Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 502
Lectionary: 502
As King Antiochus
was traversing the inland provinces,
he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,
famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and that its temple was very rich,
containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons
left there by Alexander, son of Philip,
king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city.
But he could not do so,
because his plan became known to the people of the city
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army
and been driven back by the children of Israel;
that they had grown strong
by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions
taken from the armies they had destroyed;
that they had pulled down the Abomination
which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem;
and that they had surrounded with high walls
both the sanctuary, as it had been before,
and his city of Beth-zur.
When the king heard this news,
he was struck with fear and very much shaken.
Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
“Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,
famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and that its temple was very rich,
containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons
left there by Alexander, son of Philip,
king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city.
But he could not do so,
because his plan became known to the people of the city
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army
and been driven back by the children of Israel;
that they had grown strong
by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions
taken from the armies they had destroyed;
that they had pulled down the Abomination
which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem;
and that they had surrounded with high walls
both the sanctuary, as it had been before,
and his city of Beth-zur.
When the king heard this news,
he was struck with fear and very much shaken.
Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
“Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 9:2-3, 4 AND 6, 16 AND 19
R. (see 16a) I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
Because my enemies are turned back,
overthrown and destroyed before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor shall the hope of the afflicted forever perish.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
Because my enemies are turned back,
overthrown and destroyed before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor shall the hope of the afflicted forever perish.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
GospelLK 20:27-40
Some Sadducees,
those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to 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 bush,
when he called ‘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.”
Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to 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 bush,
when he called ‘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.”
Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
Meditation: "All
live to him"
Is your
life earthbound or heavenbound? The Sadducees had one big problem – they could
not conceive of heaven beyond what they could see with their naked eyes! Aren't
we often like them? We don't recognize spiritual realities because we try to
make heaven into an earthly image. The Sadducees came to Jesus with a test question
to make the resurrection look ridiculous. The Sadducees, unlike the Pharisees,
did not believe in immortality, nor in angels or evil spirits. Their religion
was literally grounded in an earthly image of heaven. Jesus retorts by dealing
with the fact of the resurrection. The scriptures give proof of it. In Exodus
3:6, when God manifests his presence to Moses in the burning bush, the Lord
tells him that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He
shows that the patriarchs who died hundreds of years previously were still
alive in God. Jesus defeats their arguments by showing that God is a living God
of a living people. God was the friend of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when they
lived. That friendship could not cease with death. As Psalm 73:23-24 states: "I
am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your
counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." The
ultimate proof of the resurrection is the Lord Jesus and his victory over death
when he rose from the tomb. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he
exclaimed: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes
in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25). Jesus
asks us the same question. Do you believe in the resurrection and in the
promise of eternal life with God?
The Holy
Spirit reveals to us the eternal truths of God's unending love and the life he
desires to share with us for all eternity. Paul the Apostle, quoting from the
prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:4; 65:17) states: "What no eye has seen,
nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those
who love him," God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:9-10). The promise of paradise – heavenly bliss and unending life
with an all-loving God – is beyond human reckoning. We have only begun to taste
the first-fruits! Do you live now in the joy and hope of the life of the age to
come?
"May
the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to
look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May he open the eyes that are
concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may he unseal the
heart's vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord,
Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending
succession of ages." (Prayer of Origen, 185-254 AD)
 Christ Is the Answer |
|
Saturday of the
Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
|
|
Luke 20: 27-40
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no
resurrection, came to him 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 up 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, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but
those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the
resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed
they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of
God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are
raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of
the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now
he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are
alive." Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have
spoken well." For they no longer dared to ask him another question.
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the Alpha and the Omega.
You have given me life and offer me eternal life with you. You deserve my
honor, gratitude and love, and yet you never impose yourself upon me. Thank
you for respecting my freedom so that I can offer myself to you. All that I
have is yours; I return it to you.
Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to be a child of God, a
child of the resurrection.
1. Simple and Constant Conversation: Today we see some Sadducees asking Christ an
important question about heaven. Christ teaches us that once we are in
heaven, things will be considerably different than they are here on earth.
This is a beautiful example how we can converse with Christ. We simply need
to ask him questions: questions about our faith, about difficulties we may be
having with certain relationships, about career changes, etc. The answers we
receive may not be what we were expecting or hoping for, but what is
important is that we engage Christ in conversation every day and that we seek
to please him in everything we do. This open, warm contact with Our Lord is
already a little taste of heaven.
2. Union with Christ: Christ reminds us that he and the Father are
the God of the living. He gave us our life; we lost it. He became man,
suffered, died and rose on the third day that we might have a new life — a
life in and with God, now and for all eternity. Our ultimate marriage will be
in heaven, as we will be one with God as Jesus is.
3. Participation in the Life of God: When God reveals his mysteries to us, we
participate in his life. God has made us so we would pursue him, so we would
listen to him, so we would understand him, so we would crave the things of
God. Is not that a mystery unto itself? We have a God who wants to speak with
us constantly about the things of heaven! This reality, this inestimable
gift, should move us to share with others the Good News.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, through your death and
resurrection and my baptism, you have made me a child of God. Help me to
appreciate more fully this day and what it means to be a child of God. Grant
me the grace to live in accord with this gift of gifts.
Resolution: Today I will look on all things as if God
were speaking to me in every moment.
|
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, LUKE 20:27-40
(1 Maccabees 6:1-13; Psalm 9)
(1 Maccabees 6:1-13; Psalm 9)
KEY VERSE: "They are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise" (v 36).
READING: A group of Sadducees tried to entrap Jesus regarding the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Since Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, they proposed an absurd situation in which seven brothers married the same woman in succession leaving her childless at their deaths. The Sadducees sarcastically asked Jesus whose wife would she be in the supposed resurrection. Jesus silenced his opponents by exposing their ignorance of the scriptures. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all died but they were eternally alive in God (Ex 3:6), as were all who had faith. These religious leaders must forfeit their position as teachers as Jesus was the authentic interpreter of God's word. Our relationship with him should transcend all earthly ones.
REFLECTING: Can I explain my belief in the resurrection to those who question it?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, I pray that my loved ones and I will share eternal life with you one day.
November 23, Optional Memorial of Clement I,
pope and martyr; Columban, abbot; Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, priest
and martyr
Clement was the fourth Pope and Apostolic
Father. The Basilica of St Clement in Rome is one of the earliest parish
churches in the city, and is probably built on the site of Clement's home. He
is the author of the "Epistle to the Corinthians". His name occurs in
the Canon of the Mass. Origen and St Jerome identify him as working with Saint
Paul the Apostle.
Columban was an Irish monk. He went to France and founded many monasteries which he guided with strict discipline. Soon his followers were also building monasteries in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. He was forced into exile by the Frankish King. He went to Italy and founded there the monastery at Bobbio, which was a center of culture and learning as well as spirituality.
Miguel was born to privilege, but he had great affinity for the poor and working classes. As a Jesuit novice, he was exiled during the Mexican revolution. Ordained in Belgium in 1925 at age 36, he returned to Mexico in 1926, a time when churches were closed, priests were in hiding, and persecution of the Church was policy. Fr Miguel used disguises to conduct an underground ministry, bringing the comfort of charity and the sacraments to the faithful. He was falsely accused in 1927 of a bombing attempt. Pro became a wanted man, was betrayed to the police, and without trial, he was sentenced to death. As he was about to be shot, he forgave his executioners, refused a blindfold, and died shouting "Love live Christ the King!" The government prohibited a public funeral, but the faithful lined the streets when his body passed.
Columban was an Irish monk. He went to France and founded many monasteries which he guided with strict discipline. Soon his followers were also building monasteries in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. He was forced into exile by the Frankish King. He went to Italy and founded there the monastery at Bobbio, which was a center of culture and learning as well as spirituality.
Miguel was born to privilege, but he had great affinity for the poor and working classes. As a Jesuit novice, he was exiled during the Mexican revolution. Ordained in Belgium in 1925 at age 36, he returned to Mexico in 1926, a time when churches were closed, priests were in hiding, and persecution of the Church was policy. Fr Miguel used disguises to conduct an underground ministry, bringing the comfort of charity and the sacraments to the faithful. He was falsely accused in 1927 of a bombing attempt. Pro became a wanted man, was betrayed to the police, and without trial, he was sentenced to death. As he was about to be shot, he forgave his executioners, refused a blindfold, and died shouting "Love live Christ the King!" The government prohibited a public funeral, but the faithful lined the streets when his body passed.
I will rejoice in your salvation, O
Lord.
He is God, not of the dead, but of the living.Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as living—their spirits live on, and so do ours. People have such odd ideas about life after death. St Paul reminds us that eyes have not seen nor ears heard what God has prepared for those who love him. Some believe that those of other faiths will be ‘shut out of heaven’, yet we can be consoled by the words in the Eucharistic prayer: ‘... all whose faith is known to you alone’. Faith is caught, not taught, and, as we come to the end of our Year of Faith, it is time to reflect on how our faith has been deepened. Jesus speaks of our resurrection. This can fill us with hope and confidence, as we recall our own lost, loved ones in this month of the Holy Souls.
November 23
Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro
(1891-1927)
Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro
(1891-1927)
¡Viva Cristo Rey! (Long live Christ the
King) were the last words Father Pro uttered before he was executed for being a
Catholic priest and serving his flock.
Born into
a prosperous, devout family in Guadalupe de Zacatecas, Mexico, he entered the
Jesuits in 1911 but three years later fled to Granada, Spain, because of
religious persecution in Mexico. He was ordained in Belgium in 1925.
He
immediately returned to Mexico, where he served a Church forced to go
“underground.” He celebrated the Eucharist clandestinely and ministered the
other sacraments to small groups of Catholics.
He and
his brother Roberto were arrested on trumped-up charges of attempting to
assassinate Mexico’s president. Roberto was spared but Miguel was sentenced to
face a firing squad on November 23, 1927. His funeral became a public
demonstration of faith. He was beatified in 1988.
Comment:
When Father Miguel Pro was executed in 1927, no one could have predicted that 52 years later the bishop of Rome would visit Mexico, be welcomed by its president and celebrate open-air Masses before thousands of people. Blessed John Paul II made additional trips to Mexico in 1990, 1993, 1999 and 2002. Those who outlawed the Catholic Church in Mexico did not count on the deeply rooted faith of its people and the willingness of many of them, like Miguel Pro, to die as martyrs.
When Father Miguel Pro was executed in 1927, no one could have predicted that 52 years later the bishop of Rome would visit Mexico, be welcomed by its president and celebrate open-air Masses before thousands of people. Blessed John Paul II made additional trips to Mexico in 1990, 1993, 1999 and 2002. Those who outlawed the Catholic Church in Mexico did not count on the deeply rooted faith of its people and the willingness of many of them, like Miguel Pro, to die as martyrs.
Quote:
During his homily at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II said that Father Pro “is a new glory for the beloved Mexican nation, as well as for the Society of Jesus. His life of sacrificing and intrepid apostolate was always inspired by a tireless evangelizing effort. Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away (see John 16:22). Indeed, the deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto death.”
During his homily at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II said that Father Pro “is a new glory for the beloved Mexican nation, as well as for the Society of Jesus. His life of sacrificing and intrepid apostolate was always inspired by a tireless evangelizing effort. Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away (see John 16:22). Indeed, the deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto death.”
November 23
St. Columban
(543?-615)
St. Columban
(543?-615)
Columban was the greatest of the Irish missionaries who worked on
the European continent. As a young man who was greatly tormented by
temptations of the flesh, he sought the advice of a religious woman who
had lived a hermit’s life for years. He saw in her answer a call to leave the
world. He went first to a monk on an island in Lough Erne, then to the great
monastic seat of learning at Bangor.
After
many years of seclusion and prayer, he traveled to Gaul (modern-day France)
with 12 companion missionaries. They won wide respect for the rigor of their
discipline, their preaching, and their commitment to charity and religious life
in a time characterized by clerical laxity and civil strife. Columban
established several monasteries in Europe which became centers of religion and
culture.
Like all
saints, he met opposition. Ultimately he had to appeal to the pope against
complaints of Frankish bishops, for vindication of his orthodoxy and approval
of Irish customs. He reproved the king for his licentious life, insisting that
he marry. Since this threatened the power of the queen mother, Columban was
deported to Ireland. His ship ran aground in a storm, and he continued his work
in Europe, ultimately arriving in Italy, where he found favor with the king of
the Lombards. In his last years he established the famous monastery of Bobbio,
where he died. His writings include a treatise on penance and against Arianism,
sermons, poetry and his monastic rule.
Comment:
Now that public sexual license is becoming extreme, we need the Church's jolting memory of a young man as concerned about chastity as Columban. And now that the comfort-captured Western world stands in tragic contrast to starving millions, we need the challenge to austerity and discipline of a group of Irish monks. They were too strict, we say; they went too far. How far shall we go?
Now that public sexual license is becoming extreme, we need the Church's jolting memory of a young man as concerned about chastity as Columban. And now that the comfort-captured Western world stands in tragic contrast to starving millions, we need the challenge to austerity and discipline of a group of Irish monks. They were too strict, we say; they went too far. How far shall we go?
Quote:
Writing to the pope about a doctrinal controversy in Lombardy, Columban said: “We Irish, living in the farthest parts of the earth, are followers of St. Peter and St. Paul and of the disciples who wrote down the sacred canon under the Holy Spirit. We accept nothing outside this evangelical and apostolic teaching.... I confess I am grieved by the bad repute of the chair of St. Peter in this country.... Though Rome is great and known afar, she is great and honored with us only because of this chair.... Look after the peace of the Church, stand between your sheep and the wolves.”
Writing to the pope about a doctrinal controversy in Lombardy, Columban said: “We Irish, living in the farthest parts of the earth, are followers of St. Peter and St. Paul and of the disciples who wrote down the sacred canon under the Holy Spirit. We accept nothing outside this evangelical and apostolic teaching.... I confess I am grieved by the bad repute of the chair of St. Peter in this country.... Though Rome is great and known afar, she is great and honored with us only because of this chair.... Look after the peace of the Church, stand between your sheep and the wolves.”
LECTIO: LUKE
20,27-40
Lectio:
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of all that is good,
keep us faithful in serving you,
for to serve you is our lasting joy.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
keep us faithful in serving you,
for to serve you is our lasting joy.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Luke 20,27-40
Some Sadducees -- those who argue that there is no resurrection
-- approached Jesus and they put this question to him, 'Master, Moses
prescribed for us, if a man's married brother dies childless, the man must
marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were
seven brothers; the first, having married a wife, died childless. The second
and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died
leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, at the resurrection,
whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?'
Jesus replied, 'The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are children of God.
And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him everyone is alive.'
Some scribes then spoke up. They said, 'Well put, Master.' They did not dare to ask him any more questions.
Jesus replied, 'The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are children of God.
And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him everyone is alive.'
Some scribes then spoke up. They said, 'Well put, Master.' They did not dare to ask him any more questions.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today gives us the discussion of the Sadducees with
Jesus on faith in the resurrection.
• Luke 20, 27: The ideology of the Sadducees. The Gospel today begins with the following affirmation: “The Sadducees affirm that there is no resurrection”. The Sadducees were an elite type of great landowners or large estates and traders. They were conservative. They did not accept faith in the resurrection. At that time, this faith was beginning to be valued, appreciated by the Pharisees and by popular piety. This urged the people to resist against the dominion of the Romans and of the priests, of the elders and of the Sadducees; the Messianic Kingdom was already present in the situation of well being which they were living. They followed the so called “Theology of Retribution” which distorted reality. According to that Theology, God would pay with riches and well being those who observed the law of God and would punish with suffering and poverty those who do evil. Thus, one can understand why the Sadducees did not want any changes. They wanted religion to remain just as it was, immutable like God himself. And for this, to criticize and to ridicule faith in the resurrection, they told fictitious cases to indicate that faith in the resurrection would have led people to be absurd.
• Luke 20, 28-33: The fictitious case of the woman who married seven times. According to the law of the time, if the husband died without leaving any children, his brother had to marry the widow of the deceased man. And this was done in order to avoid that, in case someone died without any descendants, his property would go to another family (Dt 25, 5-6). The Sadducees invented the story of a woman who buried seven husbands, brothers among themselves, and then she herself also died without children. And they asked Jesus: “This woman, then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? because the seven of them had her as wife”. This was invented in order to show that faith in the resurrection creates absurd situations.
• Luke 20, 34-38: The response of Jesus which leaves no doubts. In the response of Jesus there emerges irritation of one who cannot bear pretence or deceit. Jesus cannot bear hypocrisy on the part of the elite which manipulates and ridicules faith in God to legitimize and defend its own interests. The response contains two parts: (a) you understand nothing of the resurrection: The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection, they are children of God” (vv. 34-36). Jesus explains that the condition of persons after death will be totally diverse from the actual condition. After death there will be no marriages, but all will be like angels in heaven. The Sadducees imagined life in Heaven the same as life on earth; (b) you understand nothing about God: “For the dead will rise, Moses has also indicated this in regard to the bush, when he calls the Lord: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not God of the dead, but of the living, because all live in him”. The disciples are attentive and learn! Those who are on the side of the Sadducees find themselves on the opposite side of God!
• Luke 20, 39-40: The reaction of others before the response of Jesus. “Then some of the Scribes said: “Master you have spoken well. And they no longer dared to ask him any more questions”. Most probably these doctors of the law were Pharisees, because the Pharisees believed in the resurrection (cf. Ac 23, 6).
• Luke 20, 27: The ideology of the Sadducees. The Gospel today begins with the following affirmation: “The Sadducees affirm that there is no resurrection”. The Sadducees were an elite type of great landowners or large estates and traders. They were conservative. They did not accept faith in the resurrection. At that time, this faith was beginning to be valued, appreciated by the Pharisees and by popular piety. This urged the people to resist against the dominion of the Romans and of the priests, of the elders and of the Sadducees; the Messianic Kingdom was already present in the situation of well being which they were living. They followed the so called “Theology of Retribution” which distorted reality. According to that Theology, God would pay with riches and well being those who observed the law of God and would punish with suffering and poverty those who do evil. Thus, one can understand why the Sadducees did not want any changes. They wanted religion to remain just as it was, immutable like God himself. And for this, to criticize and to ridicule faith in the resurrection, they told fictitious cases to indicate that faith in the resurrection would have led people to be absurd.
• Luke 20, 28-33: The fictitious case of the woman who married seven times. According to the law of the time, if the husband died without leaving any children, his brother had to marry the widow of the deceased man. And this was done in order to avoid that, in case someone died without any descendants, his property would go to another family (Dt 25, 5-6). The Sadducees invented the story of a woman who buried seven husbands, brothers among themselves, and then she herself also died without children. And they asked Jesus: “This woman, then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? because the seven of them had her as wife”. This was invented in order to show that faith in the resurrection creates absurd situations.
• Luke 20, 34-38: The response of Jesus which leaves no doubts. In the response of Jesus there emerges irritation of one who cannot bear pretence or deceit. Jesus cannot bear hypocrisy on the part of the elite which manipulates and ridicules faith in God to legitimize and defend its own interests. The response contains two parts: (a) you understand nothing of the resurrection: The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection, they are children of God” (vv. 34-36). Jesus explains that the condition of persons after death will be totally diverse from the actual condition. After death there will be no marriages, but all will be like angels in heaven. The Sadducees imagined life in Heaven the same as life on earth; (b) you understand nothing about God: “For the dead will rise, Moses has also indicated this in regard to the bush, when he calls the Lord: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not God of the dead, but of the living, because all live in him”. The disciples are attentive and learn! Those who are on the side of the Sadducees find themselves on the opposite side of God!
• Luke 20, 39-40: The reaction of others before the response of Jesus. “Then some of the Scribes said: “Master you have spoken well. And they no longer dared to ask him any more questions”. Most probably these doctors of the law were Pharisees, because the Pharisees believed in the resurrection (cf. Ac 23, 6).
4) Personal questions
• Today, how do the groups which have power imitate the
Sadducees and prepare traps in order to prevent changes in the world and in the
Church?
• Do you believe in the resurrection? When you say that you believe in the resurrection, do you think about something of the past, of the present or of the future? Have you ever had an experience of resurrection in your life?
• Do you believe in the resurrection? When you say that you believe in the resurrection, do you think about something of the past, of the present or of the future? Have you ever had an experience of resurrection in your life?
5) Concluding prayer
This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold,
put your hope in Yahweh. (Ps 27,13-14)
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold,
put your hope in Yahweh. (Ps 27,13-14)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét