Daily Readings for Saturday, 23 November 2013

Daily Readings for Saturday, 23 November 2013

Book of 2nd book of Maccabees 4:36-37,52-59Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and Book of 2nd book of Maccabees 6: Abolition of Judaism.

1 a Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator* to force the Jews to abandon the laws of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God,

2 also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus,* and the one on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Host to Strangers, as the local inhabitants were wont to be.b

3 This was a harsh and utterly intolerable evil.

4 The Gentiles filled the temple with debauchery and revelry; they amused themselves with prostitutes and had intercourse with women even in the sacred courts. They also brought forbidden things into the temple,c

5 so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws.

6 No one could keep the sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit to being a Jew.

7 Moreover, at the monthly celebration of the king’s birthday the Jews, from bitter necessity, had to partake of the sacrifices, and when the festival of Dionysus* was celebrated, they were compelled to march in his procession, wearing wreaths of ivy.d

8 Following upon a vote of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to adopt the same measures, obliging the Jews to partake of the sacrifices

9 and putting to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster had come upon them.

10 Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall.e

11 Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the seventh day in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death. In their respect for the holiness of that day, they refrained from defending themselves.f

God’s Purpose.

12 g Now I urge those who read this book not to be disheartened by these misfortunes, but to consider that these punishments were meant not for the ruin but for the correction of our nation.

13 It is, in fact, a sign of great kindness to punish the impious promptly instead of letting them go for long. (New American Bible)

Psalms 9: 1-2 I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,

    I’m writing the book on your wonders.

I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;

    I’m singing your song, High God.

3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,

    they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.

You took over and set everything right;

    when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

6  Enemies disappear from the sidelines,

    their reputation trashed,

    their names erased from the halls of fame.

16  They have no excuse;

    the way God works is well-known.

The cunning machinery made by the wicked

    has maimed their own hands.

19 Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?

    Expose these grand pretensions!(The Message)

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 20: All Intimacies Will Be with God

27-33 Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her and died, then the third, and eventually all seven had their turn, but no child. After all that, the wife died. That wife, now—in the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her.”

34-38 Jesus said, “Marriage is a major preoccupation here, but not there. Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying, ‘God: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!’ God isn’t the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive.”

39-40 Some of the religion scholars said, “Teacher, that’s a great answer!” For a while, anyway, no one dared put questions to him.(The Message)

up to Mount Zion. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of holocausts that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.(New American Bible)

1st book of Chronicles 29: David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation:

Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father

    from of old and forever.

To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might,

    the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor;

Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;

    the kingdom all yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.

Riches and glory come from you,

    you’re ruler over all;

You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand

    to build up and strengthen all.

And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you,

    praising your splendid Name.(The Message)

Luke 19: Going into the Temple he began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, “It’s written in Scripture,

My house is a house of prayer;

You have turned it into a religious bazaar.”

From then on he taught each day in the Temple. The high priests, religion scholars, and the leaders of the people were trying their best to find a way to get rid of him. But with the people hanging on every word he spoke, they couldn’t come up with anything.(The Message)

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