Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him, 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 '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."
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 '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."
Our recently concluded double commemoration of all the saints and of all the faithful departed is deeply rooted in a firm belief in life after earthly death and in the immortality of the soul. Of course, we could go on and on arguing philosophically whether man's soul is immortal and whether there is an afterlife, but that would only prove the immortality of philosophical debates. As Catholics, we firmly believe in the resurrection of the dead that is stated in our Creed. Christ's own glorious Resurrection reassures this faith.
Our First Reading presents us a very tragic story of a mother and her sons choosing to die rather than to disobey God's laws. It is inspiring how they were unafraid to face death because they believed that God raises His faithful ones from the dead. This mother and her seven sons remind us of the stories of our martyrs whose firm belief in the resurrection lead to their cruel yet glorious deaths, which they accepted courageously.
With these stories in mind, we come to wonder why today, we fear to die. It is natural for us as humans to dislike death, but to fear it is perhaps not Christian. Do we fear death because we don't believe in the afterlife? Probably the only Christian answer is that we fear death because we haven't lived good lives and are not yet ready to face God. But that only proves that we do not take our faith seriously. Our belief in the everlasting life God promised must be made manifest in the way we live. As Catholics, we must not give undue value to this world. We must treasure everlasting life more than we treasure our lives here. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mt 6:33)"
Everlasting life is often viewed as a reward from God for those who are good. It is. But it is more fitting to say that everlasting life is God's inheritance for His faithful children. An inheritance has always been the right of a Father's children. In the same way, everlasting life has always been in store for all of us, since we are all God's children. But we need to be faithful children of God. If we run away from Him, He cannot force us to accept His promised eternal life. If we disobey His will, we act as if we were not His children and we denounce Him as Father.
In our Gospel today, Jesus clarifies that everlasting life is not like the life here on earth. As St. Paul said, "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)" Eternal life with God will never be boring no matter how endless it is. The divine life He has in store for us is a life of eternal joy that is always new. The problem with us is that we believe in the eternal life but we treat it as a fairy tale, or something that has little relevance and urgency. We fail to see the great things that are in store for us and we give more value to what can be of use to us here and now. When we are old and are near death, only then will we realize the value of a life lived in accordance to God's law. Let's not wait.
A life that never ends awaits us after our earthly life. It is up to us to choose whether we want to spend it with God or without Him. The death which we will all face becomes only a birth to eternal life, as St. Francis puts it. We will no longer fear death but wait with Christian hope for the moment when we get to meet God face to face. All this is we only live a life of true faith. For if we work hard and study for how many excruciating years just to be "ready" to live our lives here on earth, how much more must we prepare for eternal life with God?
Our First Reading presents us a very tragic story of a mother and her sons choosing to die rather than to disobey God's laws. It is inspiring how they were unafraid to face death because they believed that God raises His faithful ones from the dead. This mother and her seven sons remind us of the stories of our martyrs whose firm belief in the resurrection lead to their cruel yet glorious deaths, which they accepted courageously.
With these stories in mind, we come to wonder why today, we fear to die. It is natural for us as humans to dislike death, but to fear it is perhaps not Christian. Do we fear death because we don't believe in the afterlife? Probably the only Christian answer is that we fear death because we haven't lived good lives and are not yet ready to face God. But that only proves that we do not take our faith seriously. Our belief in the everlasting life God promised must be made manifest in the way we live. As Catholics, we must not give undue value to this world. We must treasure everlasting life more than we treasure our lives here. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mt 6:33)"
Everlasting life is often viewed as a reward from God for those who are good. It is. But it is more fitting to say that everlasting life is God's inheritance for His faithful children. An inheritance has always been the right of a Father's children. In the same way, everlasting life has always been in store for all of us, since we are all God's children. But we need to be faithful children of God. If we run away from Him, He cannot force us to accept His promised eternal life. If we disobey His will, we act as if we were not His children and we denounce Him as Father.
In our Gospel today, Jesus clarifies that everlasting life is not like the life here on earth. As St. Paul said, "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)" Eternal life with God will never be boring no matter how endless it is. The divine life He has in store for us is a life of eternal joy that is always new. The problem with us is that we believe in the eternal life but we treat it as a fairy tale, or something that has little relevance and urgency. We fail to see the great things that are in store for us and we give more value to what can be of use to us here and now. When we are old and are near death, only then will we realize the value of a life lived in accordance to God's law. Let's not wait.
A life that never ends awaits us after our earthly life. It is up to us to choose whether we want to spend it with God or without Him. The death which we will all face becomes only a birth to eternal life, as St. Francis puts it. We will no longer fear death but wait with Christian hope for the moment when we get to meet God face to face. All this is we only live a life of true faith. For if we work hard and study for how many excruciating years just to be "ready" to live our lives here on earth, how much more must we prepare for eternal life with God?
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