The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 298: The Gift of Life (2022)

Episode Date: October 25, 2022

Fr. Mike gives us context for the beginning of 2 Maccabees and recounts the story of Nehemiah’s discovery of the sacred fire. He also offers a reflection for those struggling with grief and death, which serves as a reminder to all about the blessing of our lives and the lives of those we love. Today’s readings are 2 Maccabees 1, Sirach 40-41, and Proverbs 24:1-7. 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 298. You guys, oh my gosh, we have the last book of the Old Testament today. I mean, in our Bible in a year time. Okay. Not counting Proverbs. We get that. Also two days

left until day 300. How amazing, how amazing is that? You're so faithful. Keep going. Great job as day 298. We're reading 2 Maccabees chapter one, Sirach chapter 40 and 41, as well as Proverbs chapter 24 verses one through seven. Amping up those verses in Proverbs these days. 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 receive daily episodes and daily updates. And you would know that is day 298. And today is the first day of the last book that we've got until we hit New Testament, all New Testament, and almost nothing but New Testament, except for Proverbs. Because today is 2 Maccabees chapter 1, Sirach chapter 40 and 41, and Proverbs chapter 24, verses 1 through 7. The second book of the Maccabees, chapter 1. A letter to the Jews in Egypt.

The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, to their Jewish brethren in Egypt, greeting and good peace. May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. We are now praying for you here. In the reign of Demetrius, in the 169th year, we Jews

wrote to you in the citadel distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the Holy Land and the kingdom and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We begged the Lord and we were heard and we offered sacrifice in serial offering and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. And now see that you keep the feast of Chislev, in the 188th year. A letter to Aristobulus. Those in Jerusalem, and those in Judea and the Senate and Judas. To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt.

Greeting and good health. Having been saved by God out of grave dangers, we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king. For he drove out those who fought against the holy city. For when the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nenea by a deception employed by the priests of Nenea. For under pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his friends to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. When the priests of the temple of Dania

had set out the treasures and Antiochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. Opening the secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men and dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside. Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment upon those who have behaved impiously.

Fire consumes Nehemiah's sacrifice. Since on the 25th day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the feast of booths and the feast of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices. For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to anyone. But after many years had passed, when it pleased God,

Nehemiah, having been commissioned by the king of Persia, sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to get it. And when they reported to us that they had not found fire but thick liquid, he ordered them to dip it out and bring it. And when the materials for the sacrifices were presented, Nehemiah ordered the priests to sprinkle the liquid on the wood and what was laid upon it. When this was done, and some time had passed, and the sun, which had been clouded over,

shone out, a great fire blazed up, so that all marveled. And while the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered prayer, the priests and everyone. Jonathan led, and the rest responded, as did Nehemiah. The prayer was to this effect. O Lord, Lord God, creator of all things, who are awe-inspiring and strong and just and merciful, who alone are king and are kind, who alone are bountiful, who alone are just and almighty and eternal, who rescue Israel from every evil, who chose the fathers and consecrated them. Accept this sacrifice on behalf of all your people Israel and preserve your portion and make it holy. Gather together our scattered people. Set free those who are slaves among the Gentiles.

Look upon those who are rejected and despised and let the Gentiles know that you are our God. Afflict those who oppress and are insolent with pride. Plant your people in your holy place, as Moses said. Then the priests sang the hymns. And when the materials of the sacrifice were consumed, Nehemiah ordered that the liquid that was left should be poured upon large stones. When this was done, a flame blazed up, but when the light from the altar shone back, it went out. When this matter became known, and it was reported to the king of the Persians that, in the place where the exiled priests had hidden the fire, the liquid had appeared with which Nehemiah and his associates

had burned the materials of the sacrifice, the king investigated the matter and enclosed the place and made it sacred. And with those persons whom the king favored, he exchanged many excellent gifts. Nehemiah and his associates called this neftar, which means purification. But by most people, it is called naphtha. The Book of Sirach, Chapter 40 Human Wretchedness and Joys of Life Much labor was created for every man, and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam from the day they come forth from their mother's womb

till the day they return to the mother of all. Their perplexities and fear of heart, their anxious thought is the day of death. From the man who sits on a splendid throne to the one who is humbled in dust and ashes, from the man who wears purple and a crown to the one who is clothed in burlap, there is anger and envy and trouble and unrest and fear of death and fury and strife. And when one rests upon his bed, his sleep at night confuses his mind. He gets little or no rest, and afterward, in his bed, his sleep at night confuses his mind.

He gets little or no rest and afterward in his sleep, as though he were on watch, he is troubled by the visions of his mind like one who has escaped from the battlefront. At the moment of his rescue, he wakes up and wonders that his fear came to nothing. With all flesh, both man and beast, and upon sinners seven times more

are death and bloodshed and strife and sword, calamities, famine and affliction and plague. All these were created for the wicked, and on their account the flood came. All things that are from the earth turn back to the earth, and what is from the waters returns to the sea. All bribery and injustice will be blotted out, but good faith will stand forever. The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a torrent and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a rain. A generous man will be made glad. Likewise, transgressors will utterly fail. The children of the ungodly will not put forth many branches. They are unhealthy roots upon

sheer rock. The reeds by any water or river bank will be plucked up before any grass. Kindness is like a garden of blessings, and almsgiving endures forever. Life is sweet for the self-reliant and the worker, but he who finds treasure is better off than both. Children and the building of a city establish a man's name, but a blameless wife is accounted better than both. Wine and music gladden the heart, but the love of wisdom is better than both. The flute and the harp make pleasant melody, but a pleasant voice is better than both. The eye desires grace and beauty, but the green shoots of grain more than both. A friend or a companion never meets one amiss, but a wife with her husband is better than both.

Brothers and help are for a time of trouble, but almsgiving rescues better than both. Gold and silver make the foot stand sure, but good counsel is esteemed more than both. Riches and strength lift up the heart, but the fear of the Lord is better than both. There is no loss in the fear of the Lord, and with it, there is no need to seek for help. The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing and covers a man better than any glory. My son, do not lead the life of a beggar.

It is better to die than to beg. When a man looks to the table of another, his existence cannot be considered as life. He pollutes himself with another man's food. But a man who is intelligent and well-instructed guards against that. In the mouth of the shameless, begging is sweet, but in his stomach a fire is kindled. Chapter 41. A Series of Contrasts. O death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions, to a man without distractions, who is prosperous in everything and who still has the vigor to enjoy his food. O death, how welcome is your sentence to one who is in need and is failing in strength, very old and distracted over everything, to one who is contrary and has lost his patience.

Do not fear the sentence of death. Remember your former days and the end of life. This is the decree from the Lord for all flesh. And how can you reject the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether life is for ten or a hundred or a thousand years, there is no inquiry about it in Hades. The children of sinners are abominable children, and they frequent the haunts of the ungodly.

The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish, and on their posterity will be a perpetual reproach. Children will blame an ungodly father, for they suffer reproach because of him. Woe to you ungodly men who have forsaken the law of the Most High. When you are born, you are born to a curse, and when you die, a curse is your lot. Whatever is from the dust returns to dust. So the ungodly go from curse to destruction.

The mourning of men is about their bodies, but the evil name of sinners will be blotted out. Have regard for your name, since it will remain for you longer than a thousand great stores of gold. The days of a good life are numbered, but a good name endures forever. My children, observe instruction and be at peace. Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them? Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom. Therefore, show respect for my words, for it is not good to retain every kind of shame, and not everything is confidently esteemed by everyone. Be ashamed of immorality before your father or mother, and of a lie before a prince or a ruler,

of a transgression before a judge or magistrate, and of iniquity before a congregation or the people, of unjust dealing before your partner or friend, and of theft in the place where you live. Be ashamed before the truth of God and his covenant. Be ashamed of selfish behavior at meals, of surliness in receiving and giving, and of silence before those who greet you, of looking at a woman who is a harlot, and of rejecting the appeal of a kinsman, of taking away someone's portion or gift, and of gazing at another man's wife, of meddling with his maidservant, and do not approach her bed, of abusive words before friends, and do not

abrade after making a gift, of repeating and telling what you hear, and of revealing secrets. Then you will show proper shame, and will find favor with every man. The book of Proverbs chapter 24 verses 1 through 7. Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them. For their minds devise violence, and their lips talk of mischief. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is mightier than a strong man, and a man of knowledge than he who has strength.

For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the gate he does not open his mouth. Father in heaven, we give you praise and thank you. You keep calling us, gosh, every day, Lord. You keep calling us to wisdom. You keep calling us to see things as clearly as possible

and to choose them as firmly as possible. Help us to walk in your will and walk in the light of your truth. Help us to number our days aright that we may gain wisdom of heart. We make this prayer in Jesus' name, amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit. Amen. So kind of context for the beginning of second Maccabees. Again, we're throwing back. We're going to hear the story of Judas all over again.

And the story of Jason, the story of Antiochus Epiphanes all over again. So this intro is really interesting because the story has been written, right? Basically the story has happened already. And the author to second Maccabees, knowing how the story went down is kind of like introing the whole story by not only throwing back, but throwing forward, if that makes any sense. Here's what I mean. Um, so we know that when Judas Maccabeus and the bros, his brothers, they reclaimed the temple that they dedicated the temple and they lit the, the, the oil. And what happened? It burned for eight days. And this is the beginning of Hanukkah. And so on the 25th day of Chislev, they celebrate the purification of the temple.

So that's coming in the second book of Maccabees. We already read it in first Maccabees. But this intro, these letters that are beginning kind of initiating the whole book of second Maccabees, the author is saying, by the way, before we get into this any further, you are invited, welcomed slash maybe even commanded to keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev. On the 25th day of Chislev, we celebrate the purification of the temple, basically saying this is what happened in Jerusalem in the temple, the Hanukkah thing, the festival of lights. And so we're inviting you to participate in this festival as well. So it's kind of one of

these time warp situations where kind of like a Deuteronomy here, we've lived through this whole story. We've lived through the wilderness and now we're recounting the story of the wilderness a little bit like that. And so they've already lived through purification of the temple and they're letting the people know right away, um, Jewish, our Jewish brothers and sisters, keep this feast, keep this observance of this festival. Also, we have the story of Nehemiah, which we don't have necessarily anywhere else in the Bible, but the story of Nehemiah discovering the sacred fire. So on the way to Persia, which is actually on the way to Babylon, the priests hid the sacred fire and it turned into this sludge. I don't know. It turned into this liquid essentially. And what happened is when they

recover this fire, Nehemiah recovers the fire. Remember Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls. He was sent back to Jerusalem by the King of Persia. Double points. Remember his name? He was sent back to Jerusalem by the King of Persia. And here's the story that we have that they recovered the fire, but actually it turned into this liquid. They put the liquid on the altar. When the sun shone on it, it ignited essentially. And here is this, this kind of really cool sign of God's faithfulness. And this is this, this here's fire that turned into liquid that turned back to fire. We recognize that this is the people of God, right?

They were fire. Here they are in covenant with God in the land of Israel. They're brought into exile. And in that time, they lay dormant in some ways. I mean, obviously God is still working with them, but then they're brought back to the temple. They're brought back to the Mount Zion. And what happens, ignited once again.

It's kind of like this image that I'm teasing out here. And no, tomorrow we're gonna hear about Jeremiah hiding the ark, which is a whole nother story. This is incredible that we're gonna get because I don't think that we heard about Jeremiah hiding the ark anywhere other than 2 Maccabees.

I could be wrong on that one, but I think that that's accurate. Gosh, we also have Sirach. And I just love, you know, sometimes I know some wives might've been like, okay, Sirach, I'm not sure I like this guy. He keeps talking about, you know, a garrulous wife or a complaining wife and all these kinds of things.

But we got to give, we got to highlight this. And this is children in the building of a city establish a man's name, but a blameless wife is better than both. So a lot of kids building a city, a great name. Yeah. But a good wife, a blameless wife is better than both. It goes on to say, a friend or companion never meets one amiss. Those are good things.

But a wife with her husband are better than both. And the author of Sirach, he says multiple times that sense of like, here's praise for that great relationship between a husband and wife, that the blessings of marriage can be such an incredible thing. I love this in Sirach, how it goes through all these things that are good. We remember yesterday we talked about all the things God made are good. They can be used for evil. But he even goes on even further today in chapter 40 and talks about how here's a lot

of good things, but there are things that are even better. There's good and there's kind of great, right? So this life is sweet for the self-reliant and the worker. Yeah. But he who finds a treasure is better off than both. So basically lottery winners, um, wine and music glad in the heart, but love of wisdom is better than both. Flute and harp, pleasant melody, pleasant voice is better than both.

Like there's something so good about this recognition that in a world of a lot of goods, our task is to choose the best. That in a world of full of goods, that we can't let the good get in the way of the best. Can't let the good get in the way of what really should be our priority. So moving on just a little bit here into chapter 41, I'm talking about death and this is, it's worthwhile. I'm not sure if, if all of us here in this community, if we reflect on death much, sometimes it's unavoidable. I know that I imagine I know this because there's a large community of us journeying through the Bible that maybe today is the day of someone you love deeply's funeral. Maybe today's the day

that you're sitting in someone's hospital room right now listening to the Bible and this person you love, this person who loves you, is slipping away or is in danger of death. And so just be sensitive to that, realizing that you're not alone.

As we always say, you're not alone. We are praying with you. We're praying for you right now. But there's this sense of a lot of us can avoid reflecting on death. We don't take the time to realize that this is guaranteed. So in chapter 41, here's the author saying, oh death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions, to a man without distractions, who is prosperous everything, and who still has vigor to enjoy his food. Basically, how bitter is the reminder of death to one who's at peace and one who has prosperity, one who has health. On the other hand, oh death, how welcome is your sentence to one who is in need and is failing in strength, who's very old

and distracted over everything to one who's contrary and has lost his patience. That sense of like, man, yeah, our perspective on life at this moment, whether it's full of pain, like maybe death is welcome versus full of strength and full of opportunity. Maybe death is a bitter reminder. But he goes on to say, do not fear the sentence of death. Remember your former days and the end of life. This is the decree from the Lord for all flesh. How can you reject the good pleasure of the most high?

For whether, and this is important, whether pleasure of the Most High? For whether, and this is important, whether life is for 10 or 100 or 1,000 years, there is no inquiry about it in Hades. There is something about that that just is so important for us. One of the things that I reflect on so often is that every single day is a gift. That whether a person lives for a day or for a hundred years, or a thousand here, it says in Sirach, every day of those is undeserved. Every one of those is a gift. And sometimes that breaks our heart, right?

Obviously, when someone dies before we were ready, if we could ever be ready, but when someone dies before we were ready, it just, it feels like we're robbed, right? It feels like we've been gypped. It feels like something's been taken from us. And that's real. But a deeper truth is that something was given that didn't have to be given. Here's this is someone who's four years old and i hate to even mention this someone who's four years old and dies and then they die and we see this as something's been taken from us someone's been taken from us and that is true and that breaks our heart and i'm not i'm not arguing

that that is true but also the deeper truth is something had been given that didn't have to be given four years of someone's life that didn't have to be given for years of someone's life that didn't have to be given. It doesn't make it easier, I guess. Maybe it does in some ways, but it doesn't take away the grief. It doesn't take away the heartbreak, but maybe, maybe before that day comes, maybe before that day when the person is taken away, we can look at them across the kitchen table. We can look at them. We can call them. We can do FaceTime them or whatever the thing is. And we can say, every day with you has been a gift that I didn't deserve. I know a lot of parents who are listening, a lot of grandparents who are listening.

To be able to look at your kids and say, every day with you, however old they are, every day with you has been a gift. This didn't have to be given to me. And so I just don't want to let it go to waste. I don't want to get to the point where it's gone, where you're gone. And now I just think of what's taken. I want to be here in front of you and remember what's been given. Same thing is true. Husbands, to look at your brides. Brides, to look at your brides, brides to look at your husbands, friends to look at your friends, and all of us to be able to look at the Lord and say, God, however long you want my life to be, in the end, you're not taking life away from me because it was never mine in the first place.

You gave it to me. And now, like Jesus, we can say into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. I give it back. I don't know. This is something I've been praying about and thanks for letting me reflect on this with y'all. I know there are so many of us right now in this community in grief, in the midst of loss and so you're not alone.

We are praying for you. We are praying for you. Please pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.