Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

REFLECTION:

I don’t know if anyone remembers the wrestler Goldberg. When he first started in WCW—World Championship Wrestling—he was known for finishing off his opponent in record time. Most of his matches didn’t last long at all. And his famous catchphrase was always, “Who’s next?”

That phrase came to mind when reading today’s first reading. In 1 Maccabees, there was a Jew in the town of Modein who—without hesitation—stepped forward to offer sacrifice according to the king’s order. He chose the “next thing” placed in front of him: the easy option, the convenient path, the culturally acceptable action. It was quick. It required no thought. No conviction. No faithfulness. And that quick surrender to the world’s pressure stirred Mattathias’ heart with zeal and righteous anger.

Today, our world moves just as quickly. We scroll through videos in seconds, jumping from one distraction to the next. We move on from relationships when they become difficult. We give up on commitments when they lose their excitement. And sadly, we can even treat God this way—quick to move on when faith becomes inconvenient, quick to compromise when the world presents something easier, quicker, and more “acceptable.”

But Mattathias shows us something different. His reaction—though extreme—reveals a heart deeply rooted in love for God and fidelity to the covenant. His zeal wasn’t just emotion; it was conviction. It was the fire that refuses to let the holy become watered down. It was the courage to stand firm when everyone else was giving in.

The reading reminds us that zeal for God is not simply passion—it's choosing faithfulness when the world pressures us to compromise. It's refusing to offer “quick sacrifices” to the idols of convenience, popularity, or comfort. It’s pausing to ask: Is this choice leading me closer to God or pulling me away?

Like Mattathias, we need a holy slowness—a willingness to stop before acting, to reflect before choosing, to let God’s voice speak before the world’s noise pulls us along. His zeal calls us to be people who are not easily swayed by the “next thing,” but firmly anchored in what is eternal.

The reading ends with Mattathias crying out, “Let everyone who is zealous for the Law and supports the covenant come out with me!” That same call echoes to us today: Are we zealous for the Lord? Do our choices reflect a heart that belongs to God—or a heart that simply follows whatever comes next?



May this reading remind us to slow down, to cling to God with conviction, and to let our zeal be shown not in violence, but in the daily faithfulness that resists the pressure to compromise—one deliberate, prayerful choice at a time.