"But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed. I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."
The deathbed remorse of King Antiochus is probably apocryphal, but it serves the Divine Author's purpose. After all his worldly success against God's holy people, after his sacrilegious vandalism of God's sacred temple, the wicked king had met disaster. His power and vanity and the acclaim of his supporters came to nothing. Facing death, he realized that God had destroyed him. He found no sympathy with our Maccabean author.
Tomorrow we will celebrate the Solemn Feast of "Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe." The word king means little to American Christians. We split the several responsibilities of kingship into separate branches of government over two centuries ago. Ancient kings were called to govern, legislate, enforce their own laws, and try those who might have broken them. And to punish the wicked. They might be imprisoned, tortured, banished, or executed according to the king's policies or mood.
Psalm 101 celebrate King David's intent with its last verse: Morning after morning I clear all the wicked from the land, to rid the city of the LORD of all doers of evil.
Hopefully, that was not a daily purge of the city but the king's duty to judge the cases that came before him every morning.
We often hear that we should not judge others. With that we should also be reminded the Lord will judge. Some of us might feel offended by that doctrine. Am I not my own judge? Can I not decide for myself what is right and wrong? Won't God just ignore my human failings?
That fantasy collapses before the fact that we do judge one another and, to survive in this world, we have to. Our governors, be they kings, dictators or elected officials, have authority to judge and execute judgement. Even self-described good people go to jail, despite their prized self-esteem. Created in God's image and likeness, our tendency to judge one another reflects a divine authority which is entrusted to us. It is very real.
In today's gospel we hear the "trial" of the Good Thief who was crucified with Jesus. As he was dying he appealed to the Judge who was crucified with him, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." Unlike King Antiochus, he found mercy in his agony.
As I pray with Veterans at the VA hospital I often remind them, "If God is not merciful, we're all in a heap of trouble."
And then, like the Good Thief, we pray.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.