Resurrection Is

A reminder on All Hallows' Eve

This is the second part of the final questions to Jesus before from that day forward nobody dared to ask him anything.

This is one of those “Disney is wrong” passages. That might be harsh, but Jesus is pretty clear that marriage is not eternal. And yet, scripture is also clear that whatever comes next, it is not simply ethereal, but deeply human and within a new creation.

Nonetheless, we don’t want to be stuck in the clouds of the future here, like the Sadducees. What we can take from Jesus’ response is that our certainties about this or that tangential doctrine may not be certainties. The Sadducees banked quite a bit on there being no resurrection. Jesus is setting that straight.

Resurrection is.

It’s slightly interesting that this passage comes before us on All Hallows’ Eve.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a moment to recognize All Saints’ Day, but for today, just remember that mocking death is not all that far from scripture. For sure, anyone anywhere can turn something into evil and some do so on Halloween. Second, most certainly, death is powerful and worthy of respect.

But perhaps Halloween can be a time when we stand in the midst of it all - a culture that dances around the edges of scary things. (Can you believe how many decorations there are these days?!). We can stand in the midst, enjoy the fun whilst saying at the same time, “We are not afraid of death. In fact, Death…go back to hell and leave us alone.” It’s pretty much the message of the cross.

If resurrection is anything, it is power over death. Go with it.

Resurrection is.

Matthew 22:23-33

That same day Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus. They asked, “Teacher, Moses said, If a man who doesn’t have children dies, his brother must marry his wife and produce children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married, then died. Because he had no children he left his widow to his brother. The same thing happened with the second brother and the third, and in fact with all seven brothers. Finally, the woman died. At the resurrection, which of the seven brothers will be her husband? They were all married to her.”

Jesus responded, “You are wrong because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power. At the resurrection people won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like angels from God. As for the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what God told you, I’m the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living.” Now when the crowd heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Prayer

God,

On this All Hallows’ Eve, we give you thanks for life. James tells us to resist the devil. Medieval Christianity encouraged mocking therein.

So God, is that cool? Can I mock death? Tell the devil he’s silly?

Lord, as I gather with neighbors and kids and open my door to people who would otherwise not bother to stop by, help me to be fun, loving, and caring.

And forgive us for all the sugar.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.