Two Examples of Perseverance

Homily for Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s scriptures feature two people, centuries apart, who exhibit faith and perseverance, and whose actions for the sake of salvation are laudable. One is a martyr, in whom God’s divine protection is celebrated. The other is a tax collector whose interest in and encounter with Christ brought about conversion and a reforming of his ways.

Eleazer was a dignified old man, a scribe and doctor of the law, who would do nothing to offend God or undermine the rest of the community’s commitment to their faith. He was killed because he refused to eat the foods the pagan king insisted he eat – foods forbidden by Jewish dietary law. How weak, how ridiculous in an attempt to assert authority, is a king – an “earthly” Lord – who thinks torturing and executing a 90-year-old man is a necessary and good thing.

How strong is our Lord, however, the one, true Lord of all creation. He gave Eleazer the strength to persevere through torture and not waver, and his courage served to bolster that of all the Jewish people who endured great persecution and the suffering during a time of foreign oppression. He saved Eleazer, not from mortal death, but from eternal death.

The Lord saved Zacchaeus, a Jewish man who held the despised role of a tax collector. Hated and ostracized, he was still curious about Jesus, and Jesus called to him by name! The Holy Spirit worked within Zacchaeus and changed his heart that day. He committed to be fair and honest and repay what he had extorted from others, and he became a committed disciple of the Lord.

We know their stories, but can only imagine the bountiful fruit of Eleazer’s and the Zacchaeus’ steadfast witness to the power of God. Each of us must make difficult choices from time to time. How we respond, what example we give, not only affects our own soul but provides an example to others. The Lord is our help always in such times. We are strengthened by our daily communion with him in the Eucharist.