5th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, C February 5,
2007
During World War II,
the Nazi’s established a work camp for prisoners in the town of Yanov in Poland.
Since it was a work camp, security was not as
tight as in a concentration camp, and prisoners were occasionally
allowed to
leave the camp, provided a family member was left behind to insure the
prisoner's return.
While on leave, a
group of devout Jews decided to smuggle a scroll of the Torah into camp. The Torah, the first five books of the Bible,
is the holiest of scriptures for Jews. So,
the workers dismantled the Torah, piece by piece, hiding parts of it in
their
bodies and clothing and returned to camp, where they hid the pieces
under
floorboards and inside mattresses. When
it was safe, a piece at a time would be brought out for reading and
prayer. In this way God's Word lived among
the
persecuted but persevering community.
Its beloved Torah was whole in spirit if physically divided into
pieces.
When the camp was
finally liberated, the precious fragments of the Torah were pieced back
together. Over the years the holy scroll
remained with the last living survivor of Yanov, who before he died,
arranged
for it to be brought to the US,
where, today, it travels from congregation to congregation as an
important
symbol of hope and courage.
If, instead of a
group of Jews, it was a group of Catholics in that Nazi camp, and you
were
among them, and you and the others could smuggle into camp one thing,
what
would you choose?
Today St. Paul reminds us of
the core realities of our faith, of the center point, of the most
important
beliefs of the Church. Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, and he was raised on the third
day
according to the Scriptures. Would you,
then, smuggle in a crucifix, the representation of the death of Christ? Or would you bring in the Blessed Sacrament
from the tabernacle, a small amount of the Holy Eucharist, the real
presence of
the living Christ, risen from the dead?
You would keep it safe for adoration and worship, while knowing
that in
the form of bread it would not last indefinitely, but eventually would
have to
be consumed, after which you would be without the presence of the
Eucharist. Or would you smuggle in
something else, a Bible, or a rosary, or a relic of a favorite saint to
be a
visible reminder of that saint’s prayer for you during your suffering? What would you want with you as a constant
reminder of God’s love for you, as a sign of your faith and hope in God?
Such concrete,
tangible religious objects are important things to have, to carry with
us, to
keep before us in our homes and workplaces, as a reminder each day of
who we
are and what we believe.