Do You Believe in the Resurrection?

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
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;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive." 

- Lk. 20:27-38

Do you believe in the resurrection?

That's the question that Jesus indirectly poses when he challenges the Sadducees in this Sunday's Gospel reading.

As Christians, we believe that someday we will experience a resurrection like Christ's, after we depart from this present earthly "age" or stage of life. All believers who follow Jesus will live as the angels do. This is why Catholic funeral Masses are Resurrection Masses and use white instead of black as the liturgical color.

But do you believe in the resurrection of love?

Jesus explained the resurrection in terms of marriage. A marriage is supposed to be a reflection of God's love for his people. Marriage is supposed to unite a man and a woman in an enduring love that comes from God; therefore it gives witness to the world of God's faithfulness and commitment.

So why would Jesus say that marriage is not a part of the resurrection of the dead? Why won’t today’s marriages become perfect and continue forever after both husband and wife have entered heaven?

Here on earth, love is imperfectly given and imperfectly received. Therefore, it's constantly dying and being resurrected again, every day, to the extent that each spouse repents and forgives. (The same is true of any friendship.)

Perfect love is God. We live as true children of God when we love our brothers and sisters the way he loves them. Marriage does not exist in heaven because it's an imperfect love: We love our spouses more than we love others. In heaven, we will love our spouses fully (yes, even our ex-spouses!) and we will love everyone else just as much. And those who have loved us poorly will love us better than the best spouse could love us now.

Marriage is only a foreshadowing of what love – with everyone – will be like in heaven.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

Who has failed to love you enough? Who has caused you a lot of pain? How would you feel if that person were to greet you at the entrance of heaven to let you in at the moment of your death? Do you have enough love for that person to get you through the door?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:

How is a marriage like God's love? Describe the ways that God loves us, and relate these signs of true love to what you've experienced in good friendships. How is this a foretaste of heaven?