“Preferring
a Glorious Death” by Melanie Rigney
Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes, a man of advanced age
and noble appearance was being forced to open his mouth to eat pork. But
preferring a glorious death to a life of defilement, he spat out the meat, and
went forward of his own accord to the instrument of torture, as people ought to
do who have the courage to reject the food which it is unlawful to taste even
for love of life. Those in charge of that unlawful ritual meal took the man
aside privately, because of their long acquaintance with him, and urged him to
bring meat of his own providing, such as he could legitimately eat, and to
pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice prescribed by the king; in
this way he would escape the death penalty, and be treated kindly because of
their old friendship with him. But Eleazar made up his mind in a noble manner, worthy
of his years, the dignity of his advanced age, the merited distinction of his
gray hair, and of the admirable life he had lived from childhood; and so he
declared that above all he would be loyal to the holy laws given by God. (2
Maccabees 6:18-23)
The Lord upholds me. (Psalm
3:6b)
… Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at hour house.” (Luke 19:5)
Piety
Lord, help me to be as consistent in
the way I love You as You are in the way You love me.
Study
So, Eleazar. Would there really have been anything wrong with
that little bit of underhandedness that was recommended to him? He wouldn’t
have actually eaten the pork, after all; he would have just allowed the king to
think so. Surely, his family and friend and community would have understood.
Who wants to die a martyr’s death when the price of staying alive on earth to
do good works is so low?
Except, of course, the price wasn’t
that low. Eleazar knew it. When we begin to deceive others in the name of
survival, we also deceive ourselves – and welcome in evil.
You see, the loyalty the Lord
demands doesn’t change when we’re eighteen, twenty-one, thirty-five, sixty, or
eighty. He’s consistent that way, even when we think we deserve a pass given
our gray hairs, creaking knees, and expanding waistlines. There’s not one set
of commandments for the young, another for the middle-aged, and a third for
seasoned Christians.
We all move closer to physical death
each day. Let’s resolve to hold fast to spiritual life as we do so.
Action
Consider a rationalization you’re
making to sidestep prayer or service. What do you think the Lord’s response to
that rationalization is?
Image credit is Gustave Dore, public domain. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/149.The_Martyrdom_of_Eleazar_the_Scribe.jpg/1024px-149.The_Martyrdom_of_Eleazar_the_Scribe.jpg;
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