Gospel : Luke 20 : 27 – 38
Year C
Some Sadducees – those who say there is no resurrection
The Sadducees wanted to be faithful disciples of the Law of Moses, and they were opposed to anything that seemed to them to be novel in religious matters …Now, “Novelties”… You are bringing them, Lord Jesus! In Your teaching and in Your way of interpreting the Law… Among other things, You spoke of eternal life, of the resurrection … They remain with the words of Genesis, interpreted to the letter: you are dust and to dust you will return (Gen.3:19).
Sure of possessing the truth based on this sentence alone, they seek to put You in a spot by inventing a far-fetched story:
There were seven brothers ….
According to the Law of Moses, these seven brothers successively married the same woman. What drama at the resurrection ….
Whose wife will she be?
You do not answer their question directly, but You invite them to look at the Word of God in another way. The Bible is not a list of truths to believe or cold commandments to observe. It is the revelation of God and of His plan of love for mankind.
*God: He is not the God of the dead but of the living!
You support Your affirmation in referring also to Moses like the Sadducees: Moses calls the Lord “the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob”… So these patriarchs are always alive!
*The Plan of God for humankind : they are the sons of God.
The “Living God” has created us to make us live with Him eternally. He wants a covenant with His people, with each one of us, for ever, not just for this life. You came to make us share Your life; You draw us into Your Resurrection. It is not a return to the earthly life: we will be like angels.
Through the Eucharist, You put into us a germ of the Resurrection and of eternal life: whoever eats My Flesh … has eternal life; I will raise Him up! (Jn.6:54)
