November 19

Luke 20:27-40
34 Jesus replied, The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who
are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead
will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like
the angels. They are Gods children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the
account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.[a] 38 He is not the God of the
dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

CHILDREN OF LIGHT
In todays Gospel, we see the Sadducees testing Jesus by posing the seeming problem about a
widow and seven brothers, one of whom is her own dead husband. The Levirate law obliged a
man to raise up an heir or a set of heirs on behalf of his childless deceased brother. This was
so that his property would not leave the family and that the latter's name would continue in
posterity.
Jesus stresses that the succession of husbands is only a problem to the Sadducees because
they fail to fully understand the meaning of resurrection. The new life and the life on earth are
two completely different things. In heaven, marriage will be transcended by a new kind of
relationship, one that goes beyond the social and moral norms we have gotten used to on
earth.
The Sadducees are aristocratic leaders who scorn the Pharisees. Being very conservative, they
accept only the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, as inspired. Moreover, they deny the
resurrection by trying to show its absurdity. But Jesus affirms the resurrection of the body,
and calls those who died "children of light" or "children of resurrection." Our resurrection is
the fruit of Christ's saving and redemptive mission. How wonderful it is to have such an
unbelievable gift, that of living forever with God.
Guide Questions
What attachments are hindering/distracting me from longing for my true home in heaven?