Sunday Reflections

Every Sunday, in the recitation of the Creed, we profess our faith in the resurrection.  It is a reality we celebrate not only on Easter Sunday, or during the Easter season, but every day, as we share in the new life of Christ.  In our Baptism we share in that life, and it grows as we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, and cooperate with His grace.  The gospel, and the reading from the Book of Maccabees, both pose a question about the resurrection in relation to the taking in marriage.  Jesus does not give the answer the Sadducees hoped for.  It is only human for us to think of resurrection and eternal life in terms of our (limited) human experience.  Each one of us will paint a picture of heaven that reflects our likes, hopes, and dreams.  Jesus stretches the understanding of the Sadducees to recognize that God is God of the living and the dead, and that we cannot limit the divine realities that will only become known to us in the kingdom.  It is often a challenge to live with mystery, and Jesus does not dispel the mystery for the Sadducees – or for us.  We walk in faith, trusting that what awaits us will be far beyond what we can dream or imagine, as the essence of that life will be complete union with God, and will not be dominated or concerned with things.