Daily Readings - Sat Nov 25 2017

First Reading - 1 Maccabees 6.1-13

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was renewed in him, and he concluded that he would die¹⁰And he called all his friends, and he said to them: "Sleep has withdrawn from my eyes, and I am declining, and my heart has collapsed out of anxiety¹¹And I said in my heart: How much trouble has come to me, and what floods of sorrow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.

Gospel - Luke 20.27-40

Luke

Chapter 20

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

In today’s readings, we encounter two distinct narratives that invite us to reflect on the consequences of our actions and the promise of eternal life. The first reading from 1 Maccabees describes the downfall of King Antiochus, who, after attempting to desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem, is overcome with grief and regret. His suffering is a direct result of his own sinful actions, and he comes to realize the gravity of his mistakes. This passage reminds us that sin has consequences, but it also hints at the possibility of repentance and the hope for forgiveness. In the Gospel, Jesus engages with the Sadducees, who question Him about the resurrection. Using the example of a woman who marries seven brothers, they seek to undermine the concept of an afterlife. Jesus responds by explaining that life in the resurrection is fundamentally different from earthly life. He emphasizes that those who are raised will live as children of God, free from death and sin. This teaching challenges us to reorient our priorities, recognizing that our ultimate destiny is not in this world but in the eternal life promised by God. Together, these readings call us to examine our lives and our faith. Like King Antiochus, we must acknowledge our sins and turn to God with contrite hearts. And like the Sadducees, we are invited to deepen our understanding of the resurrection, not as a mere philosophical concept, but as the fulfillment of God’s promise to us. May we strive to live in a way that reflects our belief in eternal life, trusting that God’s love and mercy will guide us through the trials of this world to the joy of the next.