The Gospel for this Sunday is Lk 19:1-10
1. A word of introduction
The Sadducees wanted to ridicule belief in the resurrection. However, they did not expect that they might ridicule themselves. This happened when Jesus pointed out a very important argument.
2. Bible proofs
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward. Jesus said to them,
“(…) that the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘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.”
In order to understand this Gospel passage, it is necessary to point out that the Sadducees and Pharisees were two factions that existed at the time of Jesus. Among their many differences was a divergent approach to the resurrection. The Sadducees considered only the first five books of Scripture, called the Pentateuch or Torah, to be revealed by God. The Pharisees, on the other hand, considered as revealed not only the Torah, but the entire Hebrew Bible and even the oral tradition that was later written down.
The Sadducees believed that there was no mention of the resurrection in the first five books, while the Pharisees found many references to the resurrection in the Hebrew Bible, which also contains the books of the Prophets, Wisdom and Psalms, among others.
In this situation, Jesus presented the Sadducees with the argument that the resurrection is mentioned in the very Torah they recognized, specifically its second book, the book of Exodus. In doing so, he referred to God himself and Moses. For this, the Sadducees could no longer find a counter-argument. Wanting to discredit the belief in the resurrection, they discredited themselves.
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.
Jesus shocked many and continues to shock with these words. People will not marry and get married not only because they will not be parents in eternity. The point is that life in the world to come will not be like the present. It is difficult for us to imagine.
At the same time, Jesus points out the most important thing: That we “are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead.”
3. Today
What is my faith in the Resurrection? Scripture often shows that eternal life depends on both God’s mercy and a person’s life on earth. The Bible also emphasizes that “faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
What are my works? How much good is there in my life? What deeds is my faith mobilizing me to do in the coming week?
And today we celebrate...