Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Every time we pray the Nicene Creed we close by saying, “and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We finish this creedal statement focusing on the hope of our eternal future with God. Although I profess these beliefs regularly at Mass, these concepts of resurrection and life after death are hard to comprehend. Both of today’s readings refer to the resurrection, and therefore invite us to reflect on what this means for us as Christians today.
Today’s reading from Revelation describes two prophets who are speaking out and proclaiming God’s truths. Although they are killed, after a time the “breath of God” brings them back to life, and they are taken up into heaven. Despite the tribulations that they endure, they are rewarded new life and a heavenly ending. For the early Christians hearing this story, they would have been encouraged and filled with hope. In the midst of the persecutions of the Early Church, there was a realization that the resurrection of the dead and eternal life gave purpose to the struggles of their faith.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is being tested by the religious authorities regarding the resurrection of the body. Jesus skillfully redirects their questions to explain that God is a God of the living. He refers to Moses experience at the burning bush to help describe that those great prophets who have died in this world are alive with God.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are central to our hope in the resurrection of the body. We see this proclaimed in scripture. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11) Our Catechism gives words to our belief: “We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives forever, so after death the righteous will live forever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day. Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity. “(CCC 989)
In the midst of our suffering, challenges and sorrows, we look to Jesus to find our hope. Jesus lives a life of love, mercy, and peace even as He endures great suffering and death. His resurrection assures us that there is something more beyond death. Jesus, however, does not want our desire to be only focused on the life hereafter. Jesus invites us to live lives of love and justice as we bring His Good News to the world around us. Our faith teaches: “Christ will raise us up "on the last day"; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ.” (CCC 1002) We certainly want to have hope in our eternal place with God, but our Baptism and participation in the Eucharist remind us that we are already part of the Body of Christ, and therefore we are called to live as His disciples in the here and now. It is through the grace of the Spirit and the imitation of Jesus that we continually live out the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, as we wait in hope for our eternal destiny of the resurrection of the body and life of the world to come. This is our cause for hope and joy in Christ.
Loving God, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we experience Your promise of salvation and hope. May Your Spirit provide us the wisdom, courage, and love to live lives in imitation of Jesus. Strengthen our faith so we may realize the hope of our resurrection and spend eternity in Your presence. We pray this in Christ’s name. AMEN
Marylynn Herchline