He is God, not of the dead, but of the living

I would think that there is no one question more important to each person than the purpose of
his/her existence. Birth, life and death are great mysteries, and, as we journey towards the
inevitable end, there will certainly be wonder, fear and contemplation about what awaits. There
are some who believe in an afterlife, and there are some who don’t. The latter group might
dismiss a belief in the afterlife as something that is invented to ease people’s fear of death, but
surely, it is more than a human invention if there is an entire (seemingly impossible to
accomplish) body of teachings about how to live life in this world, in preparation for an afterlife
with God?

The Sadducees in today’s gospel reading did not believe in an afterlife, nor a resurrection, for
that matter. Fully aware that the Sadducees only acknowledged the authority of the first five
books of the bible (Genesis to Deuteronomy), Jesus wisely made reference to Exodus in response
to their theological challenge to him. He asserts that souls do live on after the death of the
physical bodies, and that relationships like marriages are no longer existent in the afterlife.

The gospel reading reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 14:3 – “And when I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Sometimes, when I think about what will happen after death, I am overcome with fear over the
uncertainty. But instead of clinging on to that fear which is ultimately, unproductive and
crippling, I am instead beginning to recognise that one thing is for certain — we cannot do in the
afterlife what we can do on this earth and in this realm of existence. So we have to keep going
on, keeping faith in Jesus’ words and trusting that the Spirit will lead us to who we are meant to
be.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Edith Koh)

Prayer: We pray that we will always remember to trust in the Lord.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the reassuring love of God, made ever more present in
the person of Christ.