--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Hi, my name is Fr. 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.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: 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.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: It is day 285. We are four days into the Maccabean revolt. We're reading 1 Maccabees 4, Sirach 10, 11, and 12, as well as Proverbs 22, verses 9 through 12.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: As always, the Bible translation we are reading from is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: 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 by clicking on subscribe.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Now, Gorgias took 5,000 infantry and 1,000 picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Men from the citadel were his guides, but Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the king's force in Emmaus while the division was still absent from the camp.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there. So he looked for them in the hills because he said, These men are fleeing from us.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: At daybreak, Judas appeared in the plain with 3,000 men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified with cavalry round about it. And these men were trained in war.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But Judas said to the men who were with him, Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And now let us cry to heaven to see whether he will favor us and remember his covenant with our fathers and crush this army before us today.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them, they went forth from their camp to battle.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets and engaged in battle.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain, and all those in the rear fell by the sword.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They pursued them to Gezarah and to the plains of Edomia and to Ezadas and Jamnia, and three thousand of them fell.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them, and he said to the people, Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared coming out of the hills.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They saw that their army had been put to flight and that the Jews were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When they perceived this, they were greatly frightened.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And when they also saw the army of Judas draw up in the plain for battle, they all fled into the land of the Philistines.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple and great riches.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: On their return they sang hymns and praises to heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: First Campaign of Lysias Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had commanded him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But the next year he mustered 60,000 picked infantrymen and 5,000 cavalry to subdue them.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They came to Idumea and encamped at Betzur. And Judas met them with 10,000 men.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When he saw that the army was strong, he prayed, saying, Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who did crush the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of your servant David,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: and did give the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So do you hem in this army by the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their troops and their cavalry.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Fill them with cowardice, melt the boldness of their strength, Let them tremble in their destruction.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Strike them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They fell in action.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And when Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and already they were either to live or to die nobly,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries to invade Judea again with an even larger army.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Cleansing and dedication of the temple.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then said Judas and his brothers, Behold, our enemies are crushed.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So all the army assembled, and they went up to Mount Zion.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket or as on one of the mountains.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They also saw the chambers of the priests in ruins.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then they tore their clothes and mourned with great lamentation and sprinkled themselves with ashes.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They fell face down on the ground and sounded the signal on the trumpets and cried out to heaven.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He chose blameless priests devoted to the law and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering which had been profaned and they thought it best to tear it down lest it bring reproach upon them for the Gentiles had defiled it.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So they tore down the altar and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell them what to do with them.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then they took unhewn stones as the law directs and built a new altar like the former one.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They made new holy vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense and the table into the temple.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Early in the morning, on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: they rose and offered sacrifice as the law directs on the new altar of burnt offerings which they had built.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and symbols.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: All the people fell on their faces and worshipped and blessed heaven who had prospered them.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days and offered burnt offerings with gladness.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They restored the gates and the chambers for the priests and furnished them with doors
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: At that time, they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers round about, to keep the Gentiles from coming and trampling them down as they had done before,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: and he stationed a garrison there to hold it.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He also fortified Bet-Zur, so that the people might have a stronghold that faced Edumia.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Book of Sirach, Chapter 10
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A wise magistrate will educate his people, and the rule of an understanding man will be well-ordered.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Like the magistrate of the people, so are his officials, and like the ruler of the city, so are all its inhabitants.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: An undisciplined king will ruin his people, but his city will grow through the understanding of its rulers.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The government of the earth is in the hands of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right man for the time.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The success of a man is in the hands of the Lord, and he confers his honor upon the person of the scribe.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not be angry with your neighbor for any injury and do not attempt anything by acts of insolence.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Arrogance is hateful before the Lord and before men, and injustice is outrageous to both.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Sovereignty passes from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: How can he who is dust and ashes be proud?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For even in life his bowels decay.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A long illness baffles the physician.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The king of today will die tomorrow.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For when a man is dead, he will inherit creeping things and wild beasts and worms.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The beginning of man's pride is to depart from the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: His heart has forsaken his maker.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For the beginning of pride is sin, and the man who clings to it pours out abominations.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Therefore, the Lord brought upon them extraordinary afflictions and destroyed them utterly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Lord has cast down the thrones of rulers and has seated the
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Lord has plucked up the roots of the nations and has planted the humble in their place.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Lord has overthrown the lands of the nations and has destroyed them to the foundations of the earth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He has removed some of them and destroyed them and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Pride was not created for men, nor fierce anger for those born of women.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: What race is worthy of honor? The human race.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: What race is worthy of honor? Those who fear the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: What race is unworthy of honor? The human race.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: What race is unworthy of honor? Those who transgress the commandments.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Among brothers, their leader is worthy of honor, and those who fear the Lord are worthy of honor in his eyes.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The rich and the eminent and the poor, their glory is the fear of the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: It is not right to despise an intelligent poor man, nor is it proper to honor a sinful man.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The nobleman and the judge and the ruler will be honored, but none of them is greater than the man who fears the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Free men will be at the service of a wise servant, and a man of understanding will not grumble.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not make a display of your wisdom when you do your work, nor glorify yourself at a time when you are in want.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Better is a man who works and has an abundance of everything than one who goes about boasting but lacks bread.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: My son, glorify yourself with humility, and ascribe to yourself honor according to your worth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Who will justify the man that sins against himself and who will honor the man that dishonors his own life?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A poor man is honored for his knowledge while a rich man is honored for his wealth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A man honored in poverty, how much more in wealth? And a man dishonored in wealth, how much more in poverty?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Chapter 11.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The wisdom of a humble man will lift up his head and will seat him among the great.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not praise a man for his good looks, nor loathe a man because of his appearance.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The bee is small among flying creatures, but her product is the best of sweet things.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not boast about wearing fine clothes, nor exalt yourself in the day that you are honored,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: for the works of the Lord are wonderful and his works are concealed from men.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Many kings have had to sit on the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Many rulers have been greatly disgraced, and illustrious men have been handed over to others.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not find fault before you investigate, first consider, and then reprove.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not answer before you have heard, nor interrupt a speaker in the midst of his words.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not argue about a matter which does not concern you, nor sit with sinners when they judge a case.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: My son, do not busy yourself with many matters.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: If you multiply activities, you will not go unpunished. And if you pursue, you will not overtake. And by fleeing, you will not escape.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: There is a man who works and toils and presses on, but is so much the more in want.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: There is another who is slow and needs help, who lacks strength and abounds in poverty.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But the eyes of the Lord look upon him for his good.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He lifts him out of his lowest state and raises up his head so that many are amazed at him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Good things and bad. life and death, poverty and wealth come from the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The gift of the Lord endures for those who are godly, and what he approves will have lasting success.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial, and this is the reward allotted to him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: When he says, I have found rest, and now I shall enjoy my goods, he does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Stand by your covenant and attend to it and grow old in your work.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The blessing of the Lord is the reward of the godly, and quickly God causes his blessing to flourish.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not say, what do I need, and what prosperity could be mine in the future.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not say, I have enough, and what calamity could happen to me in the future.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten, and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For it is easy in the sight of the Lord to reward a man on the day of death according to his conduct.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The misery of an hour makes one forget luxury, and at the close of a man's life, his deeds will be revealed.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Call no one happy before his death.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A man will be known through his children
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not bring every man into your home for many are the wiles of the crafty
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Like a decoy partridge in a cage so is the mind of a proud man
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And like a spy he observes your weakness, for he lies in wait, turning good into evil, and to worthy actions he will attach blame.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: From a spark of fire come many burning coals, and a sinner lies in wait to shed blood.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Beware of a scoundrel, for he devises evil, lest he give you a lasting blemish.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Receive a stranger into your home, and he will upset you with commotion, and will estrange you from your family.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Chapter 12
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Friends and Enemies
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: If you do a kindness, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do good to a godly man, and you will be repaid, if not by him, certainly by the Most High.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: No good will come to the man who persists in evil or to him who does not give alms.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Give to the godly man, but do not help the sinner.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Hold back his bread and do not give it to him, lest by means of it he subdue you.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For you will receive twice as much evil for all the good which you do to him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: For the Most High also hates sinners and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Give to the good man, but do not help the sinner.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A friend will not be known in prosperity, nor will an enemy be hidden in adversity.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: A man's enemies are grieved when he prospers, and in his adversity even his friend will separate from him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Never trust your enemy, for like the rusting of copper, so is his wickedness.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Even if he humbles himself and goes about cringing, watch yourself and be on your guard against him.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And you will be to him like one who has polished a mirror.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: and you will know that it was not hopelessly tarnished.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not put him next to you, lest he overthrow you and take your place.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Do not have him sit at your right, lest he try to take your seat of honor, and at last you will realize the truth of my words and be stung by what I have said.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Who will pity a snake charmer bitten by a serpent, or any who go near wild beasts?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So, no one will pity a man who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in his sins.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He will stay with you for a time, but if you falter, he will not stand by you.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: An enemy will speak sweetly with his lips, but in his mind, he will plan to throw you into a pit.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: An enemy will weep with his eyes, but if he finds an opportunity, his thirst for blood will be insatiable.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: If calamity befalls you, you will find him there ahead of you, and while pretending to help you, he will trip you by the heel.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He will shake his head and clap his hands and whisper much and change his expression.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The book of Proverbs chapter 22 verses 9 through 12.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Drive out a scoffer and strife will go out and quarreling and abuse will cease.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Father in heaven, give you praise and glory.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We thank you so much.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Gosh, Lord, thank you so much for this gift, the gift of your day, this gift of your word, this gift of this story of Judas Maccabeus and the faithful Jews of Israel.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: who are fighting for you.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We know that while Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, they fought against Greeks,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: we know that our battle is not with flesh and blood.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Our battle is with the principalities and powers.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And just like you gave Judas Maccabeus and his brothers victory over their enemies,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: you give us victory over the principalities and powers.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You give us victory over the dominion of Satan.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You give us victory over evil in the world through your son, Jesus Christ.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In his name we pray, amen.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So yeah, so today, pretty awesome.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In 1 Maccabees chapter 4, you might have noticed that's the story, the story of Hanukkah.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You might not have noticed that. It might have sprung up on you at the end if you didn't know it was coming.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But here we have Judas Maccabeus and the people of Israel, his brothers, who fight against Gorgias and the Greeks.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And just remarkable, right? How with a small army, you have these men who are able to defeat a larger, better funded, I mean, all the cavalry, they have thousands of cavalry, hundreds of cavalry, and they're able to defeat this cavalry.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And how and why? Well, it goes all the way back to the same reason why the people of Israel were able to defeat other armies because God was with them.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: God fought on their behalf.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You know, it's interesting because one thing to note is, you know, this story is from only a couple hundred years before Christ.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And so it's kind of a, it's almost like recent compared to, wow, way back to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joshua leading the people of Israel into the promised land.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Because when it's further away, you can kind of say, oh yeah, you know, I mean, I guess God way, way, way back when had given Joshua and the Israelites victory in battle, given David and his men victory in battle.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But when it's kind of recent, you think, wait, oh gosh, yeah, they still trust.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: This is like now, this is only 2,100 years ago, give or take.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But still, it challenges us.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: It challenges us to see things through the eyes of God as opposed to how we normally see things.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I think a lot of us, we see things through the eyes of power.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I mean, how many times have we been frustrated in our lives, looking at politics or looking at present history, like what's going on in the world at any given time.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And we think, oh my gosh, I'm so frustrated because I keep focusing on politics.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I keep focusing on culture.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I keep focusing on other people as opposed to saying, God, show me what you're doing here.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: God, in all of this, you're working.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And if I don't notice, if I can't see that, then I'm missing out on a vastly important part, a very important part of what's happening.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I'm just noticing the surface and not understanding really fully the depths.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But here is 1 Maccabees 4, where there is God coming to the assistance, coming to the help, coming to the aid of Judas Maccabeus and the brothers.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In fact, you know, then they come into Jerusalem and one of their, you know, this is what kind of reveals a lot about Judas Maccabeus and those who fought with him is they truly actually did desire.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They desired to honor the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They desired to worship the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And so they spend their time.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Remember how Nehemiah had to remind people and the Haggai and Zechariah had to remind people, you guys, you came back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You came back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We should do that now
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You know right away here is Judas Maccabeus
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They don need any reminding
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: They go into Jerusalem and they weep over the fact that it been destroyed and they immediately restore the temple as fast as they can
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And again as I said, at the end of chapter four, we have the institution of Hanukkah.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Now, it's really interesting, I think, because we had the original Jewish feasts that were given to the people of Israel through Moses.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We also have two new Jewish feasts that have been given to us in the last two books we read.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In Esther, there's the Feast of Purim, right?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And here in Maccabees, there's the Feast of Hanukkah.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I think that's kind of interesting that,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: there we go.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: That's all I got for you.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But going to Sirach, you know, I hope it's not too difficult for us to journey through Sirach.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: This is one of those books, I think I mentioned this a couple days ago, it's one of those books that it's really helpful to have in front of you so you can kind of linger over certain passages.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I think a lot of times it's kind of like reading Proverbs all at once as opposed to reading Proverbs, you know, four verses a day, which is what we normally do.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: This is reading three chapters a day going through Sirach, but there's all this advice.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The context for the advice, you might have caught on by now, and I apologize if I didn't say this yet.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The context for the advice of Sirach is a father trying to teach his son how to walk wisely in this world, right?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: So the context, you know, the teaching is wisdom, right?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But here's a father trying to teach his son how to walk wisely in this world.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I just think there's something really powerful.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Like, For example, in chapter 10, we're going to highlight just a couple of things here.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: In chapter 10, this father says, you know, basically to all of us as well, in chapter 10, verse 9, how can he who is dust and ashes be proud?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I think that's such an interesting thing because we can find ourselves in the same position.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We can find ourselves in a position where we would say that, yeah, you know, I've accomplished this.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I've made this.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I've done this.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I've, were we just going to place ourself at the center as opposed to realizing that wait a second, I am dust and to dust I shall return.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I like how the father, you know, Ben Sirach says, how can he who is dust and ashes be proud for even in life, his bowels decay,
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: which I think it says in the notes on this one, it says the Greek is obscure.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I think the Greek might be obscure, but I get exactly what you're saying on this.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He goes on in verse 17 in chapter 10, he says, you know, even talking about kings and nations and kingdoms, he says in verse 17, he has removed some of them and destroyed them and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I remember a couple of years ago, my spiritual director, we just, he got kind of out of the blue.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: We were talking about, I don't know if we were talking about anything relating to, you know, what some of the things I was doing online or whatever.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And he just said, he looked at me and he said, you know, no one's going to remember you when you die.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I was like, oh yeah, father, I know.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And he's like, no, no, no, no one will remember you after you die.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You're not Thomas Aquinas.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I remember just thinking, yeah.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And I was really grateful he said that.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I mean, it wasn't really a surprise.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: It's kind of one of those things where, yes, if you read scripture, if you pray to the Lord, you realize that here is verse 17.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He has extinguished the memory of them from the earth.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I mean, gosh, how many of us can remember the names of our great grandparents.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: How about a great uncle, a great aunt, a great great?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I mean, how far back can we go to recognize that, oh, every one of us, even the memory of us.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I remember hearing this reflection.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I thought it was powerful.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He said, people die twice and you die when you die.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: But you also, the second death is, this is not Judeo-Christian, but this is just kind of like in a secular way.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: The second death is the last time someone ever utters your name.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And it's kind of an interesting thing.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: At some point, it'll be the last time someone ever says your name or my name.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And wow, that's so good to know.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Because again, it keeps us away from pride.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I love how in chapter 10, it goes on to make a distinction between those who are powerful in the eyes of human beings and those who are actually worthy.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: You know, it talks about there's the nobleman and the judge and the ruler.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: there'll be honored, but none of them is greater than one who fears the Lord.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: That's verse 24.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: I love, I love this, uh, in verse 26, do not make a display of your wisdom when you do your work, nor glorify yourself at a time when you are in want.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And it's just, just so good.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: And you could keep going on this, but I want to highlight maybe two last ones, um, in chapter 11 verses one through six.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Ah, so why? I mean, just helpful, right?
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: Um, a father to his child, uh, you know, a mother to her daughter.
--:-- Fr. Mike Schmitz: He goes, do not praise a man for his good looks, nor loathe the man because of his appearance.
