Gospel (Luke 20.27-38)
At that time, 27 approached some Sadducees, who deny that there is no resurrection, and Jesus put this question: 28 "Teacher, Moses has commanded us: If someone death of a brother who has a wife but no children, his brother takes a wife and raise up seed unto his brother.
29 there were seven brothers: the first, after taking his wife, died childless. 30 then took the second ; 31 and then the third, and so all seven, and died leaving no children.
32 Finally the woman died. 33 This woman then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife. "
34 Jesus replied: "The children of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of the world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor be married; 36 nor can they die any more, because they are like angels and, being sons of the resurrection are God's children 37 that the dead are raised, even Moses showed him about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 God is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live for him. "
The seven brothers of whom we spoke the first reading had a conception of the resurrection is still very imperfect: the imagined as an extension of the life of this world, nothing more.
on this issue, even in Jesus' ideas were not very different.
The Pharisees, who professed firmly belief in the resurrection of the dead, continued to interpret it in a rather crude.
in later life - they said - the joys of this life will be increased dramatically. In heaven there will be no hunger, disease, suffering, misfortune, and men will enjoy every pleasure, they will have bread, meat and wine in abundance.
Today's Gospel introduces a new political-religious group which so far in Luke's Gospel has not yet spoken, the Sadducees . Them know that made up the class of the rich, who were the collaborators of the Roman government, which did not enjoy good esteem by the people and that, from a religious perspective, they were conservative. The chief priests (which will be primarily responsible for the death of Jesus) all belonged to this sect.
One of the theological issues that put them at odds with the Pharisees was about faith in the resurrection of the dead. While the Pharisees claimed, the Sadducees argued that in the Torah (the only ones who recognized books of the Bible as sacred) there is no mention of this topic, so are skeptical. Moreover, with the money at their disposal, were able to enjoy the paradise in this world and feel no need to dream an afterlife.
Pharisees and Sadducees fiercely defended their thesis and sought the reasons in the Bible to oppose their opponents.
The people who admired the Pharisees for their compassion and sympathetic to their religious convictions, also shared their faith in the resurrection.
Listening to Jesus, the Sadducees one day realize that, at this point, he agrees, at least in part, by the Pharisees believed in eternal life, even if it gives the impression to interpret it in a very original way.
to convince him to change his opinion to use a text of the Torah, baste a curious history (vv.28-33) and go to tell it.
The Law of Moses - they say - provides that if a man dies leaving no children, his brother married the widow. Children born from this new marriage are considered children of the deceased (Deut. 25.5 to 10). Now there was among us a woman who could "wear out", one after another, seven husbands. Then she broke down. Now, if we admit the resurrection of the dead, the situation becomes tricky in the future life in which the brothers will be assigned?
is not the first time that the Sadducees make use of this strange story to embarrass their opponents. For the Pharisees the objection is extremely serious, as they believe that eternal life is not that perfection of this. They therefore can only lower my eyes, slurred speech and leave in a hurry some explanation in the comments of those present had fun.
Jesus, which means the resurrection so radically different from the Pharisees, does not feel at all touched by the objection of the Sadducees. Took the floor and his response divided into two parts .
Firstly "The children of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those of the world ... are equal to Angels ... are children of God "(vv. 34-36).
The objection of the Sadducees is based on the false assumption that the future life is the continuation of (improved and enhanced) in this life and this is not accepted by Jesus He does not preach a revival by tomb to resume life as before. Such a thing would be ridiculous, absurd, cruel of God
It would make no sense to die in order to return the same body, the same life.
Life with God is a completely new condition: when it is introduced into it, man, while maintaining its identity, becomes a different being, immortal, equal to the angels of God
How can it be? Here's the question that must be met with much caution, because it is always the looming danger of projecting afterlife - as did the Pharisees and the Sadducees - the positive things we experience here, multiplied indefinitely: joys , pleasures, satisfactions and - thus supporting the rabbis - even a return to married life.
behind certain statements, certain prayers, certain questions of many Christians today lies still, unfortunately, an image of the "resurrection of the dead" similar to that of the Pharisees.
The resurrection of Jesus spoke of - one that unites the man to the "angels of God" - is completely different.
For Jesus man lives on earth a gestation, is preparing a new birth after which there will be none other that the world which will be final. It will not attend any form of death.
As the fetus in the mother's lap can not imagine the world that awaits him, so man is unable to imagine how life will be with God 'is a mystery that has not been revealed, not because the Lord wants to increase the suspense , and surprise, but simply because our mind is not able to understand: "A perishable body weighs down the soul and the tent of clay weighs thoughts. With difficulty we depict earthly things, but who can find things in heaven? "(Wis 9.15 to 16).
We can come close to these sublime and ineffable reality only through faith, believing that "What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him" \u200b\u200b(1 Cor 2:9).
Instead of investigating what we are not able to understand, it is better to dwell on the certainty that the resurrection of Christ gives, in particular the fact that no two lives - the present and future - but one life going in two completely different forms.
death - understood as the annihilation of the person - does not exist, was won, which was destroyed by the death and resurrection of Christ.
What we call death is simply the abandonment of the life form - weak, fragile, fleeting - we lead in this world to be welcomed into the world of God
The mortal body that gets sick, withers, ages and meets the dissolution is not introduced into the world final, remains in this world: man is covered with another body "incorruptible, glorious, full of strength, spiritual (1 Cor 15.42-43).
The second certainty is that the resurrection of Christ has brought down all the barriers that separated the living from the dead. A deep and intimate bond unites all. When on earth, we, the living, we gather around the Eucharistic banquet we know we are in communion with our brothers in the sky. We are confident that our memories makes them happy, and increases our their love revives our desire and our hope that we can one day unite with Christ and with them.
With our prayers we say to those who have preceded us in the house of the Father, we are happy to be with God, despite We live in constant pain for their disappearance. We tell them we remember only the good they did, their acts of love, their generosity, the help they gave. Their flaws, mistakes, weaknesses were fully purified by the encounter with the "fire" of God's love in them has not been any form of evil and death.
The second part of Jesus' answer (vv.37-38) consists of a clear statement of the truth of the resurrection.
We can not imagine how life will be with God, but faith gives us the certainty that, after death, the man continues to live.
Proof that Jesus brings to convince the Sadducees is this: "The Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is not the God of the dead but of the living: for all live to him" . What do you mean?
He refers to the authority of Holy Scripture. He says that Moses, who lived many centuries after the death of the patriarchs, he calls the Lord "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." This means that they were still alive , or Moses, and after him, all the Israelites were invoked God of the dead.
As you can imagine a God who creates men, establishes an alliance with them, it makes so many promises, they defend them from their opponents, it is considered their friend one day and then abandon them, leave them to disappear in the dust , they come back to nothing? If he behaves in this way is a perpetrator of the projects of death. But this man - Jesus says - is not the God of the dead but of the living, because he received all his life.
He is "the lover of life" (Wis 11:26), "has created death and rejoice in the destruction of the living" (Wis 1:13). Nothing of what he has anything to do with death can come near him.
Fernard Armellini (biblical scholar)
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