Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 10, 2019 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[2 Macc 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thess 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38 or 20:27, 34-38,207]"That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called our "Lord,' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive." [Luke]
The context of today's gospel story is important for understanding what seems to be an exercise in casuistry. The Sadducees were a group of priests and aristocrats who had "made peace" with the Roman occupiers and owed their positions in the temple and on the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) to Roman power. They also rejected any scriptures or traditions that they could not find a basis for in the first five books of the Bible, called the TORAH. As a result they refused to believe in a final resurrection because they could not find any basis for it in those books. This put them at odds with the Pharisees who did believe in a final resurrection and also recognized other scriptural resources and traditions. The first scripture from Maccabees shows the debate. The Sadducees and Pharisees were all ready to get rid of the dangerous preacher, Jesus, and brought him some thorny questions to find a basis for prosecuting him. Just before the incident in today's gospel, the scribes and Pharisees had posed the question about paying taxes to Caesar. Today it is the Sadducees' turn.
A final resurrection of the dead is such a part of the Christian faith, that the question posed by the Sadducees seems absurd. However, I sometimes get questions from people about whether or not this or that relationship, whether to person or pet, etc., will continue in heaven! In the Sadducees' question, it is a question of the survival of a marriage. In modern terms, someone might say, "Will I have to share heaven with my ex-spouse?" Jesus' reply to the Sadducees tells them, first of all, that even Moses implicitly recognized a final resurrection, and secondly, that marriage and other earthly relationships are irrelevant to eternal life after death. St. Paul is very explicit on this subject in 1 Cor. 15:36-58.
Life after death remains a matter of speculation for all believers. The abundance of "near-death" books is testimony to this. What we can count on and hope for is that God will provide for those who are faithful. The Communion of Saints will be cheering us on in that task! AMEN