Hello Friends,
Welcome back to Prepared
Hearts, the online Bible study of the Wacousta
Community United Methodist Church.
The lectionary texts for this week are as follows: Haggai 1:15b-2:9, Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21, 2 Thessalonians
2:1-5:13-17, and Luke 20:27-38. I will be preaching from Luke.
The text is below, followed by starter thoughts:
Luke 20:27-38
27 Some Sadducees,
those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28 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. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died
childless; 30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same
way all seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 In the
resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had
married her.” 34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and
are given in marriage; 35 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.
36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are
children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37 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. 38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of
them are alive.”
STARTER THOUGHTS
This is the kind of scripture lesson that probably
fascinates some and bores others. I’ll be honest, I have enough to worry about
in this life that I don’t give a lot of thought to my afterlife. I trust that
God is going to take care of me, that it is going to be peaceful and beautiful,
and beyond that, I don’t give it a lot of thought. I’ve known others, however,
who are very interested in this topic. They search the scriptures for every
indication of what life after death will be like. What about you? Is the
afterlife something that you spend a lot of time considering? What are you most
curious about? Do you find the mystery of it unsettling? Or is it an exciting
topic for you?
The Sadducees are an
interesting group in the Bible. Although we don’t know a great deal about them,
we know that they, unlike the Pharisees, rejected the oral tradition, and so they
didn’t believe in resurrection or angels. The Sadducees intentionally took the
topic of resurrection to an absurd level when they asked this question of
Jesus. In answering their question, Jesus used the Sadducees’ own source of
authority, the Law of Moses, to defend his response. If God is the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the three must still be alive
to God, right? The Sadducees were satisfied with Jesus’ answer…but are you? What
do you think of Jesus’ response? What about couples who have spent a lifetime
in a loving marriage together…is Jesus really saying that they won’t be
together in the afterlife? What do you think about that?
It’s important to put the concept of marriage in its
historical context when we look at this text. It was, after all, not an
institution based on love and affection at that time. It was a business
arrangement which ensured procreation and community stability. Men were
guaranteed wives (who were considered property) and in turn, women were
protected by the law (if not for a brother to take her in, a widow would have
been in sore shape). Does this fact change how you read this text? Is Jesus
saying something more about the bonds and structures that shape our communities
on this side of death versus the afterlife?
My favorite verse in this passage is 36: Indeed they cannot
die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being
children of the resurrection. I love
the concept of being “children of the resurrection.” What does this make you
think of? What is your vision of the afterlife? Is it based on particular
scriptures or upon the oral traditions that you have received?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. Feel
free to email me or post a comment to our blog.
Peace,
Amee
Jesus seems to indicate that existence after death will not conform to our earthly expectations. I have a sense it will be unique for each of us.....and the reality of what we experience will will be in part built upon the reality we created on earth.
ReplyDeleteI have never questioned the after LIFE, it's just basically that for me, the life I will live eternally after I leave this earth. I enjoy reading books about the temporary "death" experiences people have had and was even given the gift of a true testimony from a dear friend who flatlined but came back to this life to testify for 6 more months about the "light" she saw and the peace she felt when she had left her earthly body for those few minutes. You can Google images of what people think heaven will look like and read scripture like this giving some insight as to what it might be like but until that day comes that I draw my last breath I will truly not know. To not be married to the man I love seems strange to think about but I then nothing about Heaven can be truly comprehended so I don’t worry about it and just trust that I will feel love, be loved and know the joy of peace always. To not have belief of eternity with God seems so sad to me and I am so glad that I have opened my heart to Him and accepted the grace which He has given me to have the hope of eternity.
ReplyDeleteSongs about dying and going to be with the Lord have always meant a great deal to me, “I Can Only Imagine”, “I’ll Fly Away” are a couple I love but my favorite so far is a Brad Paisely country song, “When I Get Where I Am Going”, sums it up for me totally… When I get where I am going, there’ll be only happy tears, I will shed the sins and struggles I have carried all these years and I’ll leave my heart wide open, I will love and have no fear, When I get where I am going! AMEN.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Matt. 10:7.
ReplyDeleteJesus came that we might have life more abundantly. John 10:10.
Heaven will be different. It should be – if we have Christ in our lives, life is different! I think now is the time for us to prepare for forever, so, rather than that dream on the unknown future, I prefer to concentrate on the now, living the abundant life He promised. No, it is not always a bed of roses, it is not always easy, but it is abundant, and joyful, and purposeful.
God Bless and Keep You
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