Reflection - Culture

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111819.cfm
1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63
Luke 18:35-43

The Bible, as we know, is God’s story. Specifically, it is the account of the Lord’s persistent attempts to make himself known to humanity. But there is always another side to any story. The reading from Maccabees makes clear that, after fifteen hundred years of persistence on God’s part, there was also fifteen hundred years of resistance on man’s part.

God’s problem with man may have begun with Adam and Eve, but that shouldn’t divert one’s attention from the fact that thereafter things got worse. Mankind’s stay in Paradise may have been terminated by Adam’s disobedience; but the ongoing entanglement of human errors complicated things far beyond what humanity alone could unscramble. By the time God got around to choosing a specific people through whom He would make himself known, mankind’s miscues, missteps and mistakes had become well entrenched and pretty much universal. Still, it must be admitted that the initial selection of Abraham, through whom this Chosen People would come, was a winner. But by the time Abraham’s descendants had become sufficiently numerous to be considered a people, their miscues, missteps and mistakes had also become numerous. Dealing with one of those mistakes was particularly critical. That most critical one was the proper answer to the question: “who is God?” The challenge of re-education was overwhelming and it would take a God to do it.

First off was the necessity of separating the Hebrews from Egyptian religious influence. Physical distance proved only marginally successful as evidenced by the incident in the desert with the golden calf. Then there was the problem of pagan worship in the land they were entering; but that cleansing was only marginally completed. How was God to form these people into the witnesses he needed?

With the persistent presence of pagan worship — which, by the way, had significant sexual overtones — neither kings nor people seemed capable of adhering to the Covenant Law. So this flawed arrangement continued down through the centuries. It wasn’t so much that he people were sinful; that, in itself, was no surprise. Rather, they couldn’t keep a clear perspective on who was God.

In the centuries following the Exile, I.e. from about 537 BC on, some progress was made in this regard. The period of the Exile was a time of purification and both Jews and the Jewish faith were finally somewhat cleansed of pagan influence. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that evil has no boundaries. What is available to assist in the corruption of faith can be and will be used.

By 323 BC, Alexander the Great had conquered most of the Middle East, northeastern Africa and territory as far south as northern India. But he died suddenly in 323 and his conquests broke up into several smaller kingdoms. In the decades following, Rome began to exercise its might throughout the Mediterranean; and Antiochus IV became ruler in the region of Judea. Now the Scripture text identifies this ruler by his preferred name: Antiochus was his father’s name, that’s why he was the fourth. But his preferred name was Antiochus Epiphanes, which translates to Antiochus, the manifestation of God.

Historians generally agree that Antiochus was not a particularly religious man and that his problem with the Jews and theifr religion was essentially with the very change which God had brought about during and through the Exile. The people had been separated from elements of idolatry in the Exile and they protected this purified state when they returned to Judea through their isolation from foreign influence. But what is available to assist in the corruption of faith evil can and will use. Greek culture was to be the medium of subversion this time.

Antiochus wanted a culturally unified kingdom. Judaism and its religious practices stood in the way. Thus the conflict about which we just read.

Christendom has many definitions but most see it as being some form of a union of secular and religious power. By modifying the definition to simply refer to regions where Christianity is the dominant faith we in the West have maintained the notion of Christendom. That notion was prevalent as long as ‘blue laws’ kept stores closed on Sunday, as long as divorce and abortion were considered sins, as long as the Bible was not foreign to schools and the school day began with a prayer, as long as there was a Christmas holiday instead of a winter break, as long as no major political candidate could publicly state that the Catholic Church would just have to change its views on abortion, as long as businesses were not condemned and boycotted because their leaders held fast to Biblical teaching — the list goes on.

• Today we’re in the same boat as the Jews at the time of Antiochus.
  
• We are being pushed to conform to a foreign, secular culture.
  
• We are being threatened with personal destruction if we don’t. (Think Justice Kavanaugh.)
  
• Our feast days are being appropriated (move All Hallows Eve to the last weekend of Oct.)
  

The Greek Culture was not intrinsically bad; but not all it’s elements were wise or good. Any new culture, even one which grows up around us, needs to awaken our consciousness and conscience.