Monday, November 23, 2015

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle B - November 17, 2015

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
November 17, 2015       8:30am  Middle School

 

Today’s first reading from the Book of Maccabees catches my attention.
The context is that the Greeks have occupied the land of Israel around 175 years before the birth of Jesus.
The Greeks are trying to get the Jews to forsake their religion.
So, today, they are trying to force this old religious man Eleazar to eat pork.
Eating pork was against the Jewish faith and so Eleazar refuses to eat it.
(Something like someone trying to make us eat a hamburger on Ash Wednesday when we know that we Catholics are not to eat meat on that day)
Some friends of his want to sneak in some chicken or beef for Eleazar to eat.
That way the Greek commander will think he has eaten pork, even though he has not done so, and this will save Eleazar’s life.
Eleazar, with great dignity and integrity and faith, refuses to do this because it would be a scandal.
In other words, others would think he had eaten pork and that could lead them to forsake their faith.
Eleazar is willing to suffer death rather than cause scandal and lead others astray.

He is a wonderful example for us today.
It is good for us to recall the power of good example and the harm of scandal.

Students have prepared examples, such as:

Other possibilities:
The way we respect/obey/talk to our parents gives example to our brothers and sisters
The same goes with our conduct toward teachers in school
The things we say about ethnic groups or anyone may lead our peers astray and to say things they don’t even mean
The things we do can lead others to do the same

So it is not just what is right or wrong for us.

It is also what example we give by what we do.