Read Matthew 22.23-33
http://www.biblegateway.com/
We read today a story which shows it was not only the Pharisees who attempted to trap Jesus in a theological corner. The Sadducees concoct a ridiculous scenario, with seven apparently extremely unhealthy brothers who all end up married to the same woman. And the Sadducees ask Jesus to resolve a question about the resurrection - something about which they don't even believe. Perhaps they ask the question expecting that Jesus' answer will illustrate what they perceive to be ridiculous about belief in the resurrection of the dead to judgment.
Jesus, as usual, confounds his critics. He makes a point about marriage (it is, as a sacrament of God's grace,
provided for us here on earth - when we are in heaven, we will not need sacraments as we will be in the presence of God Himself!) and also makes an astonishing statement about the patriarchs of the Faith - that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are living and not dead. It's a statement that Jesus makes as someone with firsthand knowledge, as if he says: You believe these ancestors are dead, but you are wrong - they are alive to God!
Jesus corrects the Sadducees for both their lack of understanding and their inability to let God be God! Perhaps we can accept the Lord's correction as one directed at us as well, but as an incentive to do the opposite. That is, use our time well in seeking to understand the Scriptures; as the Anglican collect says, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word! And also, to always live in awe of God's power; we must accept that God is God and we are not!
As this second week of Advent opens up to us, pray for the grace to understand the Word as we have received it, and for the humility to be awestruck by the God who comes to our rescue at Christmas.
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