Judith 16:17-25: a reflection

17“Woe to the nations who rise up against my race! The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment and put fire and worms in their flesh; and they will weep and feel their pain forever.” 18Now when they came to Jerusalem, they worshiped God. When the people were purified, they offered their whole burnt offerings, their free will offerings, and their gifts. 19Judith dedicated all Holofernes’ stuff, which the people had given her, and gave the canopy, which she had taken for herself out of his bedchamber, for a gift to the Lord. 20And the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for three months, and Judith remained with them. 21After these days, everyone departed to his own inheritance. Judith went away to Bethulia, and remained in her own possession, and was honorable in her time in all the land. 22Many desired her, but no man knew her all the days of her life from the day that Manasses her husband died and was gathered to his people. 23She increased in greatness exceedingly; and she grew old in her husband’s house, to one hundred five years. She let her maid go free. Then she died in Bethulia. They buried her in the cave of her husband Manasses. 24The house of Israel mourned for her seven days. She distributed her goods before she died to all those who were nearest of kin to Manasses her husband, and to those who were nearest of her own kindred. 25There was no one who made the children of Israel afraid any more in the days of Judith, nor for a long time after her death.

This passage closes the story of Judith, whose faithfulness had delivered her people from a besieging army. It describes the rest of her long life: she was honored throughout the land, and lived to a great age, faithful to the memory of her husband. At the end she freed her maidservant and distributed her goods among her kin, and when she died, all Israel mourned her. And the account adds a striking summary: no one troubled the people of Israel again in the days of Judith, nor for a long time after her death.

Notice the peace her faithfulness left behind. Because of what Judith had done, and the life she went on to live, her people enjoyed rest, not only during her lifetime but for a long time afterward. Her one season of courage, and her lifetime of honorable faithfulness, left a lasting good behind her, a peace that outlived her. And she finished her life not grasping but giving, freeing her servant and sharing her goods.

That is a picture worth aspiring to: a faithful life that leaves lasting good behind it. What we do in faithfulness, the courage we show, the integrity we keep, the generosity we practice, can leave a good that outlasts us, blessing others long after we are gone. And a life well lived finishes, like Judith's, in generosity rather than grasping. Live so that your faithfulness leaves peace and blessing behind you, and aim to finish your life giving rather than clutching. The good a faithful life leaves can outlast the one who lived it; spend yours so that others are blessed by it, even after you are gone.

Lord, Judith's faithfulness delivered her people, and the peace it won lasted long after her death; she lived honorably to a great age, and finished her life freeing her servant and sharing her goods. Let my life leave such good behind. Help me live so that my faithfulness, my courage, my integrity, my generosity, leave a lasting good that blesses others even after I am gone. And when my life draws to its close, help me finish, like Judith, in generosity rather than grasping, giving rather than clutching. Let the good of a faithful life outlast the one who lived it. Spend me, Lord, so that others are blessed by my faithfulness, and let the peace and good I leave behind bear witness to you long after my days are done. Make my life a lasting blessing to those who come after.