Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
In our Gospel today, Jesus rebuts an argument put forward by the Sadducees denying the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees’ clever test case revolves around the law of levirate marriage and its application in the afterlife. Jesus explains that our primary relationship for eternity is with God, and that we should be vigilant and diligent in seeking to remain faithful.
In formulating their query to Jesus, the Sadducees took inspiration from several texts, including Tobit 3:8-9, 15; 2 Maccabees 7; Genesis 38:6-11, and Deuteronomy 25:5-6. The latter states, “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.” The purpose of this law was not only to care for the widow, but moreover that the name of the deceased would continue through a descendant.
Jesus informs us that relationships in the age to come are not like relationships now, as the Sadducees assumed. In the resurrection, people can no longer die, so there is no need for marriage to perpetuate one’s name. In eternal life, a person is characterized above all by her/his relationship with God! Jesus assures us, “but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.” What astonishingly good news! I love how the NIV translation renders verse 36: “. . .they are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.” Consider how important family lineage is, even today, and how we value our family name and the legacy of our ancestors. But in the kingdom of God, your name is “Child of God,” “Child of the Resurrection!” As important as our family connections are, nothing is more vital than our relationship with God. We must place God above our spouse, above our children, above our parents, and all our significant relationships.
You and I are God’s children; we are children of the resurrection. Pause for a moment and consider Jesus’ description of us. However you may think of yourself, this is the truth of God’s Word for you: if you have been baptized, you are a child of God; you are a child of the resurrection. What feelings are evoked? What thoughts come to your mind as you meditate on and contemplate that verse of scripture?
John the Evangelist also assures us, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). We’re approaching the end of the liturgical year, and it’s a great time to ponder our identity as the children of God. What are the implications for your life, knowing that you are God’s child? How does that self-awareness influence and govern your relationships with others? Do you view others in the Body of Christ as “children of God?” Do you recognize your family members in this way? If not, how might you alter how you relate to them if you come to view them as God’s children? The winding down of a Church year also invites us to consider our own death and the second coming of Jesus. How might confidence in your identity as God’s child help to shape your view of your passing from this life?
As we think about the end times and Christ’s second coming, we do well to call to mind our identity as the Bride of Christ, as well. Again, John the Evangelist writes, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life . . . He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:17 20). Confident in our identity as God’s children, as children of the resurrection, as the Bride of Christ, let us eagerly and joyfully, with great hope, declare, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
I’ll see you in the Eucharist, Elizabeth Wells