From good beginnings to tragic end: Joash's tragedy
June 22, 2024 - Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
2 Chronicles 24:17-25
Yesterday, we heard about the seven-year-old boy Joash, who was saved from the hands of the cruel queen Athaliah by Jehosheba and the priest Jehoiada, and crowned king of Judah. Today, we are told how the grown-up King Joash listened to the wrong advisers, turned away from the Lord, and murdered the son of his benefactor, Zechariah.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus mentioned Zechariah's name in his sharp criticisms of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law: "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary" (Luke 11:49-51).
The story of Joash reminds me of the story of Nero. Young Nero had one of the great Roman philosophers as his tutor, Seneca. Under his guidance, the emperor did very well, and historians call this period the "five good years" of Nero's reign. But, with growing years, Nero began to distance himself from his tutor, and in the end, motivated by suspicion and fear of losing power, sentenced Seneca to death. One wonders why certain people remain faithful to the end while others, after good beginnings, stray away from the path of righteousness.
Many of us, like Joash, experience two opposing voices speaking to us. One, like the voice of the priest Jehoiada, calls us to remain faithful, while the other, like the voice of the princes of Judah, calls us to embrace the spirit of our times, forsaking our faith. What often complicates our decisions is that the second voice, which tries to pull us away from the Lord, is louder and sounds so enticing that it is difficult to resist its allure.
The princes of Judah came to Joash right after the death of Jehoiada (see 2 Chronicles 24:15-17). The absence of this important figure in Joash's life allowed them to persuade the king to change the course of his life. Without Jehoiada, Joash seems to have had a weak personality, succumbing to peer pressure. It seems that the king did not internalize the faith of his mentor. Unfortunately, this also happens to many Christians in the world who easily leave the community of faith under the pressure of the contemporary world.
Perhaps it is worth asking ourselves a few questions: where do I see myself in this story? In the person of Jehoiada, Joash, the princes of Judah, or Zechariah? I have met many elderly people who cannot understand why their children and grandchildren are not interested in faith. We also know stories of those who began their journey of faith with eagerness but then took the wrong turn and ended up tragically. The world is filled with opportunists who, like the princes of Judah, try to seize the moment to gain influence over our lives. But there are also whistleblowers, the prophetic voices, who at the cost of their lives warn us of the dire consequences of turning away from the Lord. In whom do you see yourself?