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32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Mercy Ridge Hermitage
November 10, 2019
Marriage in the Resurrection
By Nicholas Amato
A Strange Regulation
In the Book of Deuteronomy, one of the first five books of the Bible, there is a rather strange regulation.
The rule stipulates what is to happen if a husband dies, leaving his wife widowed and with no children. The rule says that the deceased husband’s brother is to marry this woman.
Hopefully, they will have a child and this will be a way for the deceased husband to live on. In fact, it is the only way they could imagine that he would be able to live on after death.
Dispute over Resurrection
Now to us that ancient rule sounds very strange and, in fact, the Jewish people seldom observed it.
But, it forms the background to today’s Gospel. A group of the Jewish religious leaders are bothered by Jesus’ talk about resurrection.
They cannot accept this because it is not in the first five books of the Bible. So, they concoct an extreme example of a man who dies and, in succession, each of his six brothers marries his widow and each of them also dies.
And all of these brothers also die childless. So, these religious leaders ask Jesus who will be this woman’s husband in the resurrection.
They feel certain that this extreme scenario will discredit Jesus’ teaching. Well, Jesus doesn’t comment about the Old Testament rule, but he does teach some things about resurrection.
1. Resurrection as Transformation
Most importantly, Jesus says that resurrected life will not be just a continuation of this life.
For example, he says that in resurrected life people do not marry. Now let’s be clear that Jesus is not putting down marriage.
He actually lifts up the dignity of marriage on other occasions. Here Jesus is simply saying that resurrected life is very different from this life.
We will be transformed. We will have a transformed life in and with God and we can’t think about this just in terms of our human life experience.
2. Resurrection through Relationship
And then, Jesus makes it clear that resurrection happens through our relationship with God.
Jesus says that God isthe God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. These great religious figures are dead, but Jesus uses the present tense in speaking of them – God istheir God right now.
So, Jesus is saying that God’s relationship with them continues on. The idea is that God’s love for us and God’s relationship with us has no end.
This means that we are to do whatever we can to live in this relationship – by coming to know Jesus more and more in the Gospels and by having Communion with Him through the Eucharist. So, this relationship with God that we have rightnowleads to resurrected life in the future.
3. Resurrection through Respect
And then the last thing that Jesus teaches here is a bit hidden, but it is still present.
Notice that Jesus completely ignores that ancient rule of a brother marrying his deceased brother’s widow. Jesus just ignores this and in doing that, he is teaching something.
That ancient rule was very male-centered. It was focused only on the husband and hisbeing able to live on in some way through offspring.
The rule showed no respect for the woman, the wife. It treated her more as an object.
By not even acknowledging this rule, Jesus is sending a message. We are to be respectful of all persons, including women.
This is a living out of our relationship with God who respects each person equally. Being respectful of women and of all persons rightnowopens us to resurrection in the future.
Conclusion
So that’s my take on this interesting, to say the least, interesting passage of Scripture.
I hope it is helpful for all of you. Amen!
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