Context No. 2630 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

1 Maccabees 2:6-13: in context

6He saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judah and in Jerusalem, 7and he said, “Woe is me! Why was I born to see the destruction of my people and the destruction of the holy city, and to dwell there when it was given into the hand of the enemy, the sanctuary into the hand of foreigners? 8Her temple has become like a man who was glorious. 9Her vessels of glory are carried away into captivity. Her infants are slain in her streets. Her young men are slain with the enemy’s sword. 10What nation has not inherited her palaces and taken possession of her spoils? 11Her adornment has all been taken away. Instead of a free woman, she has become a slave. 12Behold, our holy things, our beauty, and our glory are laid waste. The Gentiles have profaned them. 13Why should we live any longer?”

Mattathias, the old priest who will spark the Maccabean revolt, first appears grieving. He sees the desecration of Jerusalem, the temple profaned, its holy vessels carried off, its people slaughtered and enslaved, and he pours out a lament: woe is me, why was I born to see the ruin of my people and the holy city given over to enemies? Her glory is laid waste, he cries. Why should we live any longer?

Before Mattathias acts, he grieves, and the grief is holy. He does not shrug at the profaning of sacred things or grow numb to the desecration; it pierces him to the point of asking why he was even born to witness it. That capacity to be wounded by what is holy being trampled is not weakness; it is the mark of a heart that still knows what is sacred. Much of the world has learned to watch holy things mocked and dishonored with a shrug. Mattathias's anguish, by contrast, is alive, and it will become the fuel for faithful action. Grief that refuses to accept the desecration of what is holy is the beginning of doing something about it.

Do I still grieve over the profaning and loss of holy things, or have I grown numb, watching the sacred dishonored with a shrug?

Sources

1 Maccabees 2:7: Woe is me! Why was I born to see the destruction of my people and the destruction of the holy city?
1 Maccabees 2:12: Behold, our holy things, our beauty, and our glory are laid waste. The Gentiles have profaned them.
Psalm 119:136: Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don't observe your law.