He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him; and they asked him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife." Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken."

- Mark 12:18-27

Jesus continues to be tested as he teaches in Jerusalem. Today, it is a group of Sadducees who approach him with a question. We recall from yesterday's reading that it was a group of Herodians and Pharisees who had questioned him about paying taxes to Caesar. The Sadducees are a group that represents landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem. Holding many high offices within Israel, they controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin. My study bible notes: "They differed from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent and they adapted to the presence of the Romans. They interpreted the Law even more rigidly than the Pharisees and, unlike them, the Sadducees rejected the belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age. The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem." Their question reflects their orientation, and its absence of all concept of life in the resurrection: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife." It seems to me this question obviously reflects worldly values, but also life as a sense of ownership, of property. This perhaps befits their wealthy status and its orientation.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." What I find interesting about this first part of Jesus' answer is its orientation to the reality of life in this heavenly kingdom. There is a complete shift in perspective. To introduce angels is to create not merely a sense of a different relatedness; that is, without erotic love as in a marriage. But there is also a re-shifting of attitude toward persons or personhood, if you will. Angels are divine beings, awesome and beautiful to us in themselves. An angel cannot be the property of another angel; there is no sense of ownership in relationship among such beings. So, there is a complete setting aside of such worldly relationships here in the sense of the establishment of the notion of individual personhood; respect, in a sense, for each individual, and the image, character and self of that person. A woman, in this analogy ("like angels in heaven") is no longer property ("they neither marry nor are given in marriage"), but all live a different life. As we are focused now, after Easter, on the Resurrection and Jesus' appearance to his followers - even "in another form" - after his crucifixion, it is quite a wonderful thing to contemplate the nature of this heavenly life. Furthermore, we understand that in this heavenly kingdom, the primary relationship is to God, as in "the first great commandment." My study bible notes, "At the Second Coming, the bodies of the faithful will be transformed into incorruptible bodies; there will no longer be marriage or begetting of children. That does not mean, however, that family relationships are broken or ignored. The Sadducees are taken off guard by Jesus' answer."

"But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken." This last word, "mistaken," can also be translated as "deceived." My study bible notes that "this last part of Jesus' answer is similar to what the Sadducees expect from the Pharisees ... Old Testament passages such as Ex. 3:6, 15 were the foundation for the Pharisees' belief in the resurrection from the dead." God is the God of the living, and not the dead. In the communion of saints, we understand this heavenly life to be a present reality, in which all those who live in God, in Christ, are present to one another; indeed, pertinent to this question, it is a heavenly family. Jesus has said that, "whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and mother."

One other important component of this heavenly life is also introduced here by Jesus' invoking the scripture and the present tense it implies: time does not function in eternity as it does in earthly life. This is an eternal kingdom, where all is an eternal present. Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob -- all are alive in the eternal present of the kingdom. So, relatedness not only takes on a new aspect in terms of how we relate to one another as people ("like angels in heaven"), but also in terms of the reality in which we are all eternally present to one another. Time has no worldly reality as it does in this world, but rather relationships are based on an eternal "present." And again, we think about the Resurrection, and the Easter passages we've just read, here and here. At the end of Mark's gospel, we read that the disciples "went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs." In the eternal present of the heavenly kingdom, in Jesus' Resurrection, he is eternally present to us. This nature of the kingdom in the resurrection, of which Jesus speaks as he addresses the Sadducees and their question, is the nature Christ shares with us and which he possesses as he is yet still with us, just as he was with the apostles as they went on their mission. There is this "ever-presence," if you will. The laws of time don't apply; and in our relationship to Christ there is a sense in which he is always with us, now. He is present to us, to each of us, in the same sense as we are taught that it is the nature of the angels in heaven to be present to us, with us, although we may not perceive this. ("Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.") So, this heavenly nature that we observe in the passages of Easter regarding Christ's Resurrection, is also shared with us, as Jesus indicates by his answer which reveals aspects of the life to come. It is quite a marvelous thing to consider.

My study bible has another helpful note: "The resurrection is not merely life resuming where it left off, but a complete change of life. ... They do not know the power of God, which transforms us from death to life. The 'dead' even now are living before God." So let us understand what the implications of this passage are, including in the light of the Resurrection of Easter which we've just celebrated. This eternal life is not just an ever-presence of the saints, and the angels, and even of Christ himself. But the resurrection is also a promise for each of us. Just as Jesus appeared "in another form" to his disciples (and we are told they did not at first recognize him), so we are promised this complete transformation, a new form and a new life. This tells me that all of us are welcome to this nature of the kingdom, that Jesus shares so much more with us than we can imagine of his own nature. We are welcome to dwell "like angels in heaven;" as my study bible puts it, a complete change of life. And the real Good News is that this transforming power is not merely something that exists after we leave life in this world, but it is always present to us now. When we pray, we join that circle of prayer that is in the communion of the entire Body of Christ, of those that live as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. In this circle of prayer, all are present to us. Over and over again, Jesus will demonstrate what my study bible calls "the power of God, which transforms us from death to life." This reviving, transforming power is not something that lives in heaven only, but is an ever-present reality for us, and it can also work in our lives to transform and heal, and is accessible always through prayer. Whatever needs help, as we walk through this world, may not necessarily "miraculously" transform in some sense of disappearing and changing in an instant. But this healing power through all situations is available as guidance and help, and love and comfort, as grace that guides us through difficult times, brings us new strength, and unexpected insight and transformation. And through prayer we also share it with others. May it always be with you. May you always draw upon it in prayer and this ever-present transformational power.