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

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said to that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 22:23–40 

 

We are currently following the events of Holy Week.  Jesus has entered the holy city in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  He has cleansed the temple, and been subject to questioning from the religious leaders as to His authority to do so.  He has responded with two parables:  one declaring Himself to be the stone the builders rejected; the other about the wedding garment and the wedding of Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride the Church.  Yesterday we read that, after this, the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

  The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said to that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.  Christ tells the Sadducess, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."  Here my study Bible says that Christ confirms that there will be a resurrection, but not of the sort the Sadducees are imagining.  The Sadducees, for whom only the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch, or Torah) were held as sacred, and who formed a type of landowning aristocracy around Jerusalem, neither believed in an afterlife, nor in angels.  They consider the resurrection to be a continuation of earthly life (including marriage), and so they are mocking the doctrine of resurrection with what my study Bible calls an absurd scenario.  But, as Christ tells them, they are ignorant of the Scriptures -- which reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection.  Therefore, such an "earthly" question is irrelevant to the understanding of what resurrection is.  Moreover, they can't understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.   My study Bible declares that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed life in this world are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection. 

 

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."   My study Bible informs us that the Pharisees had fond 613 commandments in the Scriptures and debated about which one was central.  Here Jesus teaches the first and the second -- constituting the grand summary of the Law.  Although this lawyer has come with malice to test the Lord, my study Bible points out that in St. Mark's account, this man is converted by Christ's answer (see Mark 12:28-34).  It's also noted here that the second commandment should be understood as written:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself -- or more clearly, "as being yourself."  It's often misinterpreted to read "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself."  But this destroys the force of the statement, my study Bible says.  How much we love ourselves isn't the standard by which Christ calls us to love others.  Instead, we're called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we are; that is, created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  Patristic commentary teaches us that we find our true self in loving our neighbor.

In our recent readings, Jesus has spoken of the "wedding garment" (in the parable of the Wedding Feast), and how those without the proper garment (supplied by the King; that is, in the parable, God) will not be allowed to attend.  This wedding garment, given by the King, has been explained by my study Bible as first, one's baptismal garment, but beyond that, "a life of faith, repentance, virtue, and charity."  That is, it is woven from what we have done in our lives, particularly if we have lived faithfully, prayerfully.  This corresponds to the soul.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus was quizzed about the tax money, in an effort to trap Him by the Pharisees.  He pointed to Caesar's image on the coin of the tax money, and said, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But this must not be understood as separating life into two aspects of sacred and secular:  rather, all of life belongs to God, and we can render our due responsibility to the state without losing our connection to God.  The conflict comes when the state or other organization asks of us that which is contrary to God. Thus, the wedding garment, or the soul, our connection to God, is important to us all the time.  Here in today's reading, concerning the resurrection, there remains this sense about the soul.  But Christ teaches us about the transformation that happens in resurrection.  Jesus teaches the Sadducess about those in the resurrection:  "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."  But then He adds an even more significant teaching:  "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."   It is said that all life is in the hands of God and is sustained by God.  In this respect, it is the soul that contains our connection with God; therefore God has to be as Jesus says, the God of the living.  In a sense, this question and teaching following on the parable of the Wedding Feast Jesus gave earlier, says something essential about how we understand life.  We seek to preserve and sustain our souls, because this is our connection with God, our depth of connection to life itself.  If the soul perishes, then we lose our connection with God, our hope of the eternal life of resurrection ("For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Matthew 16:26).  To repeat the conclusion of my study Bible, "It is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed life in this world are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection."  Therefore faithful, prayerful living -- maintaining our connection with God, the root of life itself -- becomes the means whereby our souls are sustained in an eternal union with God.  In that sense of union, we return again to the theme of the wedding feast, when the Bridegroom, the Son, is united to His Bride, the Church, the faithful.  Let us see what the Sadducees are blind to.  In some sense, it is the flesh they see, and understand the Law as essential correction, perhaps, for the desires of the flesh that lead to sin.  But salvation in the sense that we understand it, that which leads to this eternal life depicted in the resurrection, asks more of us, as Christ explained to the rich young ruler (who was perhaps himself a Sadducee).  That rich man was told by Christ to sell what he had, give to the poor.  Thereby he would have "treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  That particular man was asked to give up his wealth and give to the poor for treasure in heaven; but, as my study Bible explained in that reading, we each will be called in different ways to follow Christ -- and this trust in Christ, this faith, is what leads to eternal life, the resurrection of which these Sadducees are ignorant.  When we ponder "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" we must consider what it means that "all live to God," because again, what this means is that there isn't a separation between the sacred and secular, nor even the life of the resurrection from our present life in the sense that we are always choosing to "live to God" or not.  The latter part of today's reading is also relevant to this understanding, for in loving our neighbor "as ourselves" -- that is, as being of the same substance, created in the image and likeness of God as we are -- we are weave our wedding garment as we are taught.  And, it's important to note, this commandment does not divide life into the sacred and secular either.  Moreover, the living of this commandment enforces that we might have treasures in heaven through our lives in this world, although life in the resurrection is something different in quality than the life we know, changed and transfigured.  But we are asked by Christ to "come, follow Me," for He is the One who merged a human soul with the divine will, making it possible for us all to enter the resurrected life.  Let us continually seek to follow Him, and be aware of what we are doing when we so choose.  Let us live to Him.

 

 

Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward

 

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

 

- John 13:36-38 

 

In our previous reading (John 12:27-36), Jesus was preparing for His journey to the Cross, His hour of glorification.  He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."  In today's reading, the lectionary skips ahead, to the end of chapter 13.  Jesus and the disciples are at the Last Supper, and this conversation takes place just prior to His last address to His disciples.  My study Bible comments on this passage that Jesus' first words to Simon Peter ("Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward") are in fact a prophecy of his martyrdom.  St. Peter would suffer martyrdom for the sake of Christ by being crucified upside down in Rome in about AD 67 (see John 21:18-19).  

In today's short reading, at first glance we might think that the focus is on Peter's denial.  But my study Bible places the emphasis on Christ's prophecy of Peter's martyrdom which is to come, Peter's own great sacrifice for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 17:33; John 12:25).  If we take a look at some of the other passages which accompany this one in today's lectionary reading, we see a common theme of sacrifice.  The Old Testament reading is from Genesis 22:1-14, the story of Abraham's being called to sacrifice his son Isaac.  This story seems to many people to be cruel; they wonder why God would call Abraham to do such a thing, even if God did not intend for this to happen.  After all, Israel lived side-by-side with hostile neighboring peoples whose gods demanded such things.  But if we look closely at the story, it is not a story of a god demanding cruelties in order to be pleased, but a story even about God's provision, of unexpected abundance.  It is a story of trust in God, and yes, sacrifice in the sense that Abraham reserves nothing in his love for and obedience to God.  But in the end, seeing a ram caught in a thicket, Abraham names the place The-Lord-Will-Provide.  This is a story of absolute trust in God, even in the most difficult of circumstances, the sacrifice of what we love.  It's echoed in Christ's prophecy of Peter's own martyrdom, a trust that entrusts everything to God's providence, even one's own life.  The other Gospel reading from John gives us a different kind of a sacrifice.  John 19:38-42 tells us the story of two wealthy and powerful men of Jerusalem, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.  Both of them were members of the ruling council.  Nicodemus we know was a Pharisee (John 3:1).  Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man (Matthew 27:57), and also a prominent ruler on the Council (Mark 15:43).  Joseph, in going to Pilate to ask for Christ's body, was making a very courageous and bold choice, and risking everything in his life to do so, for as a member of the Council which pressured Pilate to put Jesus to death, he is defying them and their conclusions about Jesus.  After all, Jesus as a crucified Man is in some sense declared among the worst of criminals according to the Roman laws of punishment.  In this sense, He "became sin" for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), taking on this mantle of public shame and condemnation that went with crucifixion.  Joseph moreover donates a new (and quite expensive) and unused tomb hewn in stone (suggesting it was his own tomb; see Matthew 27:60), while Nicodemus donates the expensive myrrh and aloes for burial, a public act of love for Christ.  Both of these men risk their lives, their substance, and their places in the society to do so.  My study Bible says that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem. St. John Chrysostom has suggested that Joseph of Arimathea was among the Seventy noted in Luke's Gospel (Luke 10:1-17).  At any rate as believers in the early Church, there is no doubt of what persecution and loss they faced.  When we look at each of these sacrifices -- the apostleship and martyrdom of St. Peter, the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the public donations and declaration of devotion to Christ by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, what we see are various forms of "investment" that comes with entrusting one's life and devotion to God, and all the things that are a part of one's life and oneself.  None of these men knew necessarily what the future held, but their whole trust was in God, in Christ -- Abraham, the first to know the promise; Peter the wavering disciple who would become leader and martyr; and the prominent men of the Council, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Each one made choices for a willing sacrifice, an exchange for something more powerful, more essential, a deeper entrusting to God and to God's provision, whether in their own lives or in the greater story of the salvation of the world (John 3:16).  Jesus, of course, goes to the Cross, showing us all what it means to sacrifice for love.  We are now concluding the period of Lent (next week for the Orthodox), a traditional time of the practice of sacrifice, of fasting.  Let us consider these passages and what it means to learn to make choices based on discernment, to sacrifice or give something up because we are essentially investing in something better, greater, that commands a deeper and greater love and loyalty.  This is the substance of what it means to choose, especially when we come to a crossroads.  A marriage is similar; there will be sacrifices we're called to make for the sake of a marriage, or of a child, or an elderly parent.   There will be times when an investment in where God leads us becomes the risk we take, the worthy sacrifice for something more beautiful, more good, more true than whatever other appetites or desires would call for.  This is why we learn discipleship, so that we may become the "sons of light" Jesus names in yesterday's reading, above.  Let us walk in His light, even when it is difficult and there are hard choices to make, for we know the road and the Kingdom it leads to. 

He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

- Luke 20:27-40

Yesterday we read that after Jesus gave the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (which the leadership perceived was told against them),  the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."    The Sadducees were a kind of gentry of Jerusalem, a land-owning class who formed part of the leadership of the Temple.  The question reflects concerns for property and title, as children were considered (as indicated in the question) as belonging to their fathers, extending his name and his property and in this sense, his life and memory.  Among other things, as indicated by the question, they disbelieved in resurrection, and accepted only Mosaic Law as authoritative (as opposed to the oral traditions also held by the Pharisees).  They represented the priestly aristocracy and the power structure of Israel.  The duties of religion for them centered around the Temple.  After the Siege of Jerusalem, the Sadducees died out as a party.

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.   Jesus confirms that there is indeed a resurrection, but it is not the life that the Sadducees imagine.  For them, the concept of resurrection must mean some sort of continuation of earthly life (including earthy marriage), and they are mocking the idea with a rather absurd scenario.  Christ teaches them that they are ignorant of nature of the resurrection, in which there is no death and no marriage.   As Christ shows, they are not considering the evidence of Scripture, which speaks of the Lord as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," and thereby of all who live to Him -- even those such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who have physically died.  My study bible tells us that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

 Christ promises us life, and life in abundance (John 10:10).  In all ways, and through all teachings, one way and another, Christ gives us life and promises us more life.  Thus is the teaching of resurrection always held and kept as promise in all of his teachings, even for our lives in the here and the now.  Eternal life becomes the promise not just of life everlasting but life in this moment, a kind of presence with us and within us that enlivens the life that we have, quickens and deepens its meanings and its foundations, and gives us courage in the nature of God's steadfast love which sustains us through all things.  Even though death, God's love sustains who we are.  The everlasting and eternal nature of this life comes to us even more clearly in Christ's teaching that time is absent from the ultimate nature of things.  In other words, if Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all live to God, as Christ says, then life is sustained as a kind of perennial "now," present and with us.  We understand through this nature of life in God the communion of the saints, who pray with us.  We understand the kingdom of God that lives in us (Luke 17:20-21).  And life in abundance doesn't stop with concepts of resurrection nor even the Kingdom that is present to us, but also is found within the Transfiguration, which illustrates the work of this Holy Kingdom and of the Spirit in each of our lives, also bringing more life -- life in abundance -- to the lives we live and know.  How does prayer pick us up and illuminate our lives through a problem we may be "stuck in"?  How does life in community, in the moment of insight during a church service, as response to true intention, come to us with help from the Helper?  What is it that gives hope and a way when life in worldly terms seems to be blocked somehow?  More than this, Who is it whose own suffering brings meanings to our suffering, who suffers with us?  Let us consider all the ways that Christ brings life overflowing and abundant into our lives as we understand them, and let us consider the nature of our resurrection.  We all live in Him.  That is a promise that spills over into everything we can name or think about.  It is His love that sustains us through all things.

He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

- Luke 20:27-40

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in the temple teaching.  It is Holy Week, the week of Jesus' Passion, as we read through Luke's gospel.  Jesus has just spoken a parable against the leadership in the presence of the crowds.  He quoted from Scripture, warning them:  The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people--for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."    My study bible explains, "The Sadducees:  the high priestly and landowning class which controlled the temple and the Jewish Council.  In a striking difference with the Pharisees, the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead and they came to Christ to dispute it."

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."  Here in Jesus' answer we have an intriguing glimpse of the resurrection, of "life after death."  These few details have caused endless theological treatises on the life that we look forward to, and they continue to fuel our understanding of what the afterlife is like, the future for mankind in God's eternal plan.  That those in the resurrection "neither marry nor are given in marriage" nor do they die anymore, that they are "equal to the angels and are sons of God" as "sons of the resurrection" has opened up our eyes to the possibilities in this transfiguration of resurrection.  Clearly we await a different sort of a life than the one we have lived in this world.  Along with the visitations of the Risen Christ, these are the teachings to which we turn to understand something of the eternity, the "age to come" that awaits His return.

"But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  My study bible says that "Jesus' answer is concise and irrefutable.  Since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, both those who are physically alive and those who are deceased, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all live to Him."

It's quite striking how awed the scribes are at Jesus' answer.  It's clear that His expertise in dialogue and debate is extraordinary.  His answers remain to us remarkable, concise, deft, irrefutable.  But that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, is a remarkable statement to think about.  It gives us first of all an affirmation about the nature and Person of God to begin with, that God is life.  All things originate with our Creator, and all things live to and in the life of God.  So we take our assurance about our own lives when we practice our faith, when we pray, when we seek the word and life of God.  Jesus has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life."   He has also taught that "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  In Christ is the abundant life that we wish to have more of in our own lives.  Through participation in the energies of this God to whom all live, we seek life in abundance, and we receive that which constitutes life -- and life more abundantly.  Furthermore we are assured that all live to Him.  Those whom we love are not lost to us, but they live to Him as well.  The Patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, referred to in the burning bush passage, live as do the saints, and we are in communion with them.  We trust that in that life of God, the life of Christ, we all live to Him.  It is a promise about eternity, and time, just as the promise of the life in the age to come, made so tantalizingly here with a few hints about that life in that age, gives us a sense of life as eternal and the promise of the Resurrection.  As we go through Passion Week, we will see those determined to put Him to death, and we know His human suffering.  But He is our Teacher of life.  His word is with us that we may have it more abundantly.  Let us consider our prayer and worship; that when we do so we enter into this life, abundantly, that He promises.  How does it activate things in you that need healing, and perhaps to take a look at?  How does it contribute to your life through a deepened sense of wonder, of joy, of understanding -- perhaps of transcendence?  Let us remember, as noted in yesterday's reading, that every good and perfect gift is from above.  We have the gift of life, and Christ came that we may have it more abundantly.  While the world may be full of sorrows, let us remember that in His life we also may have joy, and that it promises to be for us, "abundantly."  In the image of the burning bush, let us understand the "fire" and energies of God, that burn but don't consume  --  that continue to fire and illumine our lives with God's presence. 

For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife." Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

- Luke 20:27-40

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was questioned by those who seek to trap Him. He was asked, "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus asked to be shown a Roman coin. He then asked, "Whose image and inscription is on it?" The reply came, "Caesar's." Jesus taught, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

My study bible has a note on today's entire passage: "The Sadducees: the high priestly and landowning class which controlled the temple and the Jewish Council. In a striking difference with the Pharisees, the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead and they came to Christ to dispute it. Jesus' answer is concise and irrefutable. Since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, both those who are physically alive and those who are deceased, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all live to Him (vv. 37, 38)."

I think this story is important for a number of reasons, and I'd like to focus on the glimpses it gives us of another reality which Christ brings to us through His answer. Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother." We first consider the worldly perspective and the essential importance of offspring to continue lineage, family, heritage. We understand this question to be given by those who do not believe in resurrection - so for them, this worldly perspective is all-important, the central focus of religious life.

"Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife." The central question here remains a question of property, family name, lineage and heritage. Whose wife is she? To which brother does she belong? We remember that this is a question posed by those who do not believe in resurrection -- it is a question from a worldly perspective which is challenging One who is teaching resurrection.

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." Jesus gives us His perspective, and the perspective of the eternal kingdom. No longer are there concerns of property, lineage, inheritance - nor even the necessity for offspring stemming from these concerns. In "that age" - the nature of an eternal kingdom - no one marries or is given in marriage, all concerns of property, lineage, inheritance are gone. In fact, all understanding of the necessities of life and continuation are completely shifted: no one dies. There is eternal life. They are "equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." The implications of this statement are remarkable, and we can only ponder what it is to be equal to the angels and sons of God. But the promise is clear: not only is life altered, unimaginably, and the nature of time, but our very being is shifted into a different sort of status, with implications for what the duties and life in that kingdom will be for those who are of "that age," sons of the resurrection.

But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." But after that they dared not question Him anymore. For the experts on the Law, Jesus turns to Moses, to explain the hints of this kingdom and "this age" of the resurrection that are already there in Scripture. "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" is an eternal, ever-present God, with an ever-present reality that is part of the life of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who are not merely deceased (our perspective) but who live in that God. Therefore Moses himself has given us glimpses of this eternal life, this communion of saints, in which all live and are eternally present. Even Moses has understood that "He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." We recall that Jesus sent out His apostles, telling them to preach, "The kingdom of heaven has come near." So, this very present glimpse of the kingdom, which Jesus preaches and embodies, is itself the presence and reality of God - and that which we must consider present to us, even "in our midst" and as we live life in our worldly perspective of "this age."

As Advent comes to us, we have a sense of the light dawning, coming into our lives. This story today is in a sense the perfect teaching for Advent, as we are to understand the reality of this kingdom breaking through "in our midst" - and its presence to us. That dawning light reminds us that something is coming to bring the kingdom and its entire reality to us, to be in our midst, among us, within us. So, how do you think of Advent at this time? If it is not to make that kingdom more real, more powerful, more present, I do not know what the purpose is. What is the nature of life itself, life abundantly, He brings? He gives us the perspective we need in order to understand more fully our lives, our natures, and the things for which we are destined and capable. We are to be "equal to the angels," "sons of God." The incredible impact of this light is its gift of life in abundance, and the brilliant honor to creation - and we human beings - that this story lifts us into. The God of the living teaches us about an eternal communion, eternal life, freeing us from the slavery of death and all it stands for in our worldly perspective. What does this light mean to you? How does it break through into your life and teach you about what you are capable of being, of living to? In the communion of saints, we have life - abundantly - to call upon to help us through. How does the kingdom's light break through to you?