With Mel Gibson and some Jewish leaders feuding on filmmaking, I thought it slightly opportune to look at a favorite Catholic passage from one of the books of Maccabees.
A note before we get into it … these books are sometimes referred to as “apocryphal” or as part of the “Apocrypha.” Some Scripture scholars would object to this term. “Apocrypha” refers to a writing that is partly or wholly secret–something only shown or revealed to those on the inside. Clearly, this isn’t the case with the books of Maccabees. Though not part of the Jewish canon of Scripture, they are in no way hidden from good Jews. Or Christians. Indeed, the stories are well-known among people with a basic literacy of the Bible or of Jewish history. “Deuterocanonical” is the preferred term.
2 Maccabees relates the story of a surprisingly successful uprising in response to the tightening grip of foreign oppression. Almost two centuries before Christ preached, Judas Maccabeus was praised for his piety and his thoughtfulness for the dead:
Judas the ruler of Israel
then took up a collection among all his soldiers,
amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,
which he sent to Jerusalem
to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,
inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;
for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,
it would have been useless and foolish
to pray for them in death.But if he did this
with a view to the splendid reward
that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness,
it was a holy and pious thought.Thus he made atonement for the dead
that they might be freed from this sin.
This passage is part of the theological justification for praying for the dead, and is valued among Catholics, especially those traditionally-minded. As such, these verses are more of an “instruction” or a comfort to the grieving. Do loved ones need the encouragement to pray for the deceased? This would be a good choice. Do they want traditional Catholic teaching on purgatory reinforced? This passage is associated with that doctrine.
I don’t find people choose this reading very often at all. I struggle to remember one instance in twenty-plus years of ministry. Any comments on this Scripture or on the use of this for a funeral? Have you heard it recently?
20 September 2011 at 12:45 pm
I think it’s most likely to be chosen by people who appreciate the resonance of the struggle behind the reading. And there are people who die whose lives would have that resonance.
17 December 2012 at 10:54 am
Atonement in the scriptures is only made by Jesus Christ alone. He was the propitiation (complete appeasement or satisfaction) for our sins. Hebrews 10:10,12,17,18. Once; for All; forever. If we could have made atonement for ourselves Jesus wouldn’t have had too. Scripture say’s that God made Jesus who knew no sin too be made sin for us that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him. No other effects of sin need atoned for. Thank you Jesus. Dick martin
17 December 2012 at 11:21 am
Atonement is an Old Testament practice. As believers we certainly believe in the essential role of Jesus Christ in salvation. But the Christian tradition of praying for the dead is not quite the same thing as what the author of the Hebrews was talking about in describing the actions of Christ. Apples and oranges, here, my friend.