NOTE: Comments on 1 Maccabees, Revelation, and Matthew below are adapted from an email message sent November 19, 2003, for November 20, 2003.

1 Maccabees 4:1-25

Victory in the Battle of Emmaus

4:1 Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and one thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night 2 to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. 3 But Judas heard of it, and he and his warriors moved out to attack the king's force in Emmaus 4 while the division was still absent from the camp. 5 When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, "These men are running away from us."

6 At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired. 7 And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these men were trained in war. 8 But Judas said to those who were with him, "Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. 9 Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. 10 And now, let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his covenant with our ancestors and crush this army before us today. 11 Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel."

12 When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them, 13 they went out from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets 14 and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed, and fled into the plain, 15 and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell. 16 Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them, 17 and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; 18 Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly."

19 Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. 20 They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jewswere burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened. 21 When they perceived this, they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle, 22 they all fled into the land of the Philistines. 23 Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized a great amount of gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches. 24 On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven-"For he is good, for his mercy endures forever." 25 Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day. (1 Maccabees 4:1-25, NRSV)

The reading for today describes the first of two decisive battles which lead to retaking the temple, and cleansing and rededicating it. When Antiochus Epiphanes found himself with a “cash flow” problem (1 Macc. 3:30), he left Lysias in charge of his military operations (v. 32). Lysias, in turn, chose three officers, including Gorgias (v. 38), who decides to make a surprise attack on Judas and his army (4:1), encamped on the plain south of Emmaus (3:57; 4:6). But Judas’ military intelligence worked, for he “heard of it and . . . moved out to attack the king’s force in Emmaus while the division was still absent from the camp” (4:3-4). Gorgias, on the other hand, found “no one at home” in the Jewish camp (v. 5).

Daybreak reveals a daunting challenge for Judas’ army, who “did not have armor and swords such as they desired” (v. 6). “And they see the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these men were trained in war” (v. 7). Judas urges his men not to fear, but to remember God's help in the past: "Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. And now let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his covenant with our ancestors and crush this army before us today. Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel" (1 Macc. 4:8-11). There are echoes here of Joshua's victories: "Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets and engaged in battle" (v. 13-14, cf. Josh. 6:8). Perhaps Judas remembers the Achan incident when he advises his people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before is" (v. 17). But they do return to "plunder the camp, and they seized a great amount of gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches" (v. 23).

The following text and comments on Nehemiah 9:1-15 (16-25) are repeated here from Monday, November 7, 2005.

Nehemiah 9:1-15 (16-25)

National Confession

9:1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 3 They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, "Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise."

6 And Ezra said: "You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham; 8 and you found his heart faithful before you, and made with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite; and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

9 "And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea. 10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. 11 And you divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the sea on dry land, but you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. 12 Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go. 13 You came down also upon Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known your holy sabbath to them and gave them commandments and statutes and a law through your servant Moses. 15 For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them.

16 "But they and our ancestors acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments; 17 they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them; but they stiffened their necks and determined to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them. 18 Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud that led them in the way did not leave them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night that gave them light on the way by which they should go. 20 You gave your good spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and allotted to them every corner, so they took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land that you had told their ancestors to enter and possess. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, to do with them as they pleased. 25 And they captured fortress cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses filled with all sorts of goods, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate, and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. (Nehemiah 9:1-25, NRSV)

Ezra’s prayer of confession in Ezra, chapter 5, was focused specifically on the problem of mixed marriages (see text and comments for Saturday, November 5, 2005). Today’s reading from Nehemiah continues the story of Ezra’s leadership with a more general prayer of national repentance in the manner of some historical Psalms (e.g. Psalm 106). Preparations for the prayer include fasting and sackcloth and “earth on their heads” (Neh. 9:1), separation of the Israelites “from all foreigners” (v. 2), for “the confession was something in which non-Jews might not participate” (Arthur Jeffrey and John J. Collins, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Neh. 9:2). We are told that the Israelites spent “a forth part of the day” reading from “the book of the law of the LORD their God,” and “for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God” (v. 3). But the actual wording of the prayer is attributed to Ezra (v. 6, NRSV) in the Septuagint (Greek translation), though not so in the Hebrew version.

And Ezra said. Not in the Hebrew version. [Cf. NRSV, text note b.] Although Greek versions insert Ezra’s name, in the Hebrew Ezra’s role concluded when he placed the Torah into the care of the community (8:13) and trained others to guide the community accordingly. The great prayer in the Hebrew Bible is thus assigned to the community and its representatives. (Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Ezra 9:6)

The prayer addresses the LORD, who “alone” is LORD, who “made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them” (v. 6a). For Jewish returnees from Mesopotamia, where astral bodies were worshiped, it is noteworthy that they pray to the LORD who created them. “The host of heaven worships you” (v. 6b). The prayer recites the history of God’s choice of Abram, changing his name to Abraham (v. 7), and making “with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land. The prayer continues, “you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous” (v. 8). So far, the prayer follows the narrative in Genesis, but it continues with events during and following the exodus from Egypt. God heard the cry of the ancestors “at the Red Sea” (v. 9, performed “signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land” (v. 10), divided the sea (v. 11), led the people “by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire” (v. 12), revealed “right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments” upon Mount Sinai (v. 13), and “made known your holy sabbath to them and gave them commandments and statutes and a law through y9our servant Moses” (v. 14). The prayer also mentions the “bread from heaven” (v. 15) and “water for them out of the rock” (v. 15).

The prayer continues in the next paragraph (vv. 16-25, listed in parentheses in the lectionaries), with the story of events on the journey from Egypt to Canaan (vv. 16-23) and the conquest (vv. 24-25). Israel’s presumption and disobedience along the way are acknowledged (vv. 16-17a), including their desire to return to Egypt (v. 17b) and the incident of the golden calf (v. 18). But God’s “great mercies” are remembered (v. 19, cf. v. 17), as well as other blessings (vv. 19-21) and victories over their enemies (v. 22). The confession combined with historical review continues in tomorrow’s reading.

Revelation 21:22-22:5

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. 26 People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

The River of Life

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 21:22-22:5, NRSV)

John sees the return of Paradise. The city has no temple “for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb [Christ]” (v. 2). "And the city has no need of sun or moon . . . for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23). John sees "the river of the water of life" (22:1, cf references listed by Jean-Pierre Ruiz, NOAB, 3^rd ed., Gen. 2:10; Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1; Zech 14:8"), "the tree of life" (v. 2), and its fruit, produced year-round. The tree [is] a collective reference to many trees on either side of the river (Ezek. 47:12; cf. 2:7n)” (Ruiz, on Rev. 22:2). "But nothing unclean will enter it [i.e. the New Jerusalem]" (21:27). "And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever" (22:5). “Those who worship God (v. 3) shall reign with him in eternal triumph” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 1^st ed., 1977, on Rev. 22:5 [RSV, 2^nd ed., 1971]).

Matthew 18:1-9

True Greatness (Mk 9.33-37; Lk 9.46-48)

18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin (Mk 9.42-48; Lk 17.1-2)

6 "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

8 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire. (Matthew 18:1-9, NRSV)

Some professional therapists have much to say about one's "inner child." An internet search for this phrase will turn up an amazing variety of approaches. One sight offers a test to use in answering the question, "How Old is Your Inner Child?" One question: "What's your preferred Pet?" Some answers: "Hamster," "Puppy," and others, including "I live in a community that doesn't allow pets." Another question: "Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Some answers: "Fireman," "Princess," "Not interested in growing up," "I already am grown up, thank you very much."

Sorting these approaches out, or even these answers, would take me "out of my area," so to speak. But Jesus did say, "Become like children." I sometimes wondered how to relate Jesus' call for self-denial, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mk. 8:34), with one of the goals of therapy, insight leading to self-actualization. Can denying oneself and finding oneself be related? Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me" (Mt. 18:3-5). If we believe that we are made in God's image, and continue to live thanks to his gracious provision for our lives, then we may pray with St. Augustine: "Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee" (from his Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1, http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF1-01/npnf1-01-09.htm#P212_55622, Pardon the old-fashioned English! It comes with this older translation.) I would add that, at least for the Christian believer, true wholeness would include respect for our most fervent desires (our "inner child"), and for God's desires for us--his commandments, if you must. God wants what is truly best for us. If we really understood that, we would want it too.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com