God of the Living

" Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked Him a question,
' Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise the children for his brother. Now, there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally, the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the  woman be? For the seven had married her. '  Jesus said to them, ' The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die; for they are like angels; and they are the children of God, because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise, even Moses made known in the passage about the [burning] bush, and He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.' "  [ Luke 20: 27-38].


When I first read this Scripture, I was very confused. I was not sure how to take this reading, either in an historical sense, or in a contemporary sense.

What I have found out, first, is that this event occurred when Jesus was going from place to place, teaching about God, His Father, and about how to live.

At that time, there was no Christian church, and no Bible, per se. There was the Torah, the Jewish holy Book, comprised of the first five books of the Bible, from what we now call the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The Sadducees were an aristocratic ruling class, and among the priestly class. They claimed direct lineage from King Solomon. They believed in the Torah only. Therefore, they preached the law.

And --they did not believe in the resurrection.

Then Jesus came, preaching that one can only know the Father through Him; and we find Him talking about one day going back to His Father, who resides in Heaven.

And so, now from this perspective, I can see how the Sadducees would have thought Jesus was radical. Or crazy. Or blasephemous. Or even a criminal, to even attempt to overturn the rational order of the time.

This was a time in Christian history, the time Before Christ, when there were great controversies about who was a "real prophet" and who had the straight lineage to God.

As for my own life, I meditate upon the concept of resurrection. I try to imagine a life where there IS no resurrection: no, not just my own resurrection, but Jesus' before me.

In the month of November, which begins with All Souls Day, we reflect upon the loved ones in our lives who have died. We are grieving their loss. But we also are greatly heartened that they live on!

This is what Jesus is saying when he replies, " [The children of God] can no longer die, for they are like angels;and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. . . . for to Him all are alive."

Many, many years ago, when my mother-in-law died, I was overwhelmed, distraught and even depressed. I knew all about the concept of resurrection. I KNEW that this truly good and loving woman had gone on to Heaven. But to me, I was still stuck in that secular sense that she was lost, gone, dead.

On her deathbed, my mother-in-law whispered to me her prediction that I would someday convert to Catholicism. What she said to me about that seemed so ludicrous at the time, I wondered if she was telling the truth. I concluded that she must be wrong!

It was not until I converted many years later, that I looked up to Heaven and smiled a huge grin up at my mother-in-law.  Finally, I was understanding that this life, and the next, are not just about the Rules of religion, as in the Torah.

No, this life is a continuum of the next life, in the sense that we are all children of God.  And therefore, it makes no sense to debate about rules of marriage in Heaven. In this life, and especially in the next life, we belong, not to any human being,but to God.

Recently, a friend's mother-in-law died. Once again, I felt a profound sense of loss and grief. But my friend corrected me gently, saying, 'No. She is in a much better place. She is no longer in pain. All of her wounds are made perfect now. Actually, I am very happy for her, because of where she is now.'

I see now why my own mother-in-law encouraged me to convert. She was essentially inviting me to the table of the Lord-- in this life, at the Eucharist, yes; and to an even greater table, in the future promise of the resurrection. She knew that if I made my Christian vows and lived lovingly I, too, could rise to Heaven, and we would see each other again.

What an irresistible invitation! My  mother-in-law was not going to die, she was simply going home to her God.  And she is waiting there for me!

And now, my earthly grief can soften, and give way to sacred Joy, because God is not God of the dead, but God of the living.  For, to Him all are alive!

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