Readings: 2
Maccabees 7:1-2, 7, 9-14; 2 Thes.2:16 – 3:5; Lk 20:27-38
Christ’s
Resurrection is Our Hope
Our Christian faith has its foundation in
the death and resurrection of Christ. His resurrection is a guarantee that all
those who died in Christ will be raised at His second coming. St. Paul captures
this powerfully thus: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself
cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is
useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses
who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God
that he raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not
been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And
what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this
life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.” (1 Cor.15:14-19). Many
Christians suffered martyrdom in this world, with the hope, that one day, they
will see God face to face, and share his glory in eternity. Christians believe that, though their life
began on earth, it will not end here.
The belief in life after death had been
expected, hoped for and accepted long before Christ. Because of the hope in the
resurrection, people down through the ages, suffered persecution with the hope of
a better life after death. St. Paul said “…and if the spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead
will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.”
(Rom. 8:11). The Preface for Christian Death prays: “…In him, who rose from the
dead, our hope of resurrection dawned. The sadness of death gives way to the
bright promise of immortality. Lord, for your faithful people life is changed,
not ended. When the body of our earthly
dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.”
It is the hope of the resurrection that is
portrayed in the first reading from the Book of Maccabees today. During the
reign of the Greek king Antiochus IV, a law was promulgated that made it a
crime, punishable by death, for the Jews to practice their religion.
Circumcision was forbidden, copies of the law were burned. They were prevented
from following their dietary laws, neither were they allowed to celebrate their
feasts. They were mandated to worship and offer sacrifices to the Greek gods
and goddesses. This brought great distress and persecution to the Jews. Many
derailed and offered sacrifices to the pagan gods; they stopped circumcising
their sons and ate pork, forbidden by law. Those who disobeyed the king and
held on to their faith were put to death.
The book of Maccabees documents those
terrible times and the struggle to remain faithful to God in the face of egregious
persecution and distress. The first reading describes, in detail, the torture
of a heroic woman and her seven sons. They would only worship the living God
and refused to obey the king. The hope in the resurrection strengthened their
faith. “…We are prepared to die rather than break the laws of our ancestors.”
(2 Macc.7:2). To die for their faith was a welcomed invitation to embrace the
new life of heaven. They gave reasons why they would die rather than disobey
God: “Inhuman fiend, you may discharge us from this present life, but the king
of the world will raise us up, since it is for his laws that we die, to live
again forever.” “It was heaven that gave me these limbs; for the sake of his
laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” The mother
encouraged her dying sons to be courageous in the face of death: “…prove
yourself of your brothers, and make death welcome, so that in the day of mercy
I may receive you back in your brothers’ company.” This family preferred death to a life of shame. They disobeyed the king
and chose death so that they may be with God in eternity.
In today’s Gospel the Sadducees confronted
Jesus with the question on the resurrection. This was a group of wealthy
religious set, like the Pharisees. But unlike the Pharisees, they did not
believe in the resurrection from the dead, angels or spirits. For them, only
the first five books of Moses was considered as Scripture. They confronted
Jesus with a levirate law argument, that states that if a man dies childless,
his brother must marry the widow and raise children for the brother
(Deuteronomy 25:5). With this law, they demonstrated how ridiculous the concept
of the resurrection was. Since seven brothers married a woman and died
childless and the woman also died, at the resurrection, who will her husband
be? Jesus confounded them with his answer. He met them on their turf, using
their argument against them. The life of the resurrection will not be the same
as life on earth. We will be like angels. There will be eternal happiness,
hence, there will be no need for procreation. Jesus pointed out that from the burning
bush, God said: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God Jacob” (Exodus 3:1-6). God is God of the living and not the
dead. Though Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were dead, they were alive with God in
heaven.
Christ stressed, in His answer to the
Sadducees, that marriage and procreation are only for this life and not in the
life of heaven. It doesn’t matter whether one is married or single, what
matters is our life of devotion to God and of service to one another. How I live today will determine where I
will be when I die.
St. Paul, in the second reading, prays “…May
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us
everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your
hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.” We are men and women
of the resurrection: our homeland is heaven, where God our Father dwells. If we are to spend eternity with God, we
must look up to God for a sense of direction. “If then you were raised with
Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above; not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your
life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too
will appear with him in glory.” (Col. 3”1-4).
Points to ponder:
·
Are
you a person of hope?
·
What
have you given up for the sake of heaven?
·
What
principles do you live by and be prepared to die for?
·
What
are you prepared to sacrifice for the sake of heaven today?
·
You
are not alone in your spiritual struggle. You have the Church, the sacraments,
the support of one another and a host of angels and saints to pray for you. The
Holy Spirit will always guide you to live as God directs.
·
Finally,
let us intensify our life of prayer so as to remain resolute and committed to
our Christian discipleship. May we persevere till the end so that we may enjoy
a life of eternal bliss with God in heaven. Amen.
“And
this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of
what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day” (Jn. 6:39).
“Don’t
forget to pray today because God didn’t forget to wake you up this morning”
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