November 11, 2007
| Pentecost 24, 2007 | Job 19: 23 -27a | |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 | ||
| Luke 20:27-38 |
There was a musical called "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." In THIS story it's One Bride for Seven Brothers." That alone makes you feel sorry for this woman
And we should sympathize. She would be blamed for the lack of children. And remember, in that place and time, children were absolutely essential. That WAS the social security system. Having children also guaranteed that a person's memory would be carried on into the future.
Worse than death itself was a death with no one left to remember. To be childless back then meant you would die in poverty, and then completely vanish. And if that happened the woman would be blamed.
We could spend time lamenting how her life was a disaster. But let's not forget this was a hypothetical question. A weird question. Who's wife will she be? It's the sort of thing you only hear in philosophy class. It is the biblical equivalent of that medieval question, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
So why even ask? Everyone knew this was hypothetical, so why bother?
Here's why. Judaism was divided into factions. Perhaps something like Christian denominations. We agree with the Baptists that Jesus is Lord. AMEN. So far we have not agreed with the Baptists on infant baptism.
Something like that is present here. The Sadducees represent the power elite, and they did not believe in a resurrection. No afterlife. The Pharisees tended to be of the common people, perhaps critical of the power elite, and they did believe in a resurrection.
The Sadducees set out to make resurrection belief look silly. A woman had seven husbands. Who would be her husband in this SUPPOSED resurrection of the dead? The sarcasm is dripping here. "What a mess! A woman with seven husbands? Right there in God's holy presence? How can God allow such scandal and chaos? SO of course, resurrection must be impossible.
They thought the case was closed. Now the Sadducees waited for Jesus to squirm. They were forcing him to take sides- in public- in this denominational squabble. Whichever side Jesus picked, he would lose the support of the other faction.
OK. Enough ancient history. The main question is still hypothetical! In short, SO WHAT? I know you don't worry about the Sadducee versus Pharisee thing! I don't think you worry about how marriages will be sorted out in heaven. You don't need to worry about how many angels dance... OR about the pinhead who brings up the subject. It would be easy to look at this text and dismiss it.
There IS a real issue here.
Only God knows how many of our friends and neighbors dismiss Christian faith because resurrection belief looks ridiculous. It contradicts what we know about the physical world, the law of entropy, everything wears down, burns up, or dies out and that's it.
Only God knows how many people reject Christian faith because the denominations squabble.
Only God knows how many Christians do not dare to hope for a real heaven, either because of their sin and shame, or because it sounds too good to be true. You'd like to hope, wouldn't you?
But all this is because we cling to human standards. We lean on our own understanding. We even expect God to be reasonable according to our own ideas of what is reasonable. That is ridiculous, and friends it is dangerous.
How many people will not bow down and let God be God simply because God has not fulfilled that person's expectations? Only God knows, but God knows their names. The Good Shepherd leaves the flock to look for them.
The Sadducees paint a ridiculous picture of heaven and then call heaven ridiculous. It puts them in control of the whole enterprise and heaven is judged on earthly standards.
If you want to talk resurrection you have to talk about a resurrection where God is in charge, not humans. Our categories will not apply. Our standards will not be needed. And Thank God for that.
Perhaps you remember the fairy tale of King Midas. Or maybe you can picture that character called Pigpen from the old 'Peanuts' comic strip. Or maybe in November we should talk about Jack Frost.
In all these fiction al settings, the character changes the things he touches. For Midas, everything turns to gold. Pigpen brings dirt and dust with him wherever he goes. Jack Frost glazes the world with a pure white that is icy cold, but beautiful.
They are imperfect analogies, but God is like those characters. But I think Jesus is saying something like this: Whatever touches God is life. Whatever God touches is alive.
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Jesus is telling us there is no death in the presence of God. Death is our greatest enemy, and very powerful, but Death cannot hold a candle to the power of life that emanates from the God of creation.
Where God is, there is life. If God speaks a name, there is life. God says the name, "Abraham" and means that Abraham lives. It can be no other way for the God who creates life.
And God is speaking your name. And God speaks and touches through the living word, through the waters of Baptism, and the nourishment of the Lord's Supper.
God names and claims you. So you too are standing beside the burning bush, hearing the names of the living.
It's not ridiculous to hope for heaven. And none of our ideas will shape it. But there will be life and light, and Thank God that Jesus Christ has come- he who is alive in the presence of God here and now- Jesus has come to bring this life to this world.