“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Saturday, 25th November 2017.
Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time
Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1Mac 6: 1-3;
Ps 9: 1-3, 5, 15, 18 (R) 15;
Lk 20: 27-40.
The Sadducees go on to present Jesus with a difficult scenario in order to trap Him. They present the story of seven brothers who each die without having any children. After each one dies, the next takes the first brother’s wife as his own. The question they pose is this: “Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?” They ask this so as to trick Jesus because, as the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead. Jesus, of course, gives them the answer explaining that marriage is of this age and not of the age of the Resurrection. His answer undermines their attempt to trap Him, and the scribes, who do believe in the resurrection of the dead, applaud His answer.
Since the Pentateuch did not have any explicit mention of the Resurrection, it was denied by the Sadducees who accepted only the first five books of the Torah – the Pentateuch. Jesus, then quotes the Pentateuch itself to prove the resurrection. He quotes Exodus 3:6 where God says, ‘I am the God of Abraham…”. God does not say ‘I was the God of …’ but ‘I am the God…’, which is in the present tense. This indicates that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive and not dead, born again to a resurrected mode of being and living. The conviction of the resurrection comes through a personal encounter with Christ. Encounter with Christ liberates and makes one free from the overpowering forces of sin, external to us and within us. Resurrection is God’s final answer to death.
One thing this story reveals to us is that the Truth is perfect and cannot be overcome. The Truth always wins! Jesus, by stating what is true, unmasks the foolishness of the Sadducees. He shows that no human trickery can undermine the Truth. The Gospel story should reassure us that no matter what we are confused about, there is an answer. No matter what we fail to understand, if we seek the Truth we will discover the Truth.
Reflect, today, upon that which challenges you the most in your journey of faith. Perhaps it’s a question about the afterlife, or about suffering, or creation. Perhaps it’s something deeply personal. Or perhaps you have not spent enough time as of late to come up with questions for our Lord. Whatever the case may be, seek out the Truth in all things and ask our Lord for wisdom so that you may daily enter more deeply into faith.
Prayer: Lord, I do desire to know all that You have revealed. I desire to understand those things that are most confusing and challenging in life. Help me each day to deepen my faith in You and my understanding of Your Truth. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen