In Heaven's Light

+ J. M. J. +

Homily Outline for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C

This Sunday we get just a little glimpse a page in Salvation History that isn’t widely familiar, the story of the Maccabees. The 2 Books of Maccabees together tell how the Greek Empire attempted to impose paganism on the people of Israel, and of the resistance led by the family of Mattathias, a Jewish priest. In the background of the passage we hear today is the dramatic moment when Mattathias publicly refused to perform a pagan sacrifice in the city of Modein, thus leading his family and many of the faithful Jews into open rebellion against the Greek tyranny. Mattathias’ son, Judas, gives his name to the whole saga, for Judas’ nickname was “Maccabaeus,” which may have meant “The Hammer.” His stunning military leadership and many victories over the much larger Greek armies certainly bear out the nickname.


The passage we heard, from the 2nd Book of Maccabees, tells of the martyrdom of seven un-named brothers. All seven were savagely tortured and killed in front of their mother for refusing to obey the king’s order to eat pork. Two truths stand out from their statements in the face of terrible torture and death: First of all, this whole family clearly recognizes that we must obey God before man. It is easy enough for us to acknowledge this theoretically, or when we feel that we are already keeping God’s law, but when the chips are down, when God’s law calls us to conversion or to resist the path of the majority, then it becomes very difficult. It tests our faith. And this leads to the second truth… with faith in eternal life, knowing God’s promises to us, we can face any sort of difficulty in light of heaven. The third brother is about to have his tongues, arms, and legs cut off by the torturers, and he says:

It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of [God’s] laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.

Moments later, the fourth brother also points to the same hope:

It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.

In light of Jesus’ later teaching about amazing depth of God’s mercy, we don’t fully embrace this man’s certainty that his torturers are condemned to hell, but we are absolutely invited to share his great hope in heaven, in being raised up by God.


If we live only in light of this mortal world, we will not live as Jesus invites us to live. If the physical life we see around us is the whole story, the only rational path is that of hedonism, “eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die.” More and more people live this way around us, and each of us is tempted to seek pleasure at all costs. This hedonistic path doesn’t even lead to happiness here in this world. Eternity is built right into our hearts.


If we seek real joy, we must live in the light of heaven, with an eternal perspective, with our eyes and lives fixed on the goal and promise God gives us. This is implied in the final words of our psalm, “I in justice shall behold your face; on waking I shall be content in your presence.” We hope and pray and strive to live in such a way, sustained and lifted up by God’s grace, that we may be able to receive the gift of eternal life. When we pass through the veil of death, we hope to wake and rise to God’s presence in heaven.


St. Paul speaks to this same hope and perspective in our 2nd reading:

…the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

God is faithful to us through every trial, He promises to strengthen and guard us. He longs to direct our hearts to His love and to the very endurance demonstrated by Christ.


When we face tough decisions, may we not forget that Jesus has been there ahead of us. Jesus knew what was coming, and in Gethsemane He prayed, “Lord, may this cup pass from me, but not my will but your will be done.” When Jesus stood before Pilate, He almost certainly could have worked out some compromise by denying His own mission and identity. When we face temptation and struggle, we can sidestep it too, if we deny our baptismal mission and identity. Jesus was scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked and spat upon; He struggled up the hill bearing the Cross He would be nailed to, He died for us. He rose victorious from the grave, overwhelming not only all that suffering, but even death itself. We are promised a share in His victory… but we can reject that gift and turn away. If we forget the promise of heaven, we are very likely to turn away.


In our Gospel, the Sadducees were trying once again to trap Jesus with a spurious question, designed to make a mockery of belief in eternal life. We know what it is like to live in a world where eternal life is often mocked, even more frequently ignored, and sadly, simply unknown to many of our peers. Jesus cuts through the shuffle and goes to the heart of the matter… those who are deemed worthy enter into the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead, they are children of God and will rise, for our God is a God of the living, not the dead.


The Church, then, invites us to embrace the truth of eternal life today. This perspective gives us hope for our loved ones who have died, as we continue to remember them during this month of November. We are not finally cut off from those who have died, whether that is a child lost in miscarriage, a young person who dies tragically, or an elder person who dies at the end of a long battle with sickness. We can help them with our prayers, we can love them in light of heaven.

Keeping our eyes fixed on heaven does mean we disdain or disregard this world, rather it means we can authentically love this world while recognizing that it is not the whole story. In heaven’s light we can persevere through temptation, failure, and sorrow. In heaven’s light we can love in truth, we can give of ourselves without counting the cost. Only in heaven’s light can we authentically love both God and neighbor. Like Jesus we can knife through the shuffle of lies and malice and confusion and ignorance, and live grounded in the truth… we are the beloved adopted sons and daughters of God, and He calls us to eternity. At this Mass, now, He gives us Himself, to strengthen us on this journey.




A beautiful example of Heaven's Light shining through song:

+ A. M. D. G. +