Bible
Study: Revelations 11, 4 to 12 and Luke 20, 27 to 40.
Have you ever taught a class of children? Perhaps, you would have notice
how they never seem to stop asking questions? Even when you have to repeat one
thing over and over again, somebody will still raise up his hand to say:
“Aunty, do you mean that so and so…..” At times, it can be very frustrating. In
my experience, I have come to discover when children would not stop asking
questions, it is a sign that they are no longer interested in learning. So the
best thing to do at that point is to start a song or design a playful activity.
If that works for children, what about adults? Well, one word that
characterizes grown-ups is “complicated.” We love to complicate things for our
teachers for two reasons; either we do not understand what they are saying or
we do not want to believe that what they are saying is true. So we create
difficult questions, with the sole aim of making a fool of our teachers. This
was exactly the case between Jesus and the Sadducees in today’s Gospel passage.
They obviously did not believe in the possibility of the resurrection so they
carefully hatched up a question. “Sir what happens to a woman who married seven
times, whose wife will she be at the resurrection?”
They thought Jesus would be dumbfounded not knowing they were only
publicly displaying their ignorance about the true meaning of resurrection. They
understood rising from the dead as resuscitation (coming back to earthly life a
second time). In the case of Lazarus, what happened was not resurrection but resuscitation.
Lazarus could have married more wives if he wanted to after Jesus woke him up
from death.
Resurrection is a whole different thing entirely. And Jesus used the
occasion to teach them about life at the resurrection. “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.” That last line
explains everything. We would become like Angels when we rise from the dead and
we would be immortal, that is, we would live forever.
I tend to laugh when I watch movies about people who were so much in
love with each other, then one dies and the other one goes off to take his/her
life so as to “join” their beloved! Rubbish!! If you commit suicide because
your spouse dies, remember that there is nothing like marriage in heaven!
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to understand the resurrection deeper
and deeper. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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