Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

The first reading from Monday’s Mass (Monday of the 5^th Week of Lent) is the story of Susanna, an extraordinary moral tale from the Book of Daniel. The full passage (which is quite lengthy) can be found here: Daniel 13:1-62. Interestingly, it is missing from Protestant bibles, which use a truncated version of the Book of Daniel. It is not well-known among Catholics, either, because it is only read once each year, at a weekday Mass.

The story is of a beautiful young woman, Susanna, who is married to a man named Joakim. One day as she is bathing in a private garden, two older men who have hidden themselves there try to seduce her. When Susanna rebuffs their brazen overture, they threaten to falsely accuse her of having committed adultery with a young man in the garden if she does not submit to their desires. She still refuses and they follow through with their threat, even demanding that she be stoned. Things look bleak for Susanna until Daniel comes to the rescue; through crafty interrogation he exposes their lie. The story is a small masterpiece; if you have never read it, I recommend you do so.

In the course of this engaging tale is a lesson on the anatomy of a sin. In a remarkable description, the story describes three sources from which their sin springs. The text says, They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments (Daniel 13:9). I’d like to take a look at each of these three sources in turn.

1. They suppressed their consciences.What is the conscience? The Catechism puts it in this way: Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. … For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. … His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) # 1776). In effect, the conscience is the voice of God within us. God has written His Law in the heart of every human person.

We have a basic understanding of right and wrong; we know what we are doing. There may be certain higher matters of the Law that the conscience must be taught (e.g., the following of certain rituals or feasts days), but in terms of fundamental moral norms, we have a basic, innate grasp of right and wrong. We see and salute virtues like bravery, self-control, and generosity; we also know that things such as the murder of the innocent, promiscuity, and theft are wrong. For all the excuses we like to make, deep down inside we know what we are doing and we know that we know what we are doing. I have written substantially about conscience here.

Notice that the text says that they “suppressed their consciences.” Even though we know something is wrong we often want to do it anyway. One of the first things our wily mind will do is to try to suppress our conscience.

The usual way of doing this is through rationalizations and sophistry. We invent any number of thoughts, lies, and distortions to try to reassure ourselves that something is really OK—something that deep down inside we know is not OK.

We also accumulate false teachers and teachings to assist in this suppression of the truth. St. Paul wrote to Timothy, For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Tim 4:1-3).

Suppressing one’s conscience takes quite a bit of effort, and I would argue that one cannot ever do it completely. In fact, the whole attempt to suppress the conscience is not only a substantial effort, but also very fragile. This helps to explain the anger and hostility of many in the world toward the Church. Deep down they know that we are right. Often, even the slightest appeal to the conscience awakens its voice, causing an eruption of fear and anger.

So this is the first stage in the anatomy of a sin: the suppression of the conscience. In order to act wickedly without facing the deep psychological pain of significant guilt, the men in the story suppress the conscience in order to shut off the source of that pain.

2… they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven … – In order to sustain the rationalizations and sophistry necessary to suppress the conscience, one must distance oneself from the very source of conscience: God Himself.

One way to do this is to drift away from God through neglect of prayer, worship, study of the Word of God, and association with the Church, which speaks for God. As time goes own, this drifting may increase and the refusal to repent become more adamant. Drifting can finally lead to absence, which often manifests as outright hostility to anything religious or biblical.

Another way that some avert their eyes from Heaven is by redefining God. The revealed God of Scripture is replaced by a “designer God,” who does not care about this thing or that. “God doesn’t care whether or not I go to church, or if I shack up with my girlfriend.” On being shown Scripture contrary to their distorted notions, they often respond that St. Paul had “hang-ups” or that the Bible was written in primitive times.

Culturally, the refusal to look heavenward is manifest in the increasing hostility to the Catholic Christian faith. Demands that anything even remotely connected to the faith be removed from the public square are becoming increasingly strident. According to radical secularists, prayer in public, nativity sets, Church bells, any reference to Jesus or Scripture, etc. must all be removed; they refuse to turn their eyes heavenward or even have anything around that reminds them to do so.

The cumulative effect is that many people are no longer looking to Heaven or to God. Having suppressed their consciences, they now demand a public square absent any reference to God. Still others reinvent a fake God, a false kingdom, an idol. Either way, the purpose is to isolate and insulate the self from God and what He reveals. This makes it easier to maintain the rather exhausting effort of suppressing the conscience.

3… and did not keep in mind just judgment. Finally let’s throw in a little presumption that dismisses the consequences of evil acts. This, of course, is one of the biggest sins of our current age. There are countless people, even among Catholics in the pews and Catholic clergy, who seem to deny that they will ever have to answer to God for what they have done. This is completely contrary to Scripture, which insists that we will indeed answer one day to God for our actions.

This final stage is meant to eliminate the salutary fear that should accompany evil acts. At this stage, the sinner has had some success in alleviating the psychic pain of guilt and in eliminating a lot of the fear that used to accompany sin.

However, even after suppressing the conscience and refusing Heaven’s influence, some fear still remains. Now, an attack is made on any notion of consequences. Perhaps the sinner exaggerates the mercy and patience of God to the exclusion of His holiness, which sin cannot endure. Perhaps he denies the reality of Hell, which God clearly teaches. Perhaps he denies that God exists at all and thus holds that there is no judgment to be faced. Regardless of how he does it, the sinner must push back the fear the punishment and/or judgment.

Here, then is the anatomy of a sin. Having suppressed the conscience, having muted the voice of God to the extent possible and removed oneself from Heaven’s influence, and finally having denied that any negative consequences will ensue, one feels freer to sin. It is as though one has taken a number of stiff drinks to anesthetized oneself sufficiently to proceed.

Guess what, though, the pain is still there, deep down inside. The voice of conscience remains. Despite all the attempts to insulate himself from the true God, deep down the sinner still knows that what he is doing is wrong. Even the slightest thing that pricks his conscience causes unease. Increasingly, he resorts to anger, projection, name-calling, and/or ridiculing of anyone or anything that awaken his conscience. Sin is in full bloom now; repentance seems increasingly difficult and unlikely. Only the prayers and fasting of others for his sake will likely spring him loose from his deep moral sleep. Pray for the conversion of sinners!

Well, because this post has been a little heavy it, I’d like end on a lighter note:

Recently in my Our Sunday Visitor “Question and Answer” column came the following question from a Catholic convert, in reference to the traditional understanding of the Lord’s promise to the Church: the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).

“Before my recent conversion, my (protestant) pastor said that Catholics misunderstand the text about the gates of Hell not prevailing against the Church. He said that it is silly that Catholics think of gates as if they were an offensive weapon being wielded against the Church. He said gates cannot attack us, they just sit there. Rather, he said, we are called to attack them. Gates are something to storm to enter a fortress. Thus, he said the text means that we are to storm Hell’s gates and take back territory from the devil and that the gates of Hell could not ultimately prevail against our attack.”

This interpretation has made the rounds in certain Protestant circles in recent years. In effect, it boils down to taking the word gates in a rather literal way. The pastor humorously pointed out that gates don’t normally go around attacking things. Such a comment elicits a good laugh, but humor or ridicule does not always disclose the truth. As it the case with many things, language admits of subtleties. Let’s explore the figurative meaning of the word gates.

The Greek word underlying our English translation is πύλαι (pulai), and gates is a fine translation.

However, Strong’s Greek Concordance and Greek Lexicon of New Testament indicates that in antiquity, pulai was also used to indicate authority and power.

Contextually, it would seem rather obvious that Jesus does not have literal gates in mind. First of all, Hell does not have iron or wooden gates. Second, because Jesus speaks of the gates as “not prevailing,” it would also seem that He has in mind something more than mere inanimate objects of some kind. As inanimate objects, gates do not prevail or lose; they just sit there. However, the powers of Hell can and do act.

Thus, it seems clear that our Lord uses the word gates in a figurative rather than literal sense. He likely means that the powers of Hell would not prevail against the Church, although they will surely try.

Finally, while there may be a certain pastoral sense in which the Church attacks the strongholds of the Hell in this world in order to gain back territory for the Kingdom, this is not really the best passage to make that point. Frankly, the Church should not seek to storm the gates of Hell! One storms gates in order to be able to get into the place they demarcate—but who wants to enter Hell? Should not the Church and her members seek to avoid going there? Is there not also an abyss that prevents those who enter Hell from escaping (see Luke 16:26)? Instead of hoping to storm the gates of Hell and get in, we hope that the gates of Hell are sealed off by the Lord and locked from the outside (see Rev 20:3)! There is no point in trying to enter Hell. Whatever is there is there permanently. There is no return from Hell.

Therefore, this rather trendy notion that we are to storm the gates of Hell should be set aside. Jesus clearly uses the gates of Hell as a metaphor for the power of Hell. Hell’s power will not ultimately prevail. God wins!

As for storming the gates of Hell—don’t do it! Our battleground is this world and the souls here for which we can still fight.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The story marks a significant turning point in the ministry of Jesus: it is because of this incident that the Temple leadership in Jerusalem resolves to have Jesus killed.

As is proper with all the Gospel accounts, we must not see this as merely an historical happening of some two thousand years ago. Rather, we must recall that we are Lazarus; we are Martha and Mary. This is also the story of how Jesus is acting in our life.

Let’s look at this Gospel in six stages and learn how the Lord acts to save us and raise us to new life.

I. HE PERMITS. Sometimes there are trials in our life, by God’s mysterious design, to bring us to greater things. The Lord permits these trials and difficulties for various reasons. But, if we are faithful, every trial is ultimately for our glory and the glory of God.

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Notice that Jesus does not rush to prevent the illness of Lazarus. Rather, He permits it temporarily in order that something greater, God’s Glory in Jesus, be made manifest. In addition, it is for Lazarus’ own good and his share in God’s glory.

It is this way with us as well. We do not always understand what God is up to in our life. His ways are often mysterious, even troubling to us. But our faith teaches us that His mysterious permission of our difficulties is ultimately for our good and for our glory.

1. Rejoice in this. You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials. But this so that your faith, more precious than any fire-tried gold, may lead to praise, honor, and glory when Jesus Christ appears (1 Peter 1: 10).
2. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).
3. For our light and momentary troubles are producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor 4:17-18).

An old gospel hymn says, “Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand, all the way that God will lead us to that blessed promised land. But He guides us with his eye and we follow till we die, and we’ll understand it better, by and by. By and by, when the morning comes, and all the saints of God are gathered home, we’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome, and we’ll understand it better by and by.”

For now, it is enough for us to know that God permits our struggles for a season and for a reason.

II. HE PAUSES. Here, too, we confront a mystery. Sometimes God says, “Wait.” Again, this is to prepare us for greater things than those for which we ask.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.

Note that the text says that Jesus waits because he loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus. This of course is paradoxical, because we expect love to make one rush to the aid of the afflicted.

Yet Scripture often counsels us to wait.

1. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD (Ps 27:14).
2. For thus says the Lord God, the holy one of Israel, “By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet an in trust, your strength lies” (Isaiah 30:15).
3. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance … God’s patience is directed to our salvation (2 Pet 3:9).

Somehow our waiting is tied to strengthening us and preparing us for something greater. Ultimately, we need God’s patience in order for us to come to full repentance; so it may not be wise to ask God to rush things. Yet still his delay often mystifies us, especially when the need seems urgent.

Note, too, how Jesus’ delay enables something even greater to take place. It is one thing to heal an ailing man; it is quite another to raise a man who has been dead four days. To use an analogy, Jesus is preparing a meal. Do you want a microwave dinner or a great feast? Great feasts take longer to prepare. Jesus delays, but he’s preparing something great.

For ourselves we can only ask for the grace to hold out. An old gospel song says, “Lord help me to hold out, until my change comes.” Another song says, “Hold on just a little while longer, everything’s gonna be all right.”

III. HE PAYS. Despite the design of God and His apparent delay, He is determined to bless us and save us. Jesus is determined to go and help Lazarus even though He puts himself in great danger in doing so. Notice in the following text how the apostles are anxious about going to Judea; some there are plotting to kill Jesus. In order to help Lazarus, Jesus must put himself at great risk.

Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”

We must never forget the price that Jesus has paid for our healing and salvation. Scripture says, You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Pet 1:18).

Indeed, the Apostles’ concerns are borne out: because Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Temple leaders plot to kill him (cf John 11:53). It is of course quite ironic that they should plot to kill Jesus for raising a man from the dead. We can only thank the Lord who, for our sake, endured even death on a cross to purchase our salvation by His own blood.

IV. HE PRESCRIBES. The Lord will die to save us. But there is only one way that saving love can reach us: through our faith. Faith opens the door to God’s blessings, but it is a door we must open, by God’s grace. Thus Jesus inquires into the faith of Martha and later that of Mary.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Jesus prescribes faith because there is no other way. Our faith and our soul are more important to God than our bodies and creature comforts. For what good is it to gain the whole world and lose our soul? We tend to focus on physical things like our bodies, our health, and our possessions; but God focuses on the spiritual things. And so before raising Lazarus and dispelling grief, Jesus checks the condition of Martha’s faith and elicits an act of faith: “Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe.”

Scripture connects faith to seeing and experiencing great things:

1. All things are possible to him who believes (Mk 9:23).
2. If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you (Mt 17:20).
3. And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith (Matt 13:58).
4. When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Mat 9:28).

So Jesus has just asked you and me a question: “Do you believe this?” How will you answer? I know how we should answer. But how do we really and truthfully answer?

V. HE IS PASSIONATE. Coming upon the scene Jesus is described as deeply moved, as perturbed, as weeping.

When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

In his human heart, Jesus experiences the full force of the loss and the blow that death delivers. That He weeps is something of mystery because He will raise Lazarus in moments. But for this moment, Jesus enters and experiences grief and loss with us. Its full force comes over Him and He weeps—so much so that the bystanders say, “See how much He loved him.”

But there is more going on here. The English text also describes Jesus as being perturbed. The Greek word used is ἐμβριμάομαι (embrimaomai), which means to snort with anger, to express great indignation. It is a very strong word and includes the notion of being moved to admonish sternly. What is this anger of Jesus and at whom is it directed? It is hard to know exactly, but the best answer would seem to be that he is angry at death and at what sin has done. For it was by sin that suffering and death entered the world. It is almost as though Jesus is on the front lines of the battle and has a focused anger against Satan and what he has done. Scripture says, by the envy of the devil death entered the world. (Wisdom 2:23). And God has said, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ez 33:11)

At the death of some of my own loved ones, I remember experiencing not only sorrow, but also anger. Death should not be. But there it is; it glares back at us, taunts us, and pursues us.

Yes, Jesus experiences the full range of emotions that we do. Out of His sorrow and anger, He is moved to act on our behalf. God’s wrath is His passion to set things right. And Jesus is about to act.

VI. HE PREVAILS. In the end, Jesus always wins. You can skip right to the end of the Bible and see that Jesus wins there, too. You might just as well get on the winning team. He will not be overcome by Satan, even when all seems lost. God is a good God; He is a great God; He can do anything but fail. Jesus can make a way out of no way.

He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.

I have it on the best of authority that as Lazarus came out of the tomb he was singing this gospel song: “Faithful is our God! I’m reaping the harvest God promised me, take back what devil stole from me, and I rejoice today, for I shall recover it al1!”

VII. HE PARTNERS. 

So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go free.”

Notice something important here: Although Jesus raises Lazarus, and gives him new life, Jesus also commands the bystanders to untie Lazarus and let him go free. Christ raises us, but He has work for the Church to do: untie those He has raised in baptism and let them go free.

To have a personal relationship with Jesus is crucial, but it is also essential to have a relationship to the Church. For after raising Lazarus, Jesus entrusts him to the care of others. Jesus speaks to the Church—parents, priests, catechists, all members of the Church—and gives this standing order regarding the souls He has raised to new life: “Untie them and let them go free.”

We are Lazarus and we were dead in our sin, but we have been raised to new life. Yet we can still be bound by the effects of sin. This is why we need the sacraments, Scripture, prayer, and other ministries of the Church through catechesis, preaching, and teaching. Lazarus’ healing wasn’t a “one and you’re done” scenario and neither is ours.

We are also the bystanders. Just as we are in need of being untied and set free, so do we have this obligation to others. By God’s grace, parents must untie their children and let them go free; pastors must do the same with their flocks. As a priest, I realize how often my people have helped to untie me and let me go free, strengthened my faith, encouraged me, admonished me, and restored me.

This is the Lord’s mandate to the Church regarding every soul He has raised: “Untie him and let him go free.” This is the Lord’s work, but just as Jesus involved the bystanders then, He still involves the Church (which includes us) now.

Death and Burial at the Time of Jesus

N.B.: I am in the Holy Land at this time. As my travel schedule is heavy, I am republishing some articles about life in Jesus’ day. I hope you will enjoy reading (or re-reading) them as much as I did.

The Jewish people took the burial of the dead quite seriously; this was the way a community paid their last dues to the one who had died. The Scriptures laid down quite firmly that no dead body was to be left unburied, even those of one’s worst enemies. Perhaps one of the stronger horrors that a Jewish person could envision was stated in Psalm 78: They have thrown the bodies of thy servants as food for the birds of heaven; wild beast feast on the corpses of the just.

The dead, therefore, had a right to ceremonial treatment. As soon as a man died, his eyes were to be closed, he was to be kissed with love, and his body washed (Genesis 50:1; Acts 9:37). In this washing, the body was anointed with perfumes. Nard was the most common of these, but myrrh was also used, as well as aloe.

In Jesus’ day, the custom was for the body to be wrapped elaborately in a shroud and the face covered with a special cloth called a sudarium. The hands and feet were tied with strips of cloth.

Once the body and been prepared, relatives and friends could come to the home to say goodbye for the last time. All of this happened quickly and burial usually followed within eight hours of death. In the hot climate, burial could not be delayed.

After this brief time for farewells, the body was carried to the grave in a kind of litter. There were no professional carriers; the person’s relatives and friends took turns carrying the body, as a sign of affection. Women led the ritual procession, which was quite noisy even in cases in which the death had been expected for a long time. All funeral processions were expected to have people wailing loudly and throwing dust in their hair; there would also be a flautist playing mournful music. Given these expectations, families often hired professional mourners to assist.

The Jewish people never cremated their dead; indeed, the idea horrified them, for they believed in the resurrection of the body.

Cemeteries were required to be at least fifty yards outside of any town or village.

The typical tombs of Jesus’ day were a kind of cave or excavation cut into a rocky cliff. Sometimes groups of families would share these burial areas. An opening into the side of a cliff might lead into a crypt of several rooms used by different families. There would be an outer chamber and an inner chamber, or at least a front and back are. In the outer chamber the body would be laid out on a bench or shelf cut into the rock. After final farewells, a large round stone, usually rolling in a groove, would be rolled into place to cover the entrance to the tomb.

These stones would often be whitewashed as a sign to passersby that the area was a gravesite. This was done because Jews incurred ritual uncleanness by coming into close contact with a dead body. This could be endured as an act of charity for a dead relative, but one would not wish to incur it for a stranger. The marked entrances thus served as a warning to stay clear.

Very poor people who could not afford a rock-hewn tomb or foreigners who had no land were buried in vertical shafts within designated fields. There is a reference to the purchase of the potter’s field in the Gospel of Matthew, which refers to the existence of these sorts of cemeteries for strangers who died and needed burial (Mat 27:7).

A brief repast would follow, which included the ritual drinking of wine and eating of the bread of mourning. For the very closest relatives (e.g., the spouse or child), mourning lasted for thirty days. Signs of mourning were wearing special clothing, not wearing phylacteries during prayer, and not answering greetings in the street.

After about a year, family members would return to the tomb, collect the bones, and place them in a box called an ossuary. They would mark the box with identifying information and placed it in the back room of the tomb, where the bones of other relatives were stored. This is the source of the Jewish expression that after a man died, he “rested with his ancestors.” It also explains the concerns of the Patriarch Joseph: Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, “God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here” (Gen 50:25). Regarding the time when they left Egypt, Scripture says, And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for Joseph had solemnly sworn the people of Israel, saying, “God will visit you; then you must carry my bones with you from here” (Exodus, 13:19). Finally, Scripture says this: The bones of Joseph which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; it became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph (Jos 24:32).

Thus Joseph rested with his ancestors. And so will we, until our bodies shall rise at the last trumpet.

Farmers – Early each morning (except the Sabbath) farmers walked to reach their vineyards, wheat and barley fields, and olive groves. They might work as many as twelve acres. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for these parcels of land to be in different areas, making the tending much more time-consuming. During periods of more intense cultivation or fieldwork, they might live in rudimentary tents or shacks out in the fields, especially if the fields were some distance away. However, they would always return home on Friday afternoon for Sabbath observances.

The Jewish people were very good at terracing their land with stone walls to mitigate against erosion. They used manure to enrich the soil and had developed a fairly good system of irrigation using networks of canals. Spades or hoes were used to break up smaller parcels of land; larger parcels were plowed behind oxen or a donkey. Plowing normally took place in October, but some crops required a March plowing.

Grain was usually harvested in April. Grapes were grown both at the family level and in large commercial vineyards complete with watchtowers and hedges. The vines largely took care of themselves; pruning as we know it today was not done. The real work in the vineyard took place at harvest (vintage) time. In larger vineyards people camped within the vineyard. Gatherers with little knives cut the bunches and others behind them placed them in baskets. A small amount of the harvest was set aside to be eaten, but most of the grapes were brought to be turned into wine. Most towns and villages had a winepress.

There were also figs and other fruits to be gathered. Twice a year, olive trees had to be struck with long poles. Some olives were taken to be eaten, but many more were taken to the olive press to be used for making olive oil.

Generally, the lives of Galilean farmers were reasonably happy, alternating between periods of hard and intense work at planting and reaping time, and more restful times in between. Most lived simply, close to the land, and were content if their basic necessities were met.

Shepherds – At the time of Jesus, most areas of non-arable lands were set aside for shepherding. Although these areas were dry, grasses grew in abundance. This meant that shepherds lived out on the land a great deal, in outlying areas. As a result, they had little schooling and lacked the refinements of those living in towns or villages. Although they provided a valuable service for the community, they were often looked down upon. The life of a shepherd was a hard one. Although some flocks were small, numerous shepherds cared for as many as a thousand sheep—and this is no small task. Sheep are valuable but wayward animals; they require constant vigilance. They could easily wander off and be killed by a wolf or jackal. Shepherds often had to fight directly with these predators. In the main part of the year, the fields were hot during the daytime and quite chilly at night.

In order to be able to get some sleep while out in the fields, shepherds would often corral their sheep together in sheepfolds or fenced off areas to prevent them from wandering off. In the morning, each shepherd would call to his sheep with a high piercing sound, which the sheep would recognize as the voice of their individual shepherd. The sheep would only follow this one shepherd and thus they sorted themselves out. For shepherds, family life was a rather seasonal thing; they were close to home only during the cool winter months.

In addition to tending the sheep in the field and battling off predators, shepherds also had to take care of sick sheep, pregnant sheep, and newborn lambs. It was a hard life that came with very little social standing.

Fieldworkers – Given the steep terrain in many areas, ancient Jews were very good at terracing their land. In addition, the soil was rocky and always in need of being cleared of stones. The land also needed plowing, seeds needed to be sown, and the harvest needed to be brought in. After the harvest, grains needed threshing and grapes and olives needed to be brought to the presses. Field animals also needed tending and their manure collected for fertilizer. Some workers also assisted with irrigation by digging ditches to help divert water to the fields.

Many among the Jewish peasantry filled these sorts of roles, assisting farmers and landowners with this type of work. To some degree the work was endless. Smaller family farms were generally worked by the family unit, while larger farms required the use of these field hands. Groups of families might combine to employ fieldworkers, especially when it came to more the complex tasks.

Fishermen – Fishing was not necessarily a lucrative profession, but it was considered honorable because fishermen supplied such an important part of the diet of so many people. Though some work close to shore on the Mediterranean Sea, the majority of fishermen known by Jesus and his contemporaries worked the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a freshwater lake. The many towns and villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee made fishing a huge industry. The memorable names of two of the towns were Bethsaida (the fishery) and Magdala (the fish tower or the dried fish).

Commercial fishing at the time was largely done with nets. There was the “throw net,” a net of about twelve feet across fitted with weights and buoys. It was thrown over a school of fish and then the pulled in. Then there was the “dragnet,” which as the name implies was dragged behind the boat. Another form of dragnet was one anchored on one end at the shore with ropes, while the other end was attached to the boat, which sailed out and made a semi-circular path back to shore. The dragnet was then pulled ashore and emptied. Nets were expensive and required a lot of maintenance.

Once the fish were caught, they had to be sorted, because different kinds varied in worth. Further, some types of fish could not be eaten (e.g., catfish, eels, and lamprey) by the Jews. Most fish without scales could not be eaten and were thrown back into the water.

The fishing boats could be fairly big and wide. They need to be sturdy in order to endure the wind that is so common on the Sea of Galilee.

A fisherman’s life required courage and firmness as well as patience. Perhaps this is why Jesus chose several fishermen to be among his Apostles.

Domestic Workers – Women filled these ranks as wives, daughters, and caretakers. Women ground their own grain. Nearly every day, each housewife spent time turning the upper millstone on the lower, which was fixed to the ground. The sound of the millstone was a common one in Jewish homes. Scripture warned that when the sound of the millstone was no longer heard it signaled doom. Jeremiah speaks of it: Moreover, says the Lord, I will banish from [sinful Israel] the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp (Jer 25:10). The Book of Ecclesiastes speaks of it in reference to the deafness of old age: The years draw nigh, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding is low, and all the daughters of song are brought low (Eccl 12:2-5).

Once the grain was ground, the dough needed to be prepared and then kneaded and allowed to rise. Then the dough was cooked at home in a small oven or over a fire pit. In some smaller villages there was a communal oven.

To a large extent, clothing was homemade as well. Proverbs 32 speaks of the excellent wife who is busy with wool and thread, holding the distaff and the spindle.

Housewives also pressed the oil from olives, made cheese, salted the meat, and made other preserves.

Scribes – In most towns and in reasonably large villages, there was also a scribe. Almost no one in those days could write and only a few could read. The few documents that were required had to be drawn up by a scribe. Letters and formal requests had to be prepared by them as well. Paper as we know it today was quite rare; parchment and lambskin were more common. It is clear that St. Paul and likely the other Gospel writers would have had to dictate their words rather than handwriting them as we might have assumed. People who needed letters or documents drawn up would dictate to a scribe, who would write out the letter, document, or request. Scribes were valued and considered highly educated. Often they were from among the religious leaders, as they were the ones most likely to be able to read and write, due to their study of Scripture. The very words “clerical” and “clergy” show the connection with this ancient task.

Service Workers – There were many people who earned their living by providing services to others. Some of these were water carriers, barbers, and hairdressers. There were also those known as fullers, who cleaned large quantities of clothing; they were somewhat similar to the dry cleaners of today. In larger towns, there were those who helped clean the streets, maintain the public baths, and repair infrastructure. Larger towns had butchers, salters of fish and meat, and bakers.

Craftsmen and Builders – Every town and village needed builders to help build and maintain homes. Chief among the builders was the stonemason. Stonemasons were common in those days because stone was abundant; wood was more rare and quite valuable in that culture. Many things that we are typically built with wood today were built with stone at that time. Along with the stonemason was the carpenter, whose work for the home included helping to build and maintain the roof, and making the doors, lintels, shelves, tables, and cabinets. Only the rich could afford paneled rooms and woodwork, which were considered opulent. For use outside the home, carpenters made ladders, wheels, yokes for the animals, and farm implements (or at least the handles).

While some lumber might have been available locally from suppliers, most carpenters went to the woods themselves to choose the type of wood that would suit the work they were doing. Isaiah the prophet describes this work: The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it … He cuts down cedars; or he chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it (Isaiah 44:13-15).

More remote, but no less necessary, were those who worked as stonecutters and who labored in the quarries. There were also those who dug for and provided clay for the potters.

There are more than two dozen other trades mentioned in Scripture, but there is not enough space here to describe them all in detail. Among the various tradesmen mentioned we find those who were tailors and those who dyed fabrics. There were tanners, blacksmiths, leather smiths, and potters. Tanners and blacksmiths tended to live on the edge of town, given the smoky, smelly quality of their work. Blacksmiths performed essential tasks such as making and repairing spades, plowshares, axes, and hammers. Leather smiths crafted a variety of products including belts, sandals, and saddles. Potters made many household items such as pitchers, bowls, and large jars for storing grain and other foods; they also made oil lamps. Finally, goldsmiths were quite esteemed in those days. They were kept busy because people—even the poor—tended to wear more jewelry than we do today.