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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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Time after
Pentecost 32 (C) A man once had a terrible automobile accident. He was in a coma for three months in a hospital. His faithful wife stayed by his bedside in the hospital room for hours and hours every day, desperately hoping and fervently praying that God would heal him and bring him back to consciousness. Finally, one day her prayers were answered. He stirred, opened his eyes, and then looked around in bewilderment and fear until he saw his wife standing by the side of his bed. “Honey,” he said, “What happened?” “You had an accident. You lost control of your car and crashed – and you have been unconscious – in a coma – for the past three months. I’ve been here at your side everyday, hoping and praying that you would wake up. And now you have! I’m so thankful to have you back!” The husband sighed and said, “You know, honey, every time I have suffered a misfortune you have been there with me. You have been here at my side for the past three months. You were with me when our house caught fire and burned to the ground. You were there when I broke my leg and couldn’t walk for weeks. You were there when I lost my job. No matter what bad things have happened, you have always, always been there with me!” He gazed at his wife and said, “You know, honey, there is something I’ve got to say to you.” Her eyes filled with tears and she reached over for his hand as she said, “What is it, darling?” “Honey – I think you’re BAD LUCK!” How do we view things? Do we tend to see the good and the beautiful and the possibilities – or do we, like that husband, tend to see only the difficulties and the problems? To me, that is one of the basic issues that is being dealt with in today’s gospel reading. Our gospel begins by telling us that some Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. They did not believe in a resurrection of the dead – but if there was such a thing, they could only see the problems that this would cause. They gave a hypothetical situation of a woman who was sequentially married to seven brothers. This situation came about because of a very obscure law from Israel’s distant past known as “levirate marriage”. According to this law (which was not actually practiced at the time of Jesus), if a man died childless his brother had a duty to marry the widow. Any children then born would legally be the children of the deceased man. That way, the deceased man would still have descendents to perpetuate the family line. If there was such as thing as a resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees thought that this could cause a LOT of complications! They used the hypothetical situation of a woman being married seven times to seven brothers in order to fulfill the obligations of “levirate marriage”. “So,” the Sadducees asked Jesus, “in the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.” This may have sounded like a far-fetched scenario, but only in matter of degree. It WAS common back then – as it is today – for a widowed person to remarry. So WHO would that person be married to when everyone came back to life?! The Sadducees could only see the problems and difficulties in a situation rather than the possibilities. They were so focused on “details” that they lost sight of the big picture. A paradigm shift in their thinking was being called for, but they refused to make it. They assumed that everything in a life after a resurrection would be exactly the same as it used to be before. They could not or WOULD NOT perceive that many of the old social customs, institutions, and traditions that they took for granted would no longer be valid in a new resurrection age. That is why Jesus answered them by saying, “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.” Jesus is inviting the Sadducees to see things in an entirely different light. Instead of seeing the “problems”, he is inviting them to see the opportunities! In the resurrection age, everything will be changed. Sin and death – two conditions that we take for granted in this world – won’t be around anymore. They will be replaced by righteousness and life. The institution of marriage won’t be around anymore either – not because it is bad – but because God has something even better in store! In essence, Jesus is telling the Sadducees – and us – to trust God to work out the details of what the resurrection age will be like. We don’t need to be concerned with the technical points of who will be related to who and so forth. All that we need to do is trust that God has something wonderful in store for us – and that He will make it happen in whatever way He chooses. Finally, Jesus concludes his answer to the Sadducees by reminding them that God, when he appeared to Moses at the burning bush, referred to Himself as being the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Not that He “was” their God, but that He is their God. Jesus reminds the Sadducees that God will not allow anything – not even death itself – to sever a relationship with those whom He loves. People of God, that is the key point here! Through Jesus Christ and his resurrection, we believe that nothing – not even death – can separate us from God’s love. We know that God has the POWER to raise us from death. Because God loves us, He will most certainly USE that power so that we can continue to live with Him – and in a way and world that is far better what we have right now. As Christians who live in this present age, it is often hard for us to perceive all that God has in mind for us in the resurrection age to come. Like the Sadducees, our thinking and vision is often limited by our traditions and present view of things. But unlike the Sadducees, we believe that God can accomplish even things that seem impossible. Yes, God will even raise the dead, and work out all of the details as to what that will mean. St. Anselm in a famous prayer puts it this way: “I do not seek to understand so that I can believe, but I believe so that I may understand – and what is more, I believe that unless I do believe, I shall not understand.” It is through believing in God’s power and love through Christ that we understand that the resurrection of the dead is not just a future reality, but a present promise that can influence and shape our lives even now. So much of what happens in life may to a non-believer seem to be just “bad luck” – as the husband said to his wife in my opening illustration. But because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we know that in ALL THINGS God is working for good with those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Yes, even during the hard and bad times that we often have to endure. In all things, God is shaping us and getting us ready for the wonderful resurrection life that is yet to come. We may not be able to understand it all. But we can believe it! We can truly, truly believe it! And we can believe that God will continue to work out all of the details that need to be worked out – even ones that seem impossibly difficult – yes, even the relationship issues of this life. And at the end, God for Jesus’ sake will account us as being worthy of having a place in the new resurrection age to come – and we will be like angels and will be children of God forever, being children of the resurrection. That is God’s promise. That is our faith! Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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