RBWords

     The Sadducees were identifed as being of the aristocratic and conservative elements in Jerusalem who favored a "live and let live" arrangement with the Roman administration.  They were particularly connected with the High Priest and the temple system.  They accepted only the written Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) and had very little expectation, if any, of a future "messiah."  As such they denied faith in resurrection from the dead or life after death.  This made them enemies of the Pharisees, who accepted scriptures beyond the Torah and enemies of the "Zealot" party who despised the Romans!  St. Paul, before his conversion, was a Pharisee.  The intent of the Sadducees in this incident is to make both Jesus and the Pharisees (and their allies, the Scribes) look bad by asking an absurd question that is calculated to mock belief in the resurrection.  Jesus' reply is magisterial and neatly skewers the Sadducees because he not only asserts that they misunderstand what marriage is about but that there is indeed proof in the Torah for an afterlife!

     Although there is much to consider, theologically, in this story, I find myself reacting to the bad faith of the questioners.  After many years in campus ministry, I developed an intuition about questions that come from a desire to "trip" and a desire to learn.  Yet, even when the questions come from a "smug" attitude which betrays a total misunderstanding of an issue, it is a "teachable moment."  How does one give a response to the question while at the same time uncovering the attitude that prompted it?  Over and over again in the gospels, we see Jesus reading the heart of his opponents while responding to their criticisms.  This all comes down to a matter of integrity.  An honest seeker with a puzzling question is one thing - a good thing.  A snide and calculating interrogator is another.  The pastoral challenge is how to give both kinds what they truly need!   AMEN