4 Maccabees, Hebrews 11, Acts 22, Revelation 12. “But why the Maccabees?” asked St. Gregory Nazianzen in an Oration given during a celebration of the martyrs (Oration 15). He went on to answer an assumption in his own day that martyrs can only be called such if they die for Christ, and so the MaccabeesContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 28: 4 Maccabees, God’s Reason, and the Passions”
Category Archives: A Lamp for Today
Light from the Readable Books 27: 3 Maccabees and the Works of God in Egypt
3 Maccabees, Exodus 15, Daniel 3, Daniel 6, Jonah 2 3 Maccabees is a book included in Orthodox Bibles because of its presence in the Septuagint, and its acceptance in various authoritative documents, such as Apostolic Canon 85 (probably fourth century) and the decisions of Council of Truro (late seventh century). It is, despite itsContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 27: 3 Maccabees and the Works of God in Egypt”
Light from the Readable Books 26: Maccabean War and Peace, Martyrdom and Resurrection
1 Maccabees 9:24-16:24; 2 Maccabees 7; 1 Kings (3 Kingdoms) 5:4; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 8:4; Ezekiel 34:27; Hebrews 12; Romans 4:17 We have already devoted two episodes to the first nine chapters of 1 Maccabees. There we saw the witness of the patriarch Mattathias, and the prowess of his son Judas, who made a goodContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 26: Maccabean War and Peace, Martyrdom and Resurrection”
Light from the Readable Books 25: Judas Maccabeus, the Happy Warrior
1 Macc 3:1-9:22, 1 Samuel/2 Kingdoms 17, Psalm 100 (MT 101) Who is the happy Warrior? Who is heThat every man in arms should wish to be?…[It is that one] Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!Turns his necessity to glorious gain. The term “Happy Warrior,” used by FranklinContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 25: Judas Maccabeus, the Happy Warrior”
Light from the Readable Books 24: Maccabean Resistance and Remembrance
1 Maccabees 2, Numbers 25:7-9, Psalm 106: 26-28. The first chapter of 1 Maccabees, which we considered in last episode, set the scene for us, and gave an overall picture of the atrocities suffered by the Jewish people under the oppression of the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Chapter two, which we will read inContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 24: Maccabean Resistance and Remembrance”
Light from the Readable Books 23: God’s “Timefulness” and 1 Maccabees
1 Maccabees 1, Hebrews 11:34-35, 1 Cor 10:11, Daniel 9:27 and 11:31. In our survey of the Readable Books, we have considered stories such as Susanna and Judith, poetry such as the Song of the Three, visions such as Mordecai’s dream of the dragons, sayings of wisdom such as those found in Wisdom of SolomonContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 23: God’s “Timefulness” and 1 Maccabees”
Light from the Readable Books 21: The Epistle of Jeremiah and False Gods
The Epistle of Jeremiah (found sometimes as Baruch 6), Mat 6:21; Numbers 21:4-9, 4 Kingdoms/2 Kings 18:4, Jer 2:13, 1 Cor 8 and 10, Philippians 3:18-19, Col 3:5 The Epistle of Jeremiah is an ancient work, written to encourage God’s people in the Dispersion in Babylon (and elsewhere) to remain true to the only realContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 21: The Epistle of Jeremiah and False Gods”
Light from the Readable Books 21: Baruch and the New Name
Baruch 4:9-5:9; Isaiah 60:14; 2 Tim 4:8, Rev 21:1-4, 22-26, Isaiah 61:1-4, 9-10. The prophet Jeremiah, because of the hard judgments that he had to proclaim, and because of his book of Lamentations, became the inspiration for the term “Jeremiad” –a mournful complaint or list of woes. Baruch, his secretary, follows his master’s example forContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 21: Baruch and the New Name”
Light from the Readable Books 20: Glimpsing Baruch’s Mystery of Wisdom
Baruch 3:9-4:8, Deuteronomy 3:11-14, Romans 10:5-13, 1 Cor 1:30-31. With Baruch 3:9-4:8, we come to the inner mystery of his prophecy. To this point in the book, we have heard of the tragic exile of the bulk of the people of God, of the exiles’ fondness for ravaged Judea and those few who still remainContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 20: Glimpsing Baruch’s Mystery of Wisdom”
Light from the Readable Books 19: Baruch’s Confession
Baruch 2:1-3:8; Dan 9:7-19, Deuteronomy 28:15-69; Deuteronomy 30; Jeremiah 24:1-10; 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. As we saw in the last episode, Baruch is a short but important book, composed of three major parts: the first (1:1-3:8) focusses upon confession, the second (3:9-4:29) commends wisdom to the people in exile, and the last (4:30-5:9) comforts the exilesContinue reading “Light from the Readable Books 19: Baruch’s Confession”
Edith M. Humphrey 