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Homily of the Day

Title:	Happy Endings Are Only Temporary
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, November 18, 2005

1 Maccabees 4:36-37,52-59 / Lk 19:45-48

Today we get a happy ending to the dreadful story we've been hearing all week, starting with the Greeks' brutal imposition of their culture upon the Jews, the revolt that followed, and finally the triumph of the Maccabees in expelling the Greeks and restoring the temple and its worship.

It is a happy ending for awhile, but students of history know that it was neither the first nor the last "ending." There had been happy endings before, when David first seized Jerusalem from the pagans and when his son Solomon had built the first great temple. And then there was the time when the Israelites came back from captivity in Babylon in the sixth century and rebuilt the temple which had been burned to the ground. And long after the Maccabees' triumph in the second century before Christ, the temple would need to be rebuilt and rededicated yet again by King Herod during Jesus' childhood — awaiting its final destruction in 70 A.D.

In this life, sad or happy endings are rarely endings, but only moments on the road. There's always another chapter in the story. And that points to the issue we need to focus on today. The journey we're on is a very long one, with many twists and turns, and inevitably with moments when we lose our focus and lose connection with the Lord. It can happen at any time or stage in our journey, whether we're young or old. The temple got rebuilt and rededicated so many times precisely because this was true about the Israelites, as it is true about us. That's reality.

We can face that reality by engaging each new day with open and listening hearts, that are able to hear the Lord speaking to us when we're wandering into dark places. We can face that reality by making prudent course changes — early and often. And each time, God will help us.

The Word Among Us

Friday, November 18, 2005

Meditation
Luke 19:45-48

Selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging foreign currency were necessary services that the Temple personnel provided for the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem. In fact, several such marketplaces were conveniently located near the Temple. But under the high priest Caiaphas, the Temple’s outermost courtyard itself had also been turned into a trading place. Such an encroachment upon this sacred building must not have sat well with some.

Merchants haggling. Sheep bleating. Doves flapping. Money changers clinking their coins. Imagine how difficult it must have been for the God-fearing Gentiles who were permitted in this court but no further to worship! So Jesus evicted the traders because he wanted to preserve the Temple as a place of prayer for everyone. He must also have been disturbed by those merchants who charged inflated exchange rates or sold animals for exorbitant prices. Such practices, Jesus declared, made the Temple “into a den of robbers” (Luke 19:46).

Like the Temple priests and administrators of Jesus’ day, we who are members of the church face many pitfalls. Self-interest seeks to rule our hearts and our actions. “Conservative” and “liberal” Catholics are tempted to criticize one another harshly. Parish councils can be characterized by disagreements and personality clashes more than a desire to build up the church. Lack of prayer seeks to rob us of the joy and peace that should always be a hallmark of believers in Christ.

Given all of this, how can we still proclaim our belief in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church”? Because the church is both a human and a divine institution. As such, its holiness is “real,” but also “imperfect” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 48). Precisely because the church is “at once holy and always in need of purification,” it must always follow “the way of penance and renewal” (8).

Each of us can help bring about the ongoing renewal of the church through our prayer, and by trying to walk in love all the time. Together, let’s join in this renewal, “so that the sign of Christ may shine more brightly over the face of the earth” (Lumen Gentium, 15).

“Jesus, cleanse our hearts of all that distorts your image in us. Help us to reflect your holiness and goodness to everyone who looks upon your church.”

1 Maccabees 4:36-37,52-59; (Psalm) 1 Chronicles 29:10-12