Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
So often throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ opponents seek to trap him in his teaching. The religious leaders try to ensnare him by his own words in order to silence and even to overthrow him. Confronted with Truth himself, fear and insecurity prevent them from surrendering to him. These religious ones demonstrate not only their ignorance but also their lack of faith and trust in the God whom they profess to follow. In today’s Gospel, the Sadducees present a scenario about marriage as the basis for their trap. Ironically, they fail to recognize the Bridegroom who stands in front of them. Today, may our hearts burn within us with desire for our Bridegroom and may we set our sights on the Marriage Feast that awaits us in glory.
The Sadducees present their hypothetical case about a woman who had been married seven times to seven brothers and ask Jesus whose husband will she be, if indeed there is a resurrection. Jesus responds, “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.” The Sadducees, in their skepticism, employed what they thought was a clever, technical religious argument. I think many of us have pondered the question about marriage in the resurrection, perhaps from another more sentimental angle, which asks, will we be united with our spouse in heaven? I’ve heard a lot of older people over the years say things like, “I’m ready to pass on and join my spouse in heaven,” or “I know my spouse is ‘up there’ waiting for me.” Those romantic notions still miss the point. In our Gospel, Jesus alludes to the much larger, broader, more extraordinary reality. In heaven, we are married to Jesus!
We, you, and I, are the Bride of Christ! Our divine Bridegroom has gone before us to prepare a place for us in his Father’s house, as he promised (John 14:2-4). When Jesus says to the Sadducees that those who rise from the dead are “like the angels in heaven,” what did he mean? I can’t say for sure, but as I think about the angels, I recognize that they live in unveiled, perfect communion with the Holy Trinity. They live eternally to worship, praise, and adore the Lamb of God, the divine Bridegroom. They are sharers and partakers in the “eternal exchange of love” that is the Holy Trinity. They know the purity and intimacy of the Bridegroom’s undying, unconditional love. Jesus’ Paschal Mystery accomplished our salvation and makes possible our sharing in the divine life. He came to earth in order to be able to call us home to join him in heaven as his Bride.
In our Gospel today, I hear Jesus’ passionate heart crying out to the Sadducees, you’re haggling over doctrinal matters when all I want to do is love you! Today, can you and I pause to tune our hearts to Christ’s? Can we hear the love song of our Beloved wooing us with tender, passionate, all-consuming love? Our destiny is marriage to Christ! The Sacrament of Marriage here on earth is a type, a symbol, a foreshadowing of our ultimate marriage with our ultimate Love. Put another way, God intends that human marriage mirror the Marriage between Christ and his Church as a witness to this perfect love. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb celebrates the consummate union of Christ and his Church (Revelation 19:1-10) [see also Ephesians 5:30-32 and Matthew 22:1-14]. Think about how different our day-to-day lives could be if we live them as the Bride of Christ, longing and yearning for the complete and ultimate consummation of his love with us.
Within the context of the Sacrament of Marriage we are called to live lives of faithfulness, chastity, selflessness, honor, respect, devotion, surrender, the list goes on. Above all, we are called to love unconditionally and fervently and to serve our beloved unselfishly. Perhaps today we can focus on these virtues as we seek to walk hand-in-hand with our divine Bridegroom. May we seek to love him as perfectly as possible, cherishing him as our divine Spouse. And whether you are a single or married person, this is your vocation: to love and to follow Christ, our Head and Bridegroom. Close your eyes and imagine Christ your Bridegroom beholding you with the piercing gaze of love, extending his hand to yours, and hear him say, “Come, my beloved; come away with Me.” This walk of life here on earth is nothing but a pilgrimage whose final destination is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Hallelujah to the Lamb!
-Elizabeth Wells