November 10, 2019: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading: Luke 20:27, 34-38 (shortened version)

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward (and gave the example of a brother who died and his seven brothers each in turn married his wife. Who will be her husband be in heaven?).

Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; 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.

That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord,’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive.”

Reflection:

Jesus answers the Sadducees’ challenge about resurrection (which they did not believe in) by telling them and us that relationships will be different in heaven. I often think of deceased loved ones as alive, just not in the same way as I knew them on earth. I still feel their presence, their influence in my life.

Action:

Reach out to someone(s) this week who is grieving the loss of a loved one. Be present to them in whatever way(s) is needed. Ask them about their loved one and encourage them to share special memories.