“At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many young people would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion” (Maccabees 6:24).
Eleazar made this announcement to those who were attempting to save his life by giving him meat acceptable for him to eat so that he could pretend that he was eating the pork that he refused. Eleazar’s faithfulness to God and witness to the youth meant more to him than even saving his own life.
This was no mere boast of Eleazar either, he was not looking for attention or his fifteen minutes of fame. He showed himself to be a man of integrity and courage in the face of oppression. Many of his own people gave in to the pressures of Greek culture and religion either outright or under the same pretense. He did not want to be remembered that way and he wanted to inspire those following him.
We may not be called to give our lives for our faith as Eleazar did. But we can still ask ourselves, is there anything or anyone we are willing to give our lives for, are we willing to be a witness for our faith, do we believe and practice our faith in such a way that what we believe distinguishes us from anybody else in society, and/or does the culture or the gospel shape us? Put another way, if we were brought to court and charged with being a Catholic, could the prosecutor bring forward sufficient evidence to convict us?
If we are willing to be a witness, are we doing so for our own benefit? Are we putting ourselves first instead of God? Are we promoting an agenda or ideology and just cloaking it in a Christian disguise?
Zacchaeus must have wondered about his life up to the point where he found himself sitting up in a tree just so he could get a look at Jesus. He received more than a look and his encounter with Jesus changed everything. Eleazar and Zacchaeus had an encounter with the living God and that made a difference in their lives. Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary, did too. God promised Anna that, although she was barren, she would deliver a child.
Today we also celebrate the presentation of Mary. Though not canonical or historically provable, from the Protoevangelium of James, we learn that Mary, at three years old, was dedicated to God by her parents. God was faithful to them in giving them a daughter and they in turn returned Mary to God.
The good news for us is that we are invited today to encounter the living God and dedicate our lives to him as well. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Mary, comes to each of us in each Mass through his word proclaimed and his Body and Blood offered. When we are willing to open our minds and hearts to him in prayer, as well as in our daily activities and encounters, and when we follow his guidance, then our decisions, lives, and we ourselves will change. We become better, we become more human.
St. Mother Teresa put it very well in a talk she gave in 1978:
“Our vocation is to belong to Jesus so completely that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. What you and I must do is nothing less than putting our love for Christ into practice. The important thing is not how much we accomplish, but how much love we put into our deeds everyday. That is the measure of our love for God.”
Eleazar, Zacchaeus, Joachim, Anna, and Mary, made a choice about who they were going to surrender their lives to. Who are we going to live for? How much love are we going to put into what we are going to do today and who we are going to serve?
Photo: Mary leads us to experience the light of Christ. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 