Sunday Reflection
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
November 7, 2010
For us to fully understand and
appreciate the context of the Gospel, I found it necessary to read materials on
Judaism which was the religion of Jesus. Traditional Judaism firmly believes
that the death of a person is not the end of his existence. But since the
teachings on Judaism is primarily focused on the present life, the concept of the afterlife has been a
gray area which has been left for personal opinion.
Some Jews, like the Pharisees,
believe in resurrection. To the others, resurrection means that the soul is
incorruptible and goes to a certain place like heaven if the person was
righteous. Others believe that the resurrection pertains to the rising of the
dead. The Pharisees were traditionalist, who espoused the teachings in scriptures as well as those orally passed on from generation to the next. They did not limit themselves with what was written in the Scriptures but on traditions and rituals that were handed down by their forefathers.
Other Jews, like the Sadducees, who
were also aristocratic and learned jews, did not embrace the concept of
resurrection since it was not documented in the the Torah (the first five books
in the old testament). No one who resurrected was able to
document it. They disagreed much with the Pharisees, because they limited themselves with what was written in the Scriptures. But the Pharisees and Sadducees agreed on one thing- Jesus was a threat to them and had to be taken cared of.
The encounter of Jesus with the
Sadducees has been documented by St. Luke, St. Mathew and St. Mark. You will find the pertinent passages qouted below.
The Sadducees questioned Jesus
not because they wanted to know the truth, but because they wanted to trick
Jesus. Since they did not believe in the Resurrection, the formulated a case
involving the application of the Levirate law which eventually would support
their stand that there is no resurrection. It was a question that was carefully
crafted with only one purpose- to ridicule Jesus.
Under the levirate law
[1], polygamy
is allowed. A brother is obligated to marry the widow of his childless
deceased brother, with the firstborn child treated as that of the deceased
brother
[2], which
renders the child, the heir of the deceased brother and not the genetic father.
The purpose was for the protection for the widow and her children, ensuring that they
have a male provider responsible for them. This also maintains the family line
of the deceased brother for estate purposes.
The practice was extremely
important in ancient societies and remains so today in some parts of the world,
such as
China,
Indonesia,
Somalia,
Nigeria,
and even in practiced in Islamic nations.
[3]
This is more of practical purposes rather than religious belief, because it
was to assure that the tribe would increase and not be extinguished.
Unfortunately, the purpose of the
law would contradict the concept of resurrection considering that there would have
been no need for the other brothers to marry the widow if their dead brother would eventually resurrect. Hence, Jesus was put in on the spot
and tested on public matters concerning the law vis-à-vis his stand on the concept of Resurrection.
Jesus could have opted not to
answer the trick question because for the non-believer, no answer would
suffice, and for the believer, no explanation is necessary.
Yet Jesus replied, “The people of
this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy
of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither
marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like
the angels.
At first, I thought that the answer
of Jesus was not responsive. But after perusal, the answer is structured in a deductive manner.
Jesus begins his answer by saying that there are two ages, this age and
that age. The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. If the people
of this age are worthy, they will join the people of “that age”; The
resurrection from the dead is given to the people in “that age”, which is an
age where they can no longer die for they are like angels.
In the second part of Jesus's answer, he culminates by
correcting the distorted view of the Sadducees by citing the Torah, and quoted
Moses, who had personal knowledge due to his encounter with God (through the
burning bush), that there is a resurrection. This is when God introduced
himself as the God of the living, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Which
means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are living or have been resurrected. This silenced the Sadducees, since nobody refuted Moses.
The concept of Resurrection is
intimately connected with the concept of Heaven.
Contrary to popular belief, it
is worthy to note that we belong to the age that embraces the fact that Heaven
is not a place but a state of being.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that "heaven
is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of
supreme, definitive happiness.
"
The is consistently proclaimed by
the late Pope John Paul II when he said that
“"The
'heaven' or 'happiness' in which we will find ourselves is neither an
abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a living, personal
relationship with the Holy Trinity. It is our meeting with the Father which
takes place in the risen Christ through the communion of the Holy Spirit.
”
Even Pope Benedict XVI gave
this explanation of what is meant by heaven when he said that
” We all experience
that when people die they continue to exist, in a certain way, in the memory
and heart of those who knew and loved them. We might say that a part of the
person lives on in them but it resembles a "shadow" because this
survival in the heart of their loved ones is destined to end. God, on the
contrary, never passes away and we all exist by virtue of his love. We exist
because he loves us, because he conceived of us and called us to life. We exist
in God's thoughts and in God's love. We exist in the whole of our reality, not
only in our "shadow". Our serenity, our hope and our peace are based
precisely on this: in God, in his thoughts and in his love, it is not merely a
"shadow" of ourselves that survives but rather we are preserved and
ushered into eternity with the whole of our being in him, in his creator love.
It is his Love that triumphs over death and gives us eternity and it is this
love that we call "Heaven": God is so great that he also makes room
for us. And Jesus the man, who at the same time is God, is the guarantee for us
that the being-man and the being-God can exist and live, the one within the
other, for eternity.
”
Bearing this in mind, it could be
argued that we belong to "the age" of the resurrection, an age where we can resurrect from SIN. When we are resurrected from SIN, we become like the
angels, who are in a state of supreme and definitive happiness for being recipients of God’s
Love, regardless of whether we are married or not.
BEING IN HEAVEN doesn't have to mean GOING THERE after all.
__________________________________________________________________________
Luke 20:27-40 Some of the
Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28
“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and
leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children
for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a
woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and
in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died
too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven
were married to her?” 34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are
given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in
that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given
in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.66 They
are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the
account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the
Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is
not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 39 Some
of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared
to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22:23-33 That
same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a
question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without
having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25
Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and
since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing
happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27
Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she
be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29 Jesus replied, “You
are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At
the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will
be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you
not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
Mark 12:18-27 Then the
Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19
“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and
leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children
for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and
died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he
also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none
of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the
resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 24
Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or
the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given
in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead
rising—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how
God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly
mistaken!”
