When I was a young girl, all the movies I saw were one that ended in true loves kiss and happily ever after. It was a message to girls to find their prince charming or become an old maid and it was a message to boys to be independently wealthy and look for ways to rescue petite, beautiful poor girls who will depend on you for the rest of their lives. Most of us realized in time how unhealthy this was as well as unrealistic and that there are many fulfilling ways to live your life, partnered or not. Jesus never married and he doesn’t seem to put a lot of emphasis on it.
One
commentary I read this week called this Gospel story the “matter of the much
married woman.” I like that description.
This is third time that these religious leaders have tried to trick
Jesus. Their examples are ridiculous and
taken to such an absurd level. They are
making fun of the idea of the resurrection by giving such an absurd example.
Lutherans believe in the
resurrection of the body, not a disembodied everlasting soul. So the importance
of taking care of our bodies becomes important and taking care of the bodies of
people around us, is also important. The
resurrection of the body brings up a lot of questions. Which body will it be, my young body or the
one I have now? Can God resurrect my
body if I’m cremated? And finally the
one we have in today’s Gospel, who will I be married to in the resurrection?
Jesus is more than patient even with
people who aren’t asking sincere questions.
He says that there are different priorities in this age in the next, and
marriage isn’t one to be concerned about in the next. Marriage is a way to order our society and
bring us together in partnership and community, but that won’t be necessary in
the resurrection life.
Jesus speaks of those who are worthy
of the next life having different priorities, perhaps making a jab that those
asking won’t even have to worry about the details of the next life, maybe they
could be focusing more on being worthy.
Jesus says that those that are worthy will be like angels. Here Jesus is really making a jab at the
Saducees, because they don’t believe in angels.
But we believe in angels. We’re about to enter the most angelist time
of the year. Zechariah will be visited
by an angel to tell him his old wife will bear a child. Mary will be visted by the angel Gabriel to
get her consent to bear the Son of God.
Soon the angels will be singing over the hills of Bethlehem to the
shepherds to tell to go to the baby shower in the manger.
Some of have seen angels. Many of us have been tended to by angels who
helped us change a tire by the side of a busy highway or gave us a smile in the
grocery store when we were pushing a crying kid in a shopping cart and told us
it would be ok and that we are a good mama or dad. We have had angels who left surprises on our
doorstep, or neighbors who invited us for tea, or someone who paid for our
coffee, or groceries. Sometimes our
angels are in the form of our furry friends.
When I had a car accident at age 19 my parent’s dog hardly left my side
as I convalesced on the couch for 10 days.
Angels are part of our daily lives.
Some have wings and some don’t.
Jesus says we will be like angels in
the resurrection. We will be giving good
news, comforting people, thinking of others, caring, showing love.
And Jesus says we will be children
of God and children of the resurrection.
To be children is to belong, as Jesus says, in the household
forever. To be children is to be
innocent and selfless and in the moment.
To be children is to be equal.
When Jesus says there is no marriage in the resurrection, he’s saying
there is no jealousy, no possessiveness.
In the time the Bible was written and even in many parts of the world
today, a woman has little say in who she marries. That’s why Jesus says that people marry and
are given in marriage. A man marries. A
woman is given in marriage, her father’s property given to her husband to possess. Equality in marriage is hard to achieve, when
one partner thinks they have it, the other will likely disagree. In the resurrection, there will be
equality. All are children of God.
Then Jesus uses the example of
Moses, since the religious authorities brought him up, to talk about the
burning bush. If God said to Moses that
God is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and made promises of liberation
for them, then for God to keep those promises, they all have to be resurrected.
Finally, God is God of the
living. Maybe you’ve never wondered if
you would be married to your ex in the next life, but you have probably thought
about what heaven will be like. Will our
pets be there? Will it be like
everything you wish for? Will there be
people there you didn’t expect to see?
Who will be waiting for you when you cross over?
Jesus is saying, when he says that
God is the God of the living, that there are some things we just can’t
know. Even Jesus didn’t know the time of
the second coming. Sometimes we can get
so wrapped up in what heaven and hell are, warning people against going to the
wrong place, that we forget that we are God’s children now. We all belong to God. We are all equal in God’s eyes. We are part of God’s family forever. And we can be like angels now. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in being right
or knowing what’s going to happen that we forget to make heaven here on earth
for people living right now in the depths of hell. People are suffering all around us. People are lonely, they are hungry, they are
cold and struggling. They can’t pay
their bills. They don’t know when they will see their family again.
God’s new life, God’s resurrected
life, God’s kin-dom is breaking into this world right now. We don’t have to die to experience abundant
life and the grace and love of God. We get
to be angels right now. We get to bring
good news to people who have lost hope.
We get to bring a loaf of bread and a pot of soup to someone who is
sick. We get to visit someone in prison
and share a moment of grace. We get to
clip someone’s toenails who can’t reach their own feet. We get to be angels right now.
Today we’re dedicating our stained
glass window. As work went on, painting
the tower, the workers walked by this window every day until someone finally
noticed, it was bowing on the bottom. So
these volunteers on the property committee brought this up to the council. We were going to need to fix this window
before it came crashing down, at which time it would be impossible to replace.
On the window we can see the four
quadrants, one for each Gospel. Matthew
is represented by the man. He is the one
who starts his Gospel by giving the geneology of Jesus all the way back to
Adam. Matthew focuses on the humanity of
Jesus. So a man represents him. Notice a wing there with the man. The wing is because this image comes from the
prophet Ezekiel who had a vision of four living creatures, each one with
wings. Wings also represent the good
news each Gospel writer was bringing.
Mark is represented by the
lion. When he spoke of the one crying
out in the wilderness, some thought of a lion’s roar, so that became his
symbol.
Luke is represented by an ox. He talks a lot about sacrifices, and oxen
were often the preferred sacrifice.
Finally, John is represented by the
eagle. John’s gospel soars, over the waters
at creation, and over the whole story of God and God’s people, reaching its
peak in the stories of Jesus.
This window gives us a picture of
where to start on our journey of faith.
Look to the Gospels, the stories of Jesus. Then it gives us a glimpse of what to do with
that good news that we receive in the Gospels.
Take all that out into the world and live it in service to others, in
community with neighbors, in your work, in your school, in your family. God is God of the living and God is our living
God. We get to take with us a living faith, inspired by the hope of
the resurrection, and with love in our hearts be the angels, bearing Good news
to a hurting world. Our happily ever
after rests in community with each other, and serving those who are in need,
and the gracious love of our living God,
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