The first reading for the day is a continuation of the story of the Maccabees. I consulted the introduction to the First Book of Maccabees and this is what is written:
"The doctrine expressed in the book is the customary belief of Israel, without the new developments which appear in 2 Maccabees and Daniel. The people of Israel have been specially chosen by the one true God as his convenant (sic) -partner, and they alone are privileged to know him and worship him. He is their eternal benefactor and their unfailing source of help. The people, in turn, must be loyal to this exclusive worship and must observe exactly the precepts of the law he has given them".
(I got that from here: http://www.prayerbook.com/Bible/OT%20Books/otmacab1.htm but it is the same text as the one in my New American Bible)
When I read that last night, I couldn't help but think that the arrangement was very feudal. Benefactor and unfailing source of help. People must be loyal and must observe exactly the precepts of the law he has given to them.
This, of course, in the context of competing gods in the world of the Old Testament.
One of the most memorable take-aways I had from college was the idea that the Old Testament was revelation but an incomplete revelation. The complete revelation was Jesus. And Jesus re-did that feudal relationship taking away all notions of protection and politics and simply saying that we should love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.
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