Proper 27 Yr C
Here & There
Souls Being Carried Up to Heaven (~1390, manuscript illumination, National Library of Wales, United Kingdom), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved November 20, 2021]. Original source.
Published date 11/3/2022
Editor's note: During the season of Pentecost, churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary have two options. One, often called "semicontinuous" or "Track 1", provides more detail about the Old Testament stories. The other, called "complementary" or "Track 2", more closely marries the Old Testament lesson to the gospel reading.
Introduction
This week another story of the crafty Sadducees, trying to trick Jesus into saying something that makes the listeners wag their heads. So, who gets the wife, after she has married all the brothers, and the brothers have died, and there are no progeny? In today's vernacular, Jesus is just shaking his head in disbelief. "Didn't you learn from Moses? Do you still not understand?" [my paraphrase] The Lord God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob IS THE GOD OF THE LIVING. So the theme "here and there" speaks to God's presence among us now AND after we have died because we are his children. And the rules which we apply to ourselves here on earth will pass away. Comments welcome.
Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her."
Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive."
From sermon4kids.com: “Jesus answered, "Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those who are raised from the dead will not marry or be married. Not only that, but they will never die again. They will live forever as the children of God." ”
Scripture: November 6, 2022 (Proper 27, Year C)—Haggai 1:15b-2:9 (image); Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22 (image); Job 19:23-27a (image); Psalm 17:1-9 (image); 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 (image); Luke 20:27-38 (image). A visual/audio journey.
Collect: O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflection:
Track 1: How will it change the way we treat one another—or even ourselves—if, like the psalmist declares, we bless God’s name every day rather than cling to the negative or complain about the things that do not go as planned?
The writer of Second Thessalonians implores his readers to “hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter” (2 Thess. 2:15). Identify some traditions you should hold on to. Are there traditions we should reclaim? What about traditions that have served their purpose and can be let go? What are the traditions of the church?
Track 2: We each have our own ideas and visions of what happens to us after we die. When the opponents of Jesus tried to trick him by asking a convoluted question about what heaven is like after we die, Jesus replied by saying that God is not the God of the dead but of the living because we are always alive to God (Luke 20:38). How does that inform our sense of Christian community, of the communion of saints, and of life everlasting?
(excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2 © 2013 Westminster John Knox Press)
Practice: We can do several things to practice this gospel. One, we can keep reminding ourselves (and others) that God does not operate by our small human standards. Another is to keep ourselves from judging another based on our own or society's standards, especially if we do not know the circumstances. If you are so moved, share.
Eye Candy: “Shadow of your wing” by Peter Koenig; “As the old sing, the young pipe” by Jacob Jordaens; “Resurrection of the Dead“, manuscript illustration
Ear Worm: “Fight the good fight“, not your average hymn; “O Lord hear my prayer“, Taize; “Jesucristo Reina“, fun Latin aong
Brain Food: “Get your priorities straight”, a podcast about Haggai scripture featuring Nikki Hardeman;
The great debate? (on Luke 20:27-38)
Many imagine
that ‘meeting up with loved ones’
awaits them in death.
But Jesus suggests
something rather different,
as children of God.
Perhaps debating
a ‘life after death’ denies
our mortality.
© 2022 Jeff Shrowder
“Right answer for the wrong question”, from Lesson Plans that Work, the Episcopal Church.
Parables: “Bird Cage” (1996), older film yet still relevant; A league of their own (1992), another older film with good message about persistence; Note "A league of their own" is now a TV series.
Saint Focus: In the musical Nunsense, Sister Hubert reminds us “It’s not that hard to be a saint.” One saint Sister Hubert sings about is St. Anthony. In the song, Sr Hubert says one might emulate St. Anthony and run a "lost and found." This refers to St. Anthony of Padua who had a book of Psalms. A postulate to the order decided to leave the order and take the book with him. Books in those days were hand crafted, so very valuable. St. Anthony prayed for the book's return. The postulate regretted his decision and returned to the order and returned the book to St. Anthony.
For families: Study guide and activities, group activity, snack—see group activity
For children: See family guide/activities; bulletin; craft
For middlers: See family guide/activities; bulletin; craft
Coloring: Ephesians; H is for Heaven
For youth: I think the gospel can resonate with many of us who are challenged by others for our faith. The characteristics that stick out to me are: calmness and consistency and persistence. Jesus did not call the Sadducees "dolts" (as I would do). He calmly reminded them of their own teachers who had taught them otherwise. And Jesus said his "peace" in several different ways for emphasis. Have you been confronted? Did you handle it as well as Jesus? If you wish, share your thoughts.
The final Sundays in the church year always direct us toward the end of time and the end of human life. So today’s gospel reading is a confrontation between Jesus and the Sadducees, a group within Judaism who did not believe in resurrection, as did Jesus and the Pharisees. They try to ridicule the doctrine of resurrection by giving a theoretical application of the Old Testament law that if a man died childless his brother must marry the widow and produce a child to carry on the dead man’s name. Jesus responds that the concern of the law to perpetuate the human race is only for this life. The resurrection life never ends, thus procreation is not needed in that life. Jesus emphasizes that all people are alive in God, thus undercutting the exclusivity of many of his contemporaries.
[Using Haggai] Haggai was a sixth-century B.C. prophet who led the way in the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity was ended. Here we see that the promise made through the earlier prophets was fulfilled; a remnant of the people was saved and they were restored to their land.
[Using Job] The reading from Job is one of the earliest expressions in the Hebrew scriptures of belief in resurrection. The central meaning of this reading is that we are alive to God and even when our body dies, we shall see God.
The second reading today is from II Thessalonians. This church had repeated difficulties due to some members’ expectation that Jesus’ return was due at any moment. Both letters to this church deal primarily with the need for Christians to live at all times as though the Lord is at hand, regardless of when he will actually return.
We gather in the Eucharist as people already in the resurrection life because of our baptism. We gather to share and celebrate a foretaste of the life to come, which will never end. We rejoice that God is God of the living and that our union with God can never end.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.