Archive for the ‘Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ Tag
Above: Mina of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Daniel 7:9-10
Psalm 111
Hebrews 13:20-21
Mark 13:24-31
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Almighty and ever-living God,
before the earth was formed and even after it ceases to be,
you are God.
Break into our short span of life
and let us see the signs of your final will and purpose;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 30
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Almighty and ever-living God,
since you have given exceedingly great and precious promises
to those who believe,
grant us so perfectly and without all doubt
to believe in your Son Jesus Christ
that our faith in your sight may never be reproved;
through our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Lutheran Worship (1982), 92
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The apocalyptic theme of the victory of suffering love (from last Sunday) continues this week. God will win in the end, the apocalyptic genre teaches. Hence, the genre is inherently optimistic.
The reading from Daniel 7 makes more sense if we add verses 8 and 11 for textual context. YHWH (the Ancient of Days) sits enthroned in glory amid arrogant kings. The “little horn” in Daniel 7:9 and 11 is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164 B.C.E.), the bête noire of the First, Second, and Fourth Books of the Maccabees. The text of Daniel 7 slightly postdates the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, hence the interpretation of him in the chapter. Notice, O reader, that the “little horn” does not endure long in the presence of God (Daniel 7:11).
Pairing Mark 13:24-31 with Daniel 7:13-14 (from next week) would have made sense, but the ILCW Lectionary committee did not make that decision.
The handiwork of God is truth and justice, we read in Psalm 111. There we also read that divine precepts are trustworthy, staunch for all time, and fashioned in truth and right. The Epistle to the Hebrews adds:
…may [the God of peace] prepare you to do his will in every kind of good action; effecting in us all whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
–Verse 21, The New Jerusalem Bible
May we be on Team God. May we be agents of divine truth and justice. May we do the will of God in every kind of good action. May others recognize God working through us. May we be humble, not arrogant, before God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 12, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE THIRTY-FOURTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GERMANUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND DEFENDER OF ICONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY OF OSTIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, CARDINAL, AND LEGATE; AND SAINT DOMINIC OF THE CAUSEWAY, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT
THE FEAST OF PAUL MAZAKUTE, FIRST SIOUX EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF ROGER SCHÜTZ, FOUNDER OF THE TAIZÉ COMMUNITY
THE FEAST OF SYLVESTER II, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Herod Agrippa I
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LXVI
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Acts 12:1-25
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Herod Agrippa I was a Roman client king from 37 to 44 C.E. We have another, more precise, dated detail–the martyrdom of St. James Bar-Zebedee (the brother of Saint John the Evangelist and a first cousin of Jesus–circa 44 C.E,
Herod Agrippa (10 B.C.E.-44 C.E.) was a grandson of Herod the Great, the brother of Herodias, the uncle of Salome, and a brother-in-law of Herod Antipas. Herod Agrippa I, who lived extravagantly and in debt, found refuge courtesy of Herod Antipas, who appointed him the inspector of markets in Antipas’s new capital, Tiberias, circa 27 C.E. Herod Agrippa I, a friend of Gaius Caligula, made a pro-Caligula remark in the presence of Emperor Tiberius in Rome six months prior to the death of Tiberius (d. 37 C.E.) Therefore, Herod Agrippa I spent the last six months of Tiberius’s reign as a prisoner. Caligula (reigned 37-41 C.E.) released Herod Agrippa I and appointed him a king in 37 C.E. After Caligula died, Emperor Claudis (I) expanded Herod Agrippa I’s territory to include Judea and Samaria. Herod Agrippa I, a supporter of Pharisaic Judaism, persecuted Christianity (Acts 2 and 12). His death in Caesarea (Acts 12:22-23) was sudden. The Biblical text wrote of his death so as to portray him as evil and unrepentant, in the infamous footsteps of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Judas Iscariot.
Regardless of martyrdoms and persecution, the Christian movement remained unhindered.
Meanwhile, Sts. (Joseph) Barnabas and Paul the Apostle returned to Antioch from Jerusalem. This relief mission complete, they brought St. (John) Mark to Antioch.
I feel sorry for the guards Herod Agrippa I ordered executed. They did their job guarding St. Simon Peter. On the other hand, I am glad St. Simon Peter escaped.
The rest of the story: A series of Roman procurators succeeded Herod Agrippa I until 66 C.E.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 22, 2022 COMMON ERA
FRIDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF GENE BRITTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF DONALD S. ARMENTROUT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF HADEWIJCH OF BRABERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF KATHE KOLLWITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN ARTIST AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT VITALIS OF GAZA, MONK, HERMIT, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 625
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Above: The Death of the Dragon, by Evelyn de Morgan
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XII
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Revelation 12:1-15:8
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THE SHADOW OF KING ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES
Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164/163 B.C.E.) was notorious. He persecuted Jews and became the chief boogeyman of First, Second, and Fourth Maccabees. The Daniel apocalypse (chapters 7-12), composed in the first century B.C.E., referred to him. Revelation added more references to le roi terrible. For example, the three and a half years (forty-two months) before the fall of “Babylon” (Rome) called back to the time King Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and persecuted Jews.
Revelation 12 and 13 unfold during those symbolic forty-two months. The vivid accounts, replete with symbolism drawn from regional mythology, the Hebrew Bible, 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, 1 and 2 Enoch, and 2 Baruch, among other sources. For example, the following sources are germane to Revelation 12-15:
- 1 Enoch 40:7; 54:6
- 2 Enoch 7; 18; 29:5
- The Ascension of Isaiah 7:9; 10:29
- 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 6:49-42; 12:22-25
- The Sybilline Oracles 4:119-127, 137-139; and
- 2 Baruch 29:4.
THE EVOLVING THEOLOGY OF SATAN IN JUDAISM
Revelation 12:7-9 reflects a relatively late development in the theology of Satan. Careful study of the evolution of Jewish and Christian theology reveals that, until the Persian period, “the Satan”–“the Adversary”–worked for God, usually as a loyalty tester. Satan as a free agent is an idea imported from Zoroastrianism, in which Ahriman is the chief evil force, and the opposite number of Ahura-Mazda. One may conclude that Jewish and Christian theology finally arrived at the correct theology of Satan. Regardless of what one decides regarding this theological matter, the historical record remains objectively accurate and not subject to dispute.
HIGH TREASON
If the Roman censors had understood Revelation, they would have correctly identified chapters 12-15 as treasonous. The woman (12:1-6), resembling the goddess Isis, is the Church. The great, red dragon, with dominion in the known world, is Satan. The dragon pursues the woman, but she survives. The Archangel Michael defeats the dragon in Heaven and casts him down to the Earth. That is bad news for the Earth. Horns represented power. Ten horns represented complete power. So, in Revelation 13, the beast rising out of the sea had complete power. The horns were Emperors of Rome.
Can you say “treason,” O reader?
One emperor–Nero (d. 68)–received special attention in 13:3. He had supposedly not died–not really. He would supposedly return to life and lead an army out of Parthia and ravage the Roman Empire. Nero was the original figure of the Antichrist.
Revelation 13 labels the Roman Empire a force of evil. When civil authority becomes an expression of evil, the only proper Christian response, in Revelation, is to disobey it and to obey God.
666
The number “666” is symbolic. Seven is the number of perfection. Six, therefore, is less than perfect; it represents evil. “666” represents ultimate evil. “666” is, as Donald Richardson said:
godless political power allied with godless religion.
–Quoted in Ernest Lee Stoffel, The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 75
Stoffel offered:
There is also a warning here for Christians and for any who would speak in the name of God. Any church or religion that allows itself to overlook injustice may have the number of the beast. This speaks to me as an individual Christian. In order to prosper I might be tempted to condone or overlook injustice, and so be wearing the “number” myself.
–76
We read in Revelation 14 that all who followed God in Christ will find redemption and that all who worshiped the Roman Empire and its value system will find damnation. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. Those damnable values include exploitation and militarism. These have no place in the Kingdom of God.
Revelation 15 includes praise of God. The chapter concludes by setting up the next few chapters with seven bowls of judgment.
What are our contemporary Roman Empires? To what extend to we buy into their erroneous value systems?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 24: THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF CHARLES GOUNOD, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF BIRGITTE KATERINE BOYE, DANISH LUTHERAN POET, PLAYWRIGHT, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BOWRING, ENGLISH UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND PHILANTHROPIST
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MCSORLEY, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, PROFESSOR, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
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Above: The Locusts of the Apocalypse
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XI
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Revelation 8:1-11:9
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Symbolism is going full-throttle in Revelation 8-11. I choose not to decode every symbol, but do opt to make some textual and historical sense of these chapters.
THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS
Revelation 8:1-6 depicts the opening of the seventh seal, which sets the stage for the sounding of the seven trumpets.
The first four trumpets round out Revelation 8. The natural disasters–depicted as divine judgment–relate to human sins. Actions have consequences.
Let us be careful, O reader. May we not blame victims. Those who live in Kansas will have to deal with tornadoes because tornadoes occur in Kansas. Hurricanes and tropical storms strike the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Earthquakes occur at fault lines. Some events occur for natural reasons. But sometimes collective human actions make matters worse. Industrial pollution of a certain variety leads to acid rain. Global warming/climate change makes weather more extreme, and severe storms more frequent. Actions have consequences.
Revelation 8:8-9 contains echoes of Exodus 7:14-25, 1 Enoch, and the Sybilline Oracles. In 1 Enoch 18:13, seven stars like great, burning mountains fall into the sea. These are fallen angels (1 Enoch 21:3-10). The Sybilline Oracles refer to stars (swords, figuratively) that will fall into the sea (3:672-684), as well as to a great star that will fall into the sea (5:158-161). The great star will destroy Rome and Italy for Roman persecution of Jews. In Revelation 8:8-9, the burning mountain represents a fallen angel expelled from Heaven to wreak destruction on the world.
THE DEMONIC LOCUSTS
The demonic locusts (Revelation 9;1-12) represent the Roman Empire, historically. Echoes of the plagues on Egypt continue. One may also detect allusions to Joel 1 and 2.
Revelation 9:1 depicts evil as functioning in the service of divine will. This is not evil’s intention. Yet the sovereignty of God makes evil work for good.
Members of each generation may identify contemporary demonic locusts. Locusts come and go; the motif repeats.
ROMAN IMPERIAL PERSECUTION
The historical reference in Revelation 9:13-21 is the Roman Empire, persecuting Christians. Recall, O reader, that “Babylon” is code for Rome in Revelation. Again, the motif repeats with variations in the evil power of the time.
Also, the failure to learn lessons that history should have made abundantly clear is, depressingly, predictable. Never underestimate human obliviousness, O reader.
EATING THE SCROLL OF DOOM
John of Patmos eating the scroll of doom ought to remind a serious student of the Bible of Ezekiel 1-3.
Revelation 10:1-11 contains many allusions to the Hebrew Bible.
SYMBOLISM AND NUMEROLOGY
Symbolism and numerology drench Revelation 11:1-14. Imagine, O reader, being a Roman censor reading these verses. You would experience confusion. Cracking the code requires understanding parts of the Hebrew Bible. Having a grasp of 1 Enoch 61:1-5 also helps. In that text, angels with cords measure the righteous and the faithful, for protection against spiritual dangers.
Without getting lost in the proverbial weeds (easy to do), the time God will permit the Roman Empire to continue to rule will be like the time Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and persecuted Jews (Daniel 9:27; 12:7). Three and a half years–forty-two months–is a mystical and symbolic timeframe. Emperor Domitian is like King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Revelation says. Evil’s days of governing are numbered.
The Church will outlive its oppressors. The Church–the seemingly dead two witnesses–will triumph. God will destroy the oppressive powers.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALBERT E. R. BRAUER, AUSTRALIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF AUGUSTINE THEVARPARAMPIL, INDIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND “GOOD SHEPHERD OF THE DALITS”
THE FEAST OF GASPAR CONTARINI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC CARDINGAL AND AGENT OF RECONCILIATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT HEDWIG OF ANDECHS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRINCESS AND NUN; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT GERTRUDE OF TRZEBNICA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOZEF JANKOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941
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Above: Judas Maccabaeus Before the Army of Nicanor, by Gustave Doré
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XXII
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1 Maccabees 7:26-50
2 Maccabees 14:14-15:37
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Demetrius I Soter (Reigned 162-150 B.C.E.)
Alcimus, High Priest (In Office Before 162-159 B.C.E.)
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I confess to you, O reader, that I am confused. I do not know if the Nicanor of 1 Maccabees 3:38–a general and a Friend of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes–is the same man as the Nicanor 14:11-15:37. Commentaries and study Bibles disagree with each other. They agree, however, that “Nicanor” was a common name.
Anyway, the Nicanor of these readings was formerly in charge of the royal elephants. Yet King Demetrius I Soter appointed him the governor of Judea. Nicanor’s mission was, in the words of 1 Maccabees 7:26, to wipe out the people of Israel. The depiction of Nicanor in 1 Maccabees 7:26-50 was consistently negative. In 2 Maccabees, however, Nicanor developed good will for Judas Maccabeus, for a time, at least.
Furthermore, according to 2 Maccabees, Alcimus, hoping to prevent Judas Maccabeus from becoming the High Priest, meddled. Alcimus wrote to King Demetrius I Soter. Then King Demetrius I Soter wrote to Nicanor. The friendship with Judas Maccabeus ended.
Nevertheless, the portrayal of Nicanor in 2 Maccabees was still negative. The story of the death of Razis, a devout Jewish elder (2 Maccabees 14:37-46) painted Nicanor in an especially unflattering light.
2 Maccabees 14:46 affirms the physical resurrection of the dead, by the way. Furthermore, 2 Maccabees 14:15-16 teaches that some deceased pious people, such as the prophet Jeremiah, were alive prior to the general resurrection of the dead.
Also, Nicanor had no respect for the Jewish Sabbath (2 Maccabees 15:15). Yet Judas Maccabeus had faith in God.
From 161/160 B.C.E. to 70 C.E., on the twelfth or thirteenth day of Adar, Jews celebrated the feast of the death of Nicanor (1 Maccabees 7:49; 2 Maccabees 15:36).
Here ends my journey through 2 Maccabees. The remainder of 1 Maccabees awaits me, though.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 14, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM OF CARRHAE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPH CARL LUDWIG VON PFEIL, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS, APOSTLES TO THE SLAVS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN MICHAEL ALTENBURG, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR, COMPOSER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VICTOR OLOF PETERSEN, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Above: Image of a Coin of King Demetrius I Soter
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XXI
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1 Maccabees 7:1-25
2 Maccabees 14:1-14
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Demetrius I Soter (Reigned 162-150 B.C.E.)
Alcimus, High Priest (In Office Before 162-159 B.C.E.)
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The political fragmentation of the Seleucid Empire was the backdrop for the accession of King Demetrius I Soter in 162 B.C.E. Under the terms of the Treaty of Apamea (188 B.C.E.), Demetrius was a hostage in Rome, the capital city of the Roman Republic. After the death of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164/163 B.C.E., the rivalry between Philip and Lysias, both of whom King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had appointed regent, threatened the unity of the empire. Lysias had the guardianship of King Antiochus V Eupator, seven years old at accession in 164/163 B.C.E., though. Philip, having failed in his attempted coup d’état, fled to Egypt, and the protection of King Ptolemy VI Philometor (reigned 180-145 B.C.E.). Philip returned to Antioch, the capital city of the Seleucid Empire, in 162 B.C.E. He held it briefly.
Demetrius Soter, seeking to return home, requested the Roman Senate’s permission to depart. That body did not grant such permission. So, he left anyway. The prince, a nephew of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and a first cousin of King Antiochus V Eupator, landed at Tripolis in 162 B.C.E. Demetrius’s forces captured Lysias and King Antiochus V Eupator. Then Demetrius ordered the execution of Lysias and King Antiochus V.
When did Alcimus become the High Priest? 1 and 2 Maccabees are vague about that matter. Alcimus seems to have been the High Priest under King Antiochus V Eupator–Regent Lysias, really. The appointment to the High Priesthood came from the monarch, at least officially. Therefore, if Alcimus were to continue as the High Priest, King Demetrius I Soter had to reappoint him.
1 and 2 Maccabees are clear about the political agenda and rotten character of Alcimus, a scoundrel and an opponent of Judas Maccabeus. Why would a High Priest whose office depended on a royal appointment not to be an ally of the Seleucid monarch? The most notable exception to that rule may have been Onias III, in 2 Maccabees 4. Alcimus was a liar with blood on his hands. He was unfit to be the High Priest.
This story reminds one of Jason and Menelaus, notoriously wicked High Priests.
The other major character was Bacchides, the governor of the province “Beyond the River.” King Demetrius I Soter was in the East, suppressing the revolt of Timarchus. (The Seleucid Empire had become politically unstable.)
Judas Maccabeus, recognizing the perfidious character of the lying and bloodthirsty Bacchides, disegarded the false offers of friendship. Judas Maccabeus was also no fool. The rebel leader, whose power was on the ascendancy, understood correctly that Alcimus and other apostate Jews had caused damage worse than that Gentiles had committed.
Meanwhile, Alcimus knew that Judas Maccabeus was winning. The rebel leader’s forces, outnumbered by Seleucid forces, were winning. Guerrilla warfare has frequently been an effective way of defeating a numerically superior military force.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AQUILA, PRISCILLA, AND APOLLOS, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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Above: Eleazar’s Exploit, by Bernard Picart
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XX
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1 Maccabees 5:1-68; 6:17-63
2 Maccabees 10:10-13:26
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Antiochus V Eupator (Reigned 164/163-162 B.C.E.)
Demetrius I Soter (Reigned 162-150 B.C.E.)
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I prefer to remain grounded in objective reality, O reader. Here, therefore, are a few facts regarding the past:
- King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had died while campaigning against Parthians, on the eastern frontier of the Seleucid Empire, in 164/163 B.C.E.
- His son, with Lysias as the regent, succeeded and became King Antiochus V Eupator.
- King Antiochus V’s first cousin, King Demetrius I Soter returned from Rome in 162 B.C.E. King Demetrius I had King Antiochus V executed.
When I left off in the previous post in this series, the Hasmonean forces, under the command of Judas Maccabeus, were winning battles and had just rededicated and purified the Temple in Jerusalem. The war continued.
One may detect a chronological hiccup in 1 and 2 Maccabees, relative to each other. When did King Antiochus IV Epiphanes died, in relation to the rededication and purification of the Temple in Jerusalem? I wrote about that matter in the previous post in this series.
Judas Maccabeus rescued Jews in danger. He also continued to fight Lysias, who conducted another campaign in Judea. These sections of 1 and 2 Maccabees contain two stories on which I choose to comment.
Read 1 Maccabees 5:55-64 and 2 Maccabees 12:39-45, O reader. These are accounts of the Battle of Jamnia. 1 Maccabees explains the Hasmonean defeat there by writing that two commanders, Josephus and Azarias, disobeyed orders. They had sought to make a name for themselves. 2 Maccabees, however, offers a different explanation: soldiers had violated the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 7:25-26, to be precise), by wearing idols. That is not the most interesting part of the account from 2 Maccabees, though.
2 Maccabees 12:39-45 is one of the major texts the Roman Catholic Church cites to justify Purgatory. This is a doctrine many non-Roman Catholics both condemn and misunderstand. My understanding of Purgatory comes from a Roman Catholic catechist, who described it as
God’s mud room.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994), paragraph 1030, reads:
All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
I, as an Episcopalian, pray for the repose of souls. I do so because I affirm that my prayer may have a positive effect. Also, I do not know and do not pretend to understand what transpires between God and any particular person after death. Human theology offers some ideas, some of which are correct. Yet how much we mere mortals can grasp regarding the afterlife is limited. That which awaits us exceeds our imaginations. Our understandings of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell owe much to what we can know via divine revelation, but the full reality is beyond our comprehension. I am prepared, therefore, to read certain doctrines and certain passages of scripture as theological poetry, and to trust God. Besides, I enjoy having some mystery in my faith and religion. And praying for the dead cannot hurt, anyway.
The other story (1 Maccabees 6:42-47) is that of Eleazar Avaran, one of the five sons of Mattathias. Eleazar the Scribe is in 2 Maccabees 6:18-31 and 4 Maccabees 5:1-7:23.
Eleazar Avaran was a warrior. Both Eleazars were martyrs. Eleazar Avaran gave his life to save his people. In the process, he died when a Seleucid war elephant crushed him. Eleazar Avaran acted selflessly. In so doing, he won a good name for himself. His example contrasted with that of Josephus and Azarias, who selflessly sought to win names for themselves. They succeeded; they won ignominious names for themselves.
Biblical authors justifiably frowned upon attempts at self-glorification. We mere mortals have a divine mandate to glorify God, not ourselves. We have a mission to be faithful. As the Westminster Larger Catechism tells us:
Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
If God chooses to give any of us a good name, so be it. But most of us will fade into anonymity that comes with the passage of time. So be it. The Roman Catholic Church, with its densely populated calendar of saints, has a raft of men and women canonized pre-Congregation. Of many of the saints Holy Mother Church knows little more than or nothing except a name and an appropriate date of martyrdom. So be it.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to Your name bring glory
for the sake of Your love and Your faithfulness.
—Psalm 115:1, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ABSALOM JONES, RICHARD ALLEN, AND JARENA LEE, EVANGELISTS AND SOCIAL ACTIVISTS
THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN SCHMOLCK, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FREER ANDREWS, ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY WILLIAMS BAKER, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMNAL EDITOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF MICHAEL WEISSE, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR; AND JAN ROH, BOHEMIAN MORAVIAN BISHOP AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: A Menorah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XIX
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1 Maccabees 4:36-61
2 Maccabees 10:1-9
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God, the pagans have invaded your heritage,
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins,
they have left the corpses of your servants as food for the birds of the air,
the bodies of your faithful for the wild beasts.
Around Jerusalem they have shed blood like water,
leaving no one to bury them.
We are the scorn of our neighbours,
the butt and laughing-stock of those around us.
How long will you be angry, Yahweh? For ever?
Is your jealousy to go on smouldering like a fire?
Pour out your anger on the nations who do not acknowledge you,
and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his home.
Do not count against us the guilt of forever generations,
in your tenderness come quickly to meet us,
for we are utterly weakened;
help us, God our Saviour,
for the glory of your name;
Yahweh, wipe away our sins,
rescue us for the sake of your name.
Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Let us see the nations suffer vengeance
for shedding your servants’ blood.
May the groans of the captive reach you,
by your great strength save those who are condemned to death!
Repay our neighbours sevenfold
for the insults they have levelled at you, Lord.
And we, your people, the flock that you pasture,
will thank you for ever,
will recite your praises from age to age.
–Psalm 79, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Psalm 79 is a text from the Babylonian Exile. One can easily imagine Judas Maccabeus and company reciting it or parts of it, at least mentally, at the first Hanukkah, on Kislev 25 (December 14), 164 B.C.E. Many of the themes fit.
My cultural patrimony includes the Scientific Revolution and the ensuing Enlightenment. I, therefore, have the intellectual category “laws of nature.” My default understanding of a miracle is a violation of or an exception to at least one law of nature. That definition does not apply to the Bible, though. Its authors, who lived and died long prior to the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, lacked the intellectual category “laws of nature.” We moderns need to be careful not to misread the Bible anachronistically.
In Biblical times, people did have a category I call, for lack of a better label, “We don’t see that every day.” They recognized the extraordinary. The traditional Hanukkah miracle (absent from 1 and 2 Maccabees yet mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud) of the oil lasting as long as it did was extraordinary. The miracles in 1 and 2 Maccabees were that proper Temple worship resumed and that the Temple was suitable for such worship again.
King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had profaned the Temple about three years prior, in 1 Maccabees 1:54f and 2 Maccabees 5:1-27. King Antiochus IV had died about the time of the first Hanukkah–either before (2 Maccabees 9:1-29) or after (1 Maccabees 6:17). As Father Daniel J. Harrington, S. J.. wrote in The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament (2015), news of the king’s death may have reached Jerusalem after the rededication and purification of the Temple.
The Jewish war for independence had not ended. King Antiochus V Eupator, just seven years old, was the new Seleucid monarch, with Lysias as the regent. And Judas Maccabeus was no fool. He ordered Mount Zion and Beth-zur fortified.
The Hasmonean Rebellion began as a fight against the Seleucid imperial policy of forced Hellenization. The rebellion became a war for national independence. The Hasmonean Rebellion was always a struggle to maintain Jewish communal life, which was under a great and terrible threat.
Communal life is a relatively low priority in a culture that preaches rugged individualism. Yet communal life is one of the moral pillars of the Law of Moses, which the Hasmoneans guarded and obeyed. And communal life was a pillar of the moral teachings of Hebrew prophets. Furthermore, communal life was a moral pillar of the teachings of Jesus and the epistles of St. Paul the Apostle.
Robert Doran, writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IV (1996), asks,
But how are we to keep a sense of community when we are not under attack?
–258
He proposes taking the answer from 1 Corinthians 13:4-5. The answer is love:
Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
In other words, in ecclesiastical-theological terms, Donatism is not an option. One of my favorite cartoons (probably under copyright protection) depicts a group of people holding really big pencils and drawing lines on the floor. That single-cell cartoon also depicts Jesus standing among those line-drawers. He is holding his really big pencil upside-down and erasing lines, though.
Love, in the context of communal life, eschews Donatism and self-aggrandizement. Love, in the context of communal life, seeks only what is good for the community. Love, in the context of communal life, embraces mutuality. We are all responsible to and for each other other. We all depend upon each other. We all depend upon each other. And we all depend entirely on God. Whatever one does to harm anyone else also damages that one. Whatever one does to or for anyone else, one does to or for oneself.
If my culture were to recognize these truths and act on them, that would be a miracle. It would not constitute a violation of or an exception to any law of nature. It would, however, be extraordinary.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ONESIMUS, BISHOP OF BYZANTIUM
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Above: The Punishment of Antiochus, by Gustave Doré
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XVIII
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1 Maccabees 6:1-17
2 Maccabees 9:1-29
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Retribution is a theme in 2 Maccabees. Enemies of pious Jews died ignominiously in that book. Consider:
- Andronicus, who had killed High Priest Onias III (4:34), died via execution (4:38). “The Lord thus repaid him with the punishment he deserved.”–4:39, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
- High Priest Jason “met a miserable end” (5:8, RSV II). He, shunned, died in exile in Egypt. Nobody mourned him after he died. Jason had no funeral (5:9-10).
- High Priest Menelaus died via execution. He, pushed off a tower about 73 feet high, died in a pit full of ashes. Nobody held a funeral for Menelaus (13:3-8).
- Nicanor, who had commanded the siege of Jerusalem, died in combat. This his severed head hung from the citadel of Jerusalem. Furthermore, birds ate his severed tongue (15:28-36).
Is this not wonderful mealtime reading?
Then we come to King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, an infamous blasphemer, “a sinful root” (1 Maccabees 1:10), and “a little horn” (Daniel 7:8) who made “war with the saints” (Daniel 7:21).
When we left off in the narrative, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, short on funds, was traveling in the eastern part of the Seleucid Empire and raising money to finance the struggle against Judas Maccabeus and his forces (1 Maccabees 3:27-37). At the beginning of 1 Maccabees 6 and 2 Maccabees 9, the blasphemous monarch was in the area of Susa, in the region of Elam. King Antiochus IV Epiphanes was engaging in one of his favorite fund-raising tactics–trying to plunder a temple full of valuable treasures. (Read 1 Maccabees 1:54f and 2 Maccabees 5:15f, O reader.) He failed this time. News of the developments in Judea reached the king, whose world was collapsing around him. He died, allegedly penitent, in the year 164/163 B.C.E. (149 on the Seleucid/Hellenistic calendar).
2 Maccabees elaborates on the account in 1 Maccabees. 2 Maccabees describes vividly the pain in the monarch’s bowels (9:5f), the infestation of worms (9:9), his rotting flesh (9:9), and his body’s stench (9:9).
So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the most intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains of a strange land.
–2 Maccabees 9:28, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had appointed Philip the regent and the guardian of the new king, Antiochus V Eupator (reigned 164/163 B.C.E.). There were two major problems, however:
- King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had previously appointed Lysias to both positions (1 Maccabees 3:32-33), and
- Lysias had custody of the young (minor) heir to the throne.
Philip attempted a coup d’état and failed (1 Maccabees 6:55-56). Meanwhile, Lysias had installed the seven-year-old King Antiochus V Eupator on the Seleucid throne. Philip, in mortal danger from Regent Lysias, fled to the protection of King Ptolemy VI Philometor (reigned 180-145 B.C.E.) in Egypt.
1 and 2 Maccabees differ on the timing of the death of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes relative to the Temple in Jerusalem–the first Hanukkah. 1 Maccabees places the king’s death after the purification of the Temple. 2 Maccabees, however, places the death of the blasphemous monarch prior to the first Hanukkah. Father Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., writing in The New Collegeville Commentary: Old Testament (2015), 832, favors the relative dating in 2 Maccabees. Harrington also proposes that news of the death of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes may have reached Jerusalem after the first Hanukkah. That analysis is feasible and perhaps probable.
I agree with the evaluation of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 2 Maccabees. I agree that his repentance was insincere and self-serving. The monarch was like a criminal who regretted getting arrested and sentenced, not having committed a crime.
An interesting connection to the New Testament deserves comments here. I start with the Wisdom of Solomon 4:17-20:
These [wicked] people [who look on, uncomprehending] see the wise man’s ending
without understanding what the Lord has in store for him
or why he has taken him to safety;
they look on and sneer,
but the Lord will laugh at them.
Soon they will be corpses without honour,
objects of scorn among the dead for ever.
The Lord will dash them down headlong, dumb.
He will tear them from their foundations,
they will be utterly laid waste,
anguish will be theirs,
and their memory shall perish.
—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
This is the reference in the Lukan account of the death of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-20). That account differs from the version in Matthew 27:3-10 (suicide by hanging, without his entrails bursting out), like that of Ahitophel (2 Samuel 17:23), during Absalom’s rebellion against King David. (Ahitophel had betrayed King David.) Both Acts 1:15-20 and 2 Maccabees 9:5-29 echo aspects of the Wisdom of Solomon 4:17-20. The Lukan account of the death of Judas Iscariot purposefully evokes the memory of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
Obviously, one part of the Wisdom of Solomon 4:17-20 does not apply to King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Judas Iscariot. We know their names.
The evil that men do lives after them;
the good is oft interred with their bones.
–William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
(I memorized that in high school, which was more years ago then I like to admit some days.)
In reality, we may know the names of evildoers in greater quantity than those of the righteous. Think about it, O reader. How many gangsters, serial killers, Nazis, Nazi collaborators, terrorists, dictators, would-be dictators, and genocidal dictators can you name? And how many saints, humanitarians, and other kind-hearted people can you name? Which category–evildoers or good people–has more names in it?
King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had started down his destructive path by seeking to impose cultural uniformity–Hellenism–on his culturally diverse empire. He was neither the first nor the last ruler to commit some variation of the error of enforced cultural homogenization. He learned that defining unity as enforced cultural homogeneity increased disunity by inspiring rebellion.
Cultural diversity adds spice to communal life. The world would be boring if we were all homogenous. Mutual respect, toleration, acceptance, and tolerance maintains unity in the midst of cultural diversity. When acceptance is a bridge too far, tolerance may suffice. However, there are limits, even to cultural diversity. Tolerance is a generally good idea. A good idea, carried too far, becomes a bad idea. Correctly placing the boundaries of tolerance amid cultural diversity is both necessary and wise. On the left (where I dwell), the temptation is to draw the circle too wide. On the right, the temptation is to draw the circle too small.
I am a student of history. My reading tells me that many rulers of culturally-diverse realms have succeed in maintaining unity. They have done so by practicing respect for diversity in matters of culture and religion, although not absolutely. But these rulers have not insisted that everyone fellow a monoculture. Therefore, very different people have peaceably found their places in those societies.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, ABBESS OF PLOMBARIOLA; AND HER TWIN BROTHER, SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA, ABBOT OF MONTE CASSINO AND FATHER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT OF ANIANE, RESTORER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM; AND SAINT ARDO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JULIA WILLIAMS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN ABOLITIONIST AND EDUCATOR; HER HUSBAND, HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND ABOLITIONIST; HIS SECOND WIFE, SARAH J. SMITH TOMPKINS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUFFRAGETTE AND EDUCATOR; HER SISTER, SUSAN MARIA SMITH MCKINNEY STEWARD, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PHYSICIAN; AND HER SECOND HUSBAND, THEOPHILUS GOULD STEWARD, U.S. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL MINISTER, ARMY CHAPLAIN, AND PROFESSOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT NORBERT OF XANTEN, FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; SAINT HUGH OF FOSSES, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; AND SAINT EVERMOD, BISHOP OF RATZEBURG
THE FEAST OF PHILIP ARMES, ANGLICAN CHURCH ORGANIST
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Above: King Antiochus V Eupator
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART XVII
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1 Maccabees 3:27-4:35
2 Maccabees 8:8-36; 11:1-12:1
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Lysias was a prominent man. He was a member of the royal court of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Lysias, in fact, belonged to the court order; he was “the King’s relative.” Lysias was also the viceroy of the lands between the Egyptian border and the Euphrates River. And he was the guardian of the future King Antiochus V Eupator (reigned 164/163 B.C.E.-162 B.C.E.), then seven years old.
When we left off in the narrative, Judas Maccabeus was winning battles against Seleucid forces. The rebel leader had become enemy number one, according to King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. King Antiochus IV, whose proverbial chickens were coming home to roost (as proverbial chickens are wont to do), went off to raise money in the east of the empire. He gave half of his army to Lysias, to command, in the year 147 of the Seleucid/Hellenistic calendar (165 B.C.E.).
The mission of Lysias was straight-forward: to crush the Hasmonean Rebellion, to massacre Jews, and to colonize Judea. The faithful Jewish response consisted of praying and fighting. In 165 B.C.E., Judas Maccabeus recalled divine faithfulness against seemingly impossible odds. The Hasmonean force won another victory, which they credited to God.
In 164 B.C.E., Judas Maccabeus won another victory against a larger force. He prayed before the battle.
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees contradict each other regarding some details. Mostly, so what? I do not care if Lysias commanded a force of 65,000 (1 Maccabees 4:28) or 80,000 (2 Maccabees 11:2). That matter may or may not be interesting, depending on what one considers interesting. Whether or not Judas Maccabeus established a peace–yes (1 Maccabees 4:25) or no (2 Maccabees 11:13-15)–is somewhat interesting to me. I also notice the different organization of material in the two books. 2 Maccabees wraps the content around the death of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the purification of the Temple. 1 Maccabees does not. That contradiction interests me somewhat, too. Then again, comparative chronologies, are inconsistent in parts of the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels. If I affirmed Biblical inerrancy and/or infallibility, I would probably have a theological or spiritual crisis over such inconsistencies.
The main idea in these readings seems to be that the forces of Judas Maccabeus were invulnerable as long as they followed the Law of Moses. God, the authors believed, fought for the Jews against their Seleucid oppressors. The contrast between the spiritual humility of Judas Maccabeus and the arrogance of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes is stark.
I do not accept for a New York minute that fidelity to the divine covenant makes a military force or adherents to a cause invincible. Faithfulness to God does not necessarily lead to triumph. I wish it did. The world would be a better place if it did.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, ABBESS OF PLOMBARIOLA; AND HER TWIN BROTHER, SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA, ABBOT OF MONTE CASSINO AND FATHER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT OF ANIANE, RESTORER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM; AND SAINT ARDO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JULIA WILLIAMS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN ABOLITIONIST AND EDUCATOR; HER HUSBAND, HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND ABOLITIONIST; HIS SECOND WIFE, SARAH J. SMITH TOMPKINS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUFFRAGETTE AND EDUCATOR; HER SISTER, SUSAN MARIA SMITH MCKINNEY STEWARD, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PHYSICIAN; AND HER SECOND HUSBAND, THEOPHILUS GOULD STEWARD, U.S. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL MINISTER, ARMY CHAPLAIN, AND PROFESSOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT NORBERT OF XANTEN, FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; SAINT HUGH OF FOSSES, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; AND SAINT EVERMOD, BISHOP OF RATZEBURG
THE FEAST OF PHILIP ARMES, ANGLICAN CHURCH ORGANIST
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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