The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 292: The Power of Words (2023)

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

As we continue our journey in 1 Maccabees, Fr. Mike explains that this book of the Bible is unlike others because it narrates stories and events without providing any interpretation. In Sirach, Fr. Mike stresses the teaching on the power of our words and the gravity of gossip and slander. Today's readings are 1 Maccabees 11, Sirach 28-29, and Proverbs 23:9-12. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 292, and we are reading 1 Maccabees chapter 11, continuing the history of the story of the people of God, Sirach 28 and 29, Proverbs chapter 23, 9 through 12. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to

download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast. And why not? Why not wait and say, you know what? Day 292. That was my day. I didn't I didn't want to do it right away. And I also didn't want to do it like halfway through. But on day 292, kind of a palindrome of a number. That's the day I wanted to subscribe. As I said, it is day 292. We're reading 1 Maccabees 11, more palindromes, or at least a lot of ones, and Sirach 28 and 29, Proverbs 23, verses 9 through 12. The first book of Maccabees, chapter 11, Ptolemy invades Syria. Then the king of Egypt gathered great forces like the sand by the seashore and many ships, and he tried to get possession of Alexander's kingdom by trickery and add it to his own kingdom. He set out for Syria with peaceable words, and the people of

the cities opened their gates to him and went to meet him, for Alexander the king had commanded them to meet him since he was Alexander's father-in-law. But when Ptolemy entered the cities, he stationed forces as a garrison in each city. When he approached Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon burned down, and Azotus and its suburbs destroyed, and the corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those whom Jonathan had burned in the war, for they had piled them in heaps along his route. They also told the king what Jonathan had done to throw blame on him, but the king kept silent. Jonathan met the king at Joppa with some pomp, and they greeted one another and spent the night there.

And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutheris. Then he returned to Jerusalem. So King Ptolemy gained control of the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, and he kept devising evil designs against Alexander. He sent envoys to Demetrius the king, saying, Come, let us make a covenant with each other, and I will give you in marriage my daughter, who is Alexander's wife, and you shall reign over your father's

kingdom. For I now regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me. He threw blame on Alexander because he coveted his kingdom, so he took his daughter away from him and gave her to Demetrius. He was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest. Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and put on the crown of Asia. Thus he put two crowns upon his head, the crown of Egypt and that of Asia. Now Alexander the king was in Cilicia at that time because the people of that region were in revolt. And Alexander heard of it and came against him in battle. Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force and put him to flight. So Alexander fled into Arabia to find protection there, and King Ptolemy was exalted. And Zabdiel, the Arab, cut off the head of Alexander and sent it

to Ptolemy. But King Ptolemy died three days later, and his troops in the strongholds were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds. So Demetrius became king in the 167th year. Jonathan's Diplomacy In those days, Jonathan assembled the men of Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and he built many engines of war to use against it. But certain lawless men who hated their nation went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. When he heard this, he was angry, and as soon as he heard it, he set out and came to Ptolema besieging the citadel. When he heard this, he was angry, and as soon as he heard it, he set out and came to Ptolemaeus,

and he wrote to Jonathan not to continue the siege, but to meet him for a conference at Ptolemaeus as quickly as possible. When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to continue the siege, and he chose some of the elders of Israel and some of the priests and put himself in danger. For he went to the king at Ptolemaeus, taking silver and gold and clothing and numerous other gifts, and put himself in danger. For he went to the king at Ptolemaeus, taking silver and gold and clothing and numerous other gifts, and he won his favor.

Although certain lawless men of his nation kept making complaints against him, the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him. He exalted him in the presence of all his friends. He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in as many other honors as he had formerly had, and he made him to be regarded as one of his chief friends. Then Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and the three

districts of Samaria from tribute and promised him three hundred talents. The king consented and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these things. Its contents were as follows. King Demetrius, to Jonathan his brother, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting. This copy of the letter which we wrote concerning you to Lasthenes, our kinsman, we have written to you also, so that you may know what it says. King Demetrius, to Lasthenes his father, greeting. To the nation of the Jews, who are our friends and fulfill their obligations to us, we have determined to do good, because of the goodwill they show toward us.

We have confirmed as their possession both the territory of Judea and the three districts of Apharhima, Enlaida, and Rathamin. The latter, with all the region bordering them, were added to Judea from Samaria. To all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, we have granted release from the royal taxes which the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land, and the fruit of the trees, and the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits, and the crown taxes due to us, from all these we shall grant them release. And not one of these grants shall be cancelled from this time forth for forever. Now therefore, take care

to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put up in a conspicuous place on the holy mountain. The Intrigue of Trifo. Now, when Demetrius the king saw that the land was quiet before him, and that there was no opposition to him, he dismissed all his troops, each man to his own place, except the foreign troops which he had recruited from the islands of the nations. So all the troops who had served his fathers hated him. Now Trifo had formerly been one of Alexander's supporters. He saw that all the troops were murmuring against Demetrius. So he went to Imelcu the Arab, who was bringing up Antiochus, the young son of Alexander, and insistently urged him to hand Antiochus over to him to become king in place of his father. He also reported to Imilchus what Demetrius had done and told of

the hatred which the troops of Demetrius had for him, and he stayed there many days. Now Jonathan sent to Demetrius, the king, the request that he remove the troops of the citadel from Jerusalem and the troops in the strongholds, for they kept fighting against Israel. And Demetrius sent this message to Jonathan, Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will confer great honor on you and your nation if I find an opportunity. Now then, you will do well to send me men who will help me, for all my troops have revolted. So Jonathan sent three thousand stalwart men to him at Antioch, and when they came to the king, the king rejoiced at their arrival. Then the men of the city assembled within the city to the number of 120,000, and they wanted to kill the king.

But the king fled into the palace, then the men of the city seized the main streets of the city and began to fight. So the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all rallied about him and then spread out through the city. And they killed on that day as many as a hundred thousand men. They set fire to the city and seized much spoil on that day, and they saved the king. When the men of the city saw that the Jews had gained control of the city as they pleased, their courage failed, and they cried out to the king with this entreaty,

Grant us peace, and make the Jews stop fighting against us and our city. And they threw down their arms and made peace. So the Jews gained glory in the eyes of the king and of all the peoples in his kingdom. And they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil. So Demetrius, the king sat on the throne of his kingdom and the land was quiet before him, but he broke his word about all that he had promised, and he became estranged from Jonathan, and did not repay the favors which Jonathan had done him, but oppressed him greatly. Trifo seizes power. After this, Trifo returned, and with him the young boy Antiochus, who began to reign and put on the crown. All the troops that Demetrius had cast off gathered around

him, and they fought against Demetrius, and he fled and was routed. And Trifo captured the elephants and gained control of Antioch. Then young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, I confirm you in the high priesthood, and set you over the four districts, and make you one of the friends of the king. And he sent him gold plate and a table service, and granted him the right to drink from gold cups, and dress in purple, and wear a gold buckle. Simon his the right to drink from gold cups and dress in purple and wear a gold buckle. Simon his brother he made governor from the ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt. Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon. Then Jonathan set forth and traveled beyond the river and among the cities, and all the army of Syria gathered to him as allies. When he came to Ascalon, the people

of the city met him and paid him honor. From there he departed to Gaza, but the men of Gaza shut him out. So he besieged it and burned its suburbs with fire and plundered them. Then the people of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them, and took the sons of the rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus. Then Jonathan heard that the officers of Demetrius had come to Kadesh in Galilee with a large army intending to remove him from office. He went to meet them, but left his brother Simon in the country. Simon encamped before Bet-Zur and fought against it for many days and hemmed it in. Then they asked him to

grant them terms of peace, and he did so. He removed them from there, took possession of the city, and set a garrison over it. Jonathan and his army encamped by the waters of Gennesaret. Early in the morning they marched to the plain of Hazor, and behold, the army of the foreigners met him in the plain. They had set an ambush against him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face to face. Then the men in ambush emerged from their places and joined the battle. All the men with Jonathan fled. Not one of them was left except Mattathias, the son of Absalom,

and Judas, the son of Calphi, commanders of the forces of the army. Jonathan tore his garments and put dust on his head and prayed. Then he turned back to the battle against the enemy and routed them, and they fled. When his men who were fleeing saw this, they returned to him and joined him in the pursuit as far as Kadesh, to their camp where they had encamped. As many as three thousand of the foreigners fell that day, and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem. The Book of Sirach, chapter 28. mercy toward a man like himself and yet pray for his own sins. If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, will he then seek forgiveness from God? Who will make expiation for his sins? Remember the end of your life and cease from enmity. Remember destruction and death and be true to the commandments. Remember the commandments and do not be angry with your neighbor. Remember

the covenant of the Most High and overlook ignorance. Refrain from strife, and you will lessen sins. For a man given to anger will kindle strife, and a sinful man will disturb friends and inject enmity among those who are at peace. In proportion to the fuel for the fire, so will be the burning, and in proportion to the obstinacy of strife will be the burning. In proportion to the strength of the man will be the burning, and in proportion to the obstinacy of strife will be the burning. In proportion to the strength of the man will be his anger, and in proportion to his wealth he will heighten his wrath. A hasty quarrel kindles fire, and urgent strife sheds blood. If you blow on a spark it will glow, if you spit on it it will be put out, and both come out of your mouth. Curse the whisperer and deceiver, for he has destroyed many who were at peace. Slander has shaken many and scattered

them from nation to nation and destroyed strong cities and overturned the houses of great men. Slander has driven away courageous women and deprived them of the fruit of their toil. Whoever pays heed to slander will not find rest, nor will he settle down in peace. The blow of a whip raises a welt, but the blow of the tongue crushes the bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have fallen because of the tongue. Happy is the man who is protected from it, who has not been exposed to its anger, who has not borne its yoke and has not been bound with its chains. For its yoke is a yoke of iron and its chains are chains of bronze. Its death is an evil death and Hades is preferable to it.

It will not be master over the godly and they will not be burned in its flame. Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power. It will burn among them and will not be burned in its flame. Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power. It will burn among them and will not be put out. It will be sent out against them like a lion, like a leopard. It will mangle them. See that you fence in your property with thorns, lock up your silver and gold, make balances and scales for your words, and make a door and a bolt for your mouth. Beware lest you err with your tongue, lest you fall before him who lies in wait. Chapter 29. On Lending and Borrowing, Home and Hospitality.

He that shows mercy will lend to his neighbor, and he that strengthens him with his hand keeps the commandments. Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need, and in turn repay your neighbor promptly. Confirm your word and keep faith with need, and in turn repay your neighbor promptly. Confirm your word and keep faith with him, and on every occasion you will find what you need. Many persons regard a loan as a windfall and cause trouble to those who help them. A man will kiss another's hands until he gets a loan, and will lower his voice in speaking of his neighbor's money, but at the time of repayment he will delay, and will pay in words of unconcern, and will find fault with the time. If the lender exerts pressure, he will hardly get back half, and will regard that as a windfall. If he does not, the borrower has robbed him of his money, and he has needlessly made him his enemy.

He will repay him with curses and reproaches, and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor. Because of such wickedness, therefore, many have refused to lend. They have been afraid of being defrauded needlessly. Nevertheless, be patient with a man in humble circumstances, and do not make him wait for your alms. Help a poor man for the commandment's sake, and of his need, do not send him away empty. Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost. Lay up your treasure according to the commandments

of the most high and it will profit you more than gold. Store up almsgiving in your treasury and it will rescue you from all affliction. More than a mighty shield and more than a heavy spear, it will fight on your behalf against your enemy. A good man will be surety for his neighbor, but a man who has lost his sense of shame will fail him. Do not forget all the kindness of your surety,

for he has given his life for you. A sinner will overthrow the prosperity of his surety and one who does not feel grateful will abandon his rescuer. Being surety has ruined many men who were prosperous, and has shaken them like a wave of the sea. It has driven men of power into exile, and they have wandered among foreign nations. The sinner who has fallen into suretyship and pursues gain will fall into lawsuits. Assist your neighbor according to your ability, but take heed to yourself lest you fall.

The essentials for life are water and bread and clothing and a house to cover one's nakedness. Better is the life of a poor man under the shelter of his roof than some shuah's food in another man's house. Be content with little or much. It is a miserable life to go from house to house, and where you are a stranger, you may not open your mouth.

You will play the host and provide drink without being thanked, and besides this, you will hear bitter words. Come here, stranger, prepare the table, and if you have anything at hand, let me have it to eat. Give place, stranger, to an honored person. My brother has come to stay with me. I need my house. These things are hard to bear for a man who has feeling,

scolding about lodging and the reproach of the moneylender. The book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verses 9 through 12. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Do not remove an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong. He will plead their cause against you. Apply your mind to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Thank you so much for this gift.

Thank you for unfolding the story. This is part of our story, the story of the Maccabees, the story of the people of Israel, and the story of the history of the world. Lord God, your hand is hidden in the affairs of our lives, and we ask you to please give us the eyes of faith so that we can see your working. Give us a heart of faith that we can trust in your presence

and give us a lively and active faith that we can put your commandments into practice, put your wisdom into action and help us to follow you this day and every day. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Okay, so a couple of quick things, maybe three, three quick things. How about,

let's go somewhat in reverse, goes three, one, two. So Proverbs first. There's a proverb we heard today that is very, very similar to a proverb we heard previously. And that is, do not remove an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless for the redeemer is strong. He will plead their cause against you. Basically there was a proverb we had earlier. That was also kind of that sense of like, do not remove those ancient statues, those ancient signs, those ancient, not statues is the wrong word for it, but that landmark, that kind of situation of don't tear down altars or don't tear down fences. Essentially, that sense of if I come across something, and this is so interesting, it's just when it comes to wisdom, there's a man named G.K. Chesterton, and he might be not the

first one to point it out. I mean, in fact, we have it here in the book of Proverbs, but Chesterton had pointed out at one point, he was a man who was an atheist for a long time at the beginning of the 1900s, and he became a Catholic. And one thing he said when it came to wisdom, and this is one of the things that we're trying to grow in as we follow God's word is trying to grow and grow in wisdom. He said, if you were to buy a piece of land and you came across a fence on your piece of land and you didn't know why it was there, he said, the most foolish thing to do would be to say, I don't know why this is here. I'm going to tear it down. The most foolish thing would be to say, I don't know why someone built this. I don't see any purpose for it.

Let's eliminate it. He said, that'd be the most foolish thing you possibly could do to tear down something because you didn't understand why someone built it in the first place? And that's so wise because a lot of times, you know, when we encounter the Lord or even just any time in our daily life, we might not understand a commandment of God and say, well, I don't know why this is here. Let's just dismiss it. You might encounter the wisdom of God and think like, I don't know exactly what is this for?

What's the point of this? And be tempted to tear it down, to be tempted to eliminate it. And Chesterton and here in Proverbs, that's the last time that a person should tear something down is when you don't understand why they put it up in the first place. I don't know why this fence is here. At some point, though, it was put there for a reason. It might be because, yeah, the people who were previously here, they owned cattle and this fence kept the cattle in.

Okay. I don't own cattle now. Maybe I can tear down the fence because I know the reason why it's there. And I know what the reason no longer applies. That's, that's smart. That's wisdom. But to say, um, I don't know the history of this place. Maybe this, this, the fence, uh, is because right beyond the fence, there's a cliff and

people have wandered off the cliff. Therefore, here is the fence that helps us. You know, again, when I don't understand why a thing is there, the last thing I should possibly do, if I'm going to be wise, is to tear it down. And that is the wisdom here in Proverbs and the wisdom in our lives. Okay, then to Maccabees. First Maccabees 11, you know, one Maccabees, one, one. This is a history lesson.

And I, one of the things that I just, gosh, I don't, I hate to say this on the 11th day of walking through Maccabees. It's like, well, father, you're finally saying this. I probably should have said this before we even started, but you know how so many books of the Bible are historical books. I mean, we we've gone through the narrative, right? The narrative are the historical books. We went through a Genesis and Exodus and numbers and Deuteronomy. These are telling the story, Joshua, Judges, they're telling the story. But here's the interesting thing. Virtually all of those tellings of the story, the historical story has been different than first Maccabees. Now, second Maccabees is going to be a whole nother kind of thing, but those other stories, things would happen. There'd be battles, there'd be

prayers, there would be failure, there'd be victory. And all the while, the author of the book would be saying, here's what this means. And here's where God was present. And here's where God was absent. And here's where they were unfaithful. And that led to this. And basically all of those other historical books, they look through the lens of faith. How is God present? How is God active? How are the people faithful or how are they unfaithful? Maccabees chapter 11 highlights the fact that the author of Maccabees, even though it's

divinely inspired, telling us this real history, the author doesn't give us a sermon. The author doesn't say, here's where God was present. Yes, in some of the battles, they say, you know, here's Judas Maccabeus, and he prayed, and they had victory. But it is not as clearly marked out and delineated as it is in the other books. Basically, the author of 1 Maccabees is just telling us the story with very, very little editorial comments. I'll say it like that, which is fascinating to us because we're so used to the editorial comments. We're so used to, well, tell me what this means to the eyes of faith. And yet, as we're going through Maccabees, we have to realize this is a book of faith, but the sermon is left out, if that makes any sense.

So as we continue to Maccabees, you know, there are 16 chapters of Maccabees, five left. Keep that in mind. The sermon's going to be left out. So we're getting the story of the rise and the fall of these dynasties and the rise and the fall of these kings. And basically, as Jeff said on the first day of the Maccabean revolt time period, and as he pointed this out, he said, this is still the story of the people of Israel. And this is not God being silent for 400 years. This is God being very, very present and very, very active and engaged. But we have to have the eyes to see it for ourselves because the author is not going to point it out here in first Maccabees. Okay. Last, last quick thing. Gosh, I, Sirach, you know, Sirach is a lot like Proverbs. It's going to be a lot like some of the other, those wisdom books.

lot like Proverbs. It's going to be a lot like some of the other, those wisdom books. And so sometimes it can feel like disjointed advice. And yet there's themes that come up very regularly. One of those themes is the power of words. And so in chapter 28, beginning with, gosh, you can begin with verse one, but I'm going to jump into verse 11. It says a hasty quarrel kindles fire and urgent strife sheds blood. Yes. That sense of gosh, how many times have people, families, brothers, sisters, parents been divided because of a hasty quarrel. We rushed into a fight. We shouldn't have fought, but we did this. But it goes on to say, where's that come from? And I love this essentially a proverb here in Sirach 28, verse 12. If you blow on a spark, it will glow. If you spit on it, it will be put out and both come out of your mouth.

Think about how that is so true that, you know, you blow on a spark, blow on an ember and it will glow and will hopefully grow into a flame if you want the flame. But you spit on it and puts the ember out and both come from the same source. So what are the things that are coming out of my mouth? Do they bring warmth and light or do they bring destruction and devastation? It goes on to say, verse 13, curse the whisperer and deceiver, for he has destroyed many who were at peace. It goes on this whole section, almost to the very end of chapter 28, talking about how the power of the word, the power of tongues, the power of what we say, and how, you know, the last thing people

will oftentimes confess in confession is gossip or slander, or just any kind of like talking about anyone else. That's one of what you might call an acceptable sin in our day and age. When I say acceptable sin, what I mean is it's the kind of sin that you can use as an example. If there's like, oh yeah, I struggle with anger. I struggle with slander. Those things are way more acceptable to say. And we think, oh yeah, me too, kind of thing. But some of the other non-acceptable sins will be the things we wouldn't necessarily use as our personal examples of, I struggle with this thing. I can't even think of an example right now that's not embarrassing to say. And so, yet, here's verse 17, last thing

here. Chapter 28, verse 17. The blow of a whip raises a welt. Yeah, hurts, terrible. But the blow of the tongue crushes bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have fallen because of the tongue. Gosh, again, our words are just so powerful. And so we ask the Lord to please help us to use our words well, to be wise in how we speak and to give him glory and not destruction for the people around us. But that is a struggle for a lot of us. And so we need prayers. I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.