1 Maccabees 9:14-18: a reflection

14Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the right side, and all that were brave in heart went with him, 15and the right wing was defeated by them, and he pursued after them to the mount Azotus. 16Those who were on the left wing saw that the right wing was defeated, and they turned and followed in the footsteps of Judas and of those who were with him. 17The battle became desperate, and many on both sides fell wounded to death. 18Judas fell, and the rest fled.

Judas Maccabeus, the great warrior who had led his people through victory after victory, comes to his end in a desperate battle. Facing a far larger force, he fights bravely, but the battle turns; the fighting is fierce, many fall on both sides, and finally Judas himself is struck down. The champion who had seemed unstoppable, who had delivered his people again and again, falls, and the rest flee. The hero is gone.

Notice the sober reality this records: even the greatest human leaders fall. Judas had been a deliverer, a source of hope, seemingly indispensable to his people's cause. And yet he was mortal; he died, like any other, and his death was a genuine loss and grief. No human leader, however great, however gifted, is permanent or indispensable; all of them, in the end, pass away.

That is worth holding in a world prone to pinning its hopes on human leaders, heroes, and champions. It is right to be grateful for good leaders and to grieve their loss. But no human leader is the ultimate hope; all of them fall, and God's purposes do not finally depend on any one of them. God's cause outlasted Judas, as it outlasts every human champion; his work went on. Do not pin your ultimate hope on any human leader, however great; they are mortal and will fall. Be grateful for them, but rest your final hope on God alone, whose cause outlasts every champion, and who himself never fails or falls.

Lord, even the great Judas Maccabeus, deliverer of his people, fell in the end, for no human leader is permanent or indispensable. Keep me from pinning my ultimate hope on any human leader, however gifted, for all of them are mortal and will fall. Help me be grateful for the good leaders you give, and to grieve their loss, but to rest my final hope on you alone. Your cause outlasts every champion, and you yourself never fail or fall. Be my ultimate hope.