Deception: Scandal for others & betrayal to God
Cancel Culture places the so-called ‘truth’ of man before the Truth of God
By Steve Hall
It is not hard to imagine that the Jews would have found Greek gods to be somewhere between laughable and blasphemous. Neither is it difficult to imagine that the pagan authority would have proceeded to try to eliminate the various expressions of Jewish faith. So, too, do we live today with others who proclaim tolerance, fearlessness, and even violence, in purposely offending God.
Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
II Maccabees 6:18-31
Luke 19:1-10
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
This common saying is from a mid-1800s Frenchman, but the truth expressed is as old as humanity.
Alexander the Great began his conquest of Eastern Asia around 335 BC, and in just thirteen years, his empire was greater than any previously established. All of Greece, Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, the Levant, and more came under his rule. He died young, but his legacy would continue to shape the four kingdoms subsequently established by his generals.
What had once been the Kingdom of David, the Kingdom of Israel, was now part of the Seleucid Empire, and various kings of that empire ruled it for more than two hundred years. One king in particular received special attention in the Scriptures. His name was Antiochus IV, and he was notable because he sought to impose Hellenistic culture throughout his kingdom more forcefully than others.
Hellenistic Culture was a marvel in the Mediterranean world. From the Greeks came the best sculpture, the best philosophers, the best architecture, the best literature, the best theater, and the best sports. Some would claim that Hellenistic Culture was the foundation of Rome’s subsequent greatness. Various aspects of these Greek achievements were introduced to the conquered territories. Alexander had been enthusiastic about the dissemination of Greek culture; his generals followed suit, for they saw that such a culture could be a unifying force for the disparate peoples of their newly established kingdoms. Among these Greek elements was the worship of the Greek gods.
It is not hard to imagine that the Jews would have found these Greek gods to be somewhere between laughable and blasphemous. Neither is it difficult to imagine that the pagan authority would have proceeded to try to eliminate the various expressions of Jewish faith. Nevertheless, for a time, the Seleucid rulers tolerated local religious practices. The situation became critical in Israel after a false rumor of the king’s death. That rumor sparked a revolt aimed at gaining independence from the Empire. The still-alive king Antiochus was enraged. He outlawed Jewish rites and traditions. The Temple was converted to the worship of Zeus. He forced the high priest and other Jews to eat swine flesh. So much for tolerance. So much for those who would place the Truth of God before the ‘truth’ of man.
History would suggest that Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the manifestation of god) was one of the earliest known leaders of the Cancel Culture movement. Greek culture, the pinnacle of what men in the Western Hemisphere believed at the time, was to have supremacy over everything else. It didn’t matter that it was just a human creation. It didn’t matter that it would be supplanted later. It didn’t matter that, in some aspects, it was contrary to the Law of God.
This is the background for Eleazar, a man of advanced age and noble appearance. What is most inspiring in his story, however, is his encounter with his ‘friends.’
“Those in charge of that unlawful ritual meal took the man aside privately, because of their long acquaintance with him, and urged him to bring meat of his own providing, such as he could legitimately eat, and to pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice prescribed by the king; in this way he would escape the death penalty. . . . “
Eleazar recognized that such a pretense would support the king's blasphemous position. Such a deception would be a scandal to others and a betrayal of God. Eleazar knew that by accepting the deception, the King's cancel culture would win.
How true it is!
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
And so we live today with others who would proclaim tolerance. And so we live today among those who would place the so-called ‘truth’ of man before the Truth of God.
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The Gospel story is complementary.
Luke presents the story as a simple incident in Jesus’ life; it could have easily been one of Jesus’ many parables. If a parable, the story might have been told like this.
A certain man named Zacchaeus came upon an enormous tree of many branches. It was an amazing tree and the man decided to investigate. He climbed the tree and discovered that each branch possessed the best of human achievement in all the different fields of learning. There was a branch for the arts, which itself split into branches of sculpture, painting, literature, poetry, and plays. Similarly, for the other branches — there were those of science, metaphysics, engineering, and so forth. Each held the epitome of mankind’s achievements in a different field of learning. The man was overwhelmed. He climbed to the top and proclaimed: “I’m king of the world!” For he felt as if all the kingdoms of the world had been given to him.
Unfortunately, the man also found himself trapped, encumbered by human wisdom. His world was the tree with all its great branches, but nothing more.
But Lo! The real king soon appeared. Looking up, he saw Zacchaeus sitting at the top of the tree. The king chuckled. Smiling, he called out, “Zacchaeus! Come down!”
Fortunately, Zacchaeus was a sensible man. He did come down — though he struggled to disentangle himself from the tree’s grasping branches. But when he finally reached the bottom, he looked around and saw so much more, and then Zacchaeus recognized how limited his world had been. He saw in the person of the king things which struggled for a place in the tree and which found a place in the tree’s branches only with confusion and difficulty. He saw justice, mercy, and love.
Immediately, Zacchaeus became aware of how his life, as guided by the knowledge in the tree, had been antithetical to the very person of the king. He set about immediately to balance the truths of human learning with the truths of justice, mercy, and love. Meanwhile, others, still in the tree, looked down and said, “What is that foolish man doing?”
But an answer was not possible. Unless truth — humanly acquired truth— is understood in the context of Sacred History and THE TRUTH, it will not be understood.
Then the king said, “Let’s get some lunch.”
Now I don’t know why the story ends so abruptly. Maybe those from the Cancel Culture were seen coming from down the street to protest. Maybe those listening to the parable needed time for reflection. Maybe it was time for lunch.