Dearest brothers and sisters in christ, among the many lessons, the stories in the book of maccabees teach us is the fact that in a community that there's overwhelming numbers of people who have taken the part of evil, there's always a small remnant of people who will stand for the good, sometimes they're driven under ground by persecution, but even from those darkest pit where they've been placed, they in fortitude remain witnesses to God. From the bible portion first maccabees chapter 2 verses 15 through 29.
The king's commissioners who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein for the sacrifices.
Many Israelites gathered round them, but Mattathias and his sons drew apart.
The king's commissioners then addressed Mattathias as follows, 'You are a respected leader, a great man in this town; you have sons and brothers to support you.
Be the first to step forward and conform to the king's decree, as all the nations have done, and the leaders of Judah and the survivors in Jerusalem; you and your sons shall be reckoned among the Friends of the King, you and your sons will be honoured with gold and silver and many presents.'
Raising his voice, Mattathias retorted, 'Even if every nation living in the king's dominions obeys him, each forsaking its ancestral religion to conform to his decrees.
I, my sons and my brothers will still follow the covenant of our ancestors.
May Heaven preserve us from forsaking the Law and its observances.
As for the king's orders, we will not follow them: we shall not swerve from our own religion either to right or to left.'
As he finished speaking, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein as the royal edict required.
When Mattathias saw this, he was fired with zeal; stirred to the depth of his being, he gave vent to his legitimate anger, threw himself on the man and slaughtered him on the altar.
At the same time he killed the king's commissioner who was there to enforce the sacrifice, and tore down the altar.
In his zeal for the Law he acted as Phinehas had against Zimri son of Salu.
Then Mattathias went through the town, shouting at the top of his voice, 'Let everyone who has any zeal for the Law and takes his stand on the covenant come out and follow me.'
Then he fled with his sons into the hills, leaving all their possessions behind in the town.
Many people who were concerned for virtue and justice went down to the desert and stayed there.
Dear friends, in the face of evil, corruption, systemic injustice, the commitment of a microscopic few can bring about real change. It took the zeal and conviction of Mattathias and the few people that were passionate about their covenant with Yahweh to stop the agents of the evil one.
Fortitude is a Christian virtue that is needed the most when your religious freedom or conviction is threatened. That was what Mattathias expressed, he said, although all the gentiles in the king's realm obey him, so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers and consents to the king's orders, yet I and my sons and my kin will keep to the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandment. We will not obey the words of the king or depart from our religion in the slightest decree.
Sometimes dear friends, Christians have become too overwhelmed by the evil around them. And we have chickened out saying that we're so insignificant to make any substantial difference. In the work place, the church, village or town communities, many complains that there's so much darkness and since we cannot beat them it is safer to join them.
God needs just a few loyal remnant who will not regard their life worth anything outside God to make a real difference in the world.
After the Pentecost experience, God used a handful of committed believers in His son to change the world forever. If you're willing to be a part of that few, get ready that you will be persecuted, ridiculed and mocked, like Jesus you'll through your own calvary. Yet our lives is to short for us to worry about what people will say or do to us, instead we're called to live with faith, passion, convictions, standing up for God at all times. For grace to do that, we rely on our Lord Jesus christ. God bless you.