Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs
[Tobit 3:1-11A, 16-17A and Mark 12:18-27]Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
Jesus' "adversary du jour" are the Sadducees, "who say there is no resurrection." Again the motivation is to trap Jesus somehow in order to provide an excuse for arresting him. This time the question is almost amusing, were it not for the motives! I feel sorry for the poor woman. There is an echo of her in the first scripture of the day from Tobit! Jesus' response has two effects for me. The first is to deal with the motivations of the questioners. The second, however, provides considerable theological food on two matters: marriage as an earthly reality and God as God of the Living, which gives assurance of eternal life! We are left to imagine what our life with God after death will be like, but we are assured that we will be alive with God! For that assurance, I am grateful to the Sadducees for asking their question. AMEN