, 1-14; Psalm 19; 2 Thessalonians 2, 16-3, 5; Luke 20, 27-38.
2 Maccabees: The two books of Maccabees cover the history of Israel for about 50 years, from ca. 200 to 150 B.C. The books are again part of the Apocrypha collection, those books separate from both the Old & the New Testaments.
2 Maccabees emphasizes loyalty to the law, even in the face of persecution. Our selection exemplifies this loyalty in the story of seven brothers & their mother. This leads to the gospel story which also treats of seven brothers & one wife.
What to Die for; What to Live for
The date of this event was Nov. 16, 1989, 18 years ago this Friday. The place: a Jesuit university. The Jesuits have a residence for their men on the campus. About 10 men live there and this evening six are at home. Like most Jesuit residences they eat dinner about 6:00, then chat for a while, go off one by one to work on their classes or papers, and finally turn in before 11:00 or maybe 12:00. A routine evening.
About 1:00 in the middle of the night the routine is shattered by 30 or 40 uniformed soldiers who bang on the door and barge in. They wake everyone up and herd them into the patio. While this is going on, other soldiers are crashing around the rooms, throwing books & drawers on the floor, and busting open cabinets. A house keeper & her daughter are found in an adjacent apartment and they are taken into the patio with the 6 priests.
The searching and ransacking goes on for a couple of hours. Meanwhile in the patio the priests and the women are made to lie face down on the grass. At some point in the night while the group is lying down, each one is shot in the back of the head.
This took place at the University of Central America, San Salvador, El Salvador.
I am reminded of this contemporary event when I read in Maccabees about the mother with the seven sons. Some comments about these events.
First, it is humbling to hear about people who believe so strongly about something that they are willing to die, even die being tortured. These Jesuits at the university were attacked because they criticized the policies of the El Salvador government. Some years before this event a gunman had walked up the main aisle of the cathedral in San Salvador and in front of everyone shot Bishop Oscar Romero face to face as he finished up a Mass. He, too, had criticized the government for brutalizing the peasant people. The Jesuits probably figured that the government would surely not murder a whole household of priests. I stand in awe of the courage of these people.
Secondly, would that if we are called to defend our principles even to death, we could die defending the poor, struggling to bring peace, or demanding more equality. While I admire the courage & integrity of the seven sons and mother, I am sad that they died over a law about eating pork. Muslims today can kill infidels using a suicide bomb with the belief that Allah is pleased with them and they will have a special place reserved for them in paradise.
It is like saying anyone who eats Blue Bell ice cream is going to hell, or eats it on Friday. I am reminded of how I grew up being taught that I was going to hell if I ate meat on Friday. People are trained to believe that drinking a glass of wine or dancing is sinful. These laws are simply demands of other people who are like ourselves. We let them mess with our minds.
Thirdly, let me suggest that there are two way to give your life. The one, like the Jesuits, is swift and often violent. One shot, end of story.
The second way of giving your life is exemplified by Ofelia’s husband, Luis, whom many of you saw at our two anniversary parties. Both years Luis touched our hearts with his vows to Ofelia. I, however, saw him every Thursday evening gently take care of Ofelia week after week, patiently being with her as she slowly lost her life. For weeks he could not leave Ofelia alone, so he was house bound unless someone like Hospice showed up. He told someone that last Saturday that he and Ofelia had fallen in love again. Luis gave his life for Ofelia.
Most of us will probably not get shot in the back of the head for criticizing the government or fighting for peace. All of us, however, are called to give our life, our daily life, to bring peace & life to another or many others. Like, you teachers, you nurses, you drivers, you soccer coaches, you parents, you all.
For whom or what are you giving your life today?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-11.mp3
