11/11/07 (3 before Advent)
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5,13-17
Luke 20:27-38
We are now in the count-down to Advent, and the readings on these Sundays are concerned with the coming of the Lord and his triumph over evil.
The reading from Paul's second letter to the Christians at Thessalonica refers to previous teaching he had given them - teaching which has not been given to us! Consequently there are many things in the chapter which we are unclear about. What is clear is that Paul is reassuring his readers that Jesus had not yet returned to earth, and that one day he will - after evil has had a resurgence under a leader he calls 'the man of lawlessness'. In the verses we miss out of the reading Paul warns them that this person will be very persuasive, and have great powers, so that many will follow him. His message to them is to stand firm, not to be surprised by the victories evil wins, to hold firmly to the good news and to live in faith, obedience and hope. Their destiny is to share Christ's glory! But they must stay firm in the faith.
The gospel reading looks beyond that, to the glory which will be revealed. The Sadducees were the ruling party in Jesus' day. They only accepted the first five books in the Bible, and rejected any teaching about life after death, or the existence of angelic beings. Their hopes were firmly fixed to the ground. They therefore wanted to expose Jesus' teaching as ridiculous, with a stock question about resurrection.
The question turns on a passage in the Bible about 'levirate marriage', which provided that when a man died without issue and his brother lived in the same extended household, the brother had to marry his widow, and the first son would count as the dead man's son. The Sadducees thought of a situation in which an afterlife would be intolerable - assuming that resurrection would mean life carried on as before. Jesus' answer makes the point that the resurrection life is radically different from this life. Family life in this world is flawed, however good our relationships may have been. Those who have resurrection life can look forward to unflawed relationships, especially with God himself. Jesus also makes the point that the Sadducees have not taken to heart even the Scriptures they accept: teaching about resurrection life is implicit throughout.
Some Christians are worried about the teaching that there will be no marriage in the new age. Does it mean relationships will be less loving than now? Does it mean husband and wife will be strangers to each other? No, of course not. There will be perfect love for one another, and marriage will be replaced by something far better. What that is, we will see - if we remain true to our Lord and Saviour.
Questions:
1) As you imagine the life to come, what do you most look forward to?
2) How can we help one another to stand firm in the faith in evil times?