Walking with Jesus: Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, November 6, 2022

Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20: 27-38

During the past week we have remembered and celebrated the important people in our lives. On All Saints Day we honored special people who lived lives outstanding in commitment, honesty, and holiness that was filled with love, compassion and forgiveness. Think about your special saints who might possess these same qualities:   St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese the Little Flower, Mother Teresa, Padre Pio, St. John Paul II, St. Jean Marie Vianney. Do you know a saint having your name? Do you know why you were given the name you received? Did your parents like the name or like the person behind the name? On All Souls Day we remember all those souls who are waiting to enjoy the love and gifts of heaven. We include our relatives and friends in this group. Actually we have saints we know who are in heaven. Maybe the world or the church doesn’t recognize them but we do because they were just beautiful people.

Now both groups lived life and found it full of tests and situations we haven’t faced or are not sure we could handle. They were killed, tortured, rejected, ostracized, passed over ... and gave witness to God’s love when others did not want to hear this. They loved when it was hard to love … they cared when they had no more to give … they were strong even in their weaknesses because they knew it was God who was present to them and leading them. The role they lived was one of sainthood. Was their role worthwhile? They are with God now. Is that good enough? Is it good enough for me to be brave and live this kind of life? The readings explain it this way: Jesus says, “Come follow Me!” – His three most powerful words our behavior must embody – and the terrible sacrifices they involve are described in Luke 18:22, Matthew 16:24, Mark 1:17, and Luke 9:23. Our readings today help us understand God’s command.

The Book of Maccabees dates from 167 to 164 B.C. It was a challenging time for God’s people: A foreign king has conquered Palestine and is determined to impose Hellenistic practices that clash with Mosaic law. In this portion of the book, the author includes testimony about people who remain loyal to God in the face of horrible adversity. The king demands that a mother and her seven sons eat meat of sacrifice, which is forbidden by the law of Israel. Even as they experience torture from the soldiers, they remain steadfast. They say they will die before giving in ... and each does. They say that this will only deprive them of this present life: “I will now enjoy eternal life with God … my mortal body is a gift from God that I now surrender it to be with God … there is a resurrection from the dead.”

Paul is counteracting the false claims that God won’t help them in their temptation to abandon the faith and live the Christian life. They are to remember that God is faithful … they should trust in God’s love … and look to Jesus as their model. God gives believers the grace and strength to remain faithful servants in word and deed.  

In the Gospel, Jesus is confronted by a bunch of Sadducees attempting to embarrass Him regarding the resurrection of the dead. They are a conservative, aristocratic religio-political Jewish party that has some special functions in the Jerusalem temple.  They deny the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits and the validity of oral tradition. They only accept the Torah – the written law – the first five books of the Bible. As always they want to put Jesus in a no-win situation. Jesus explains that the first and most important point is that marriage takes place only during life on earth.  The practices and understandings related to life here no longer apply in heaven.  Those who experience the resurrection of the dead live in a setting unlike anything previously experienced in life on earth. There will be no dying in heaven and no need for marriage or to raise children. Heaven is life with God forever. Am I ready for it? Am I looking forward to it and living accordingly?

So I reflect on:

• Many life experiences do not come with an instruction manual. What I have gone through that I had to grow into? How did God help me through these events?
• The unknown can be filled with fear. I could get hurt. Those I love could get hurt. I look at the unknowns in my life now: Am I bringing them to God and asking for help?
  

Sacred Space 2022 states:

“To believe in your own personal resurrection is a wonderful gift in this life. It gives meaning to all that makes up your life. It is expressed also in our prayers that we offer for the repose of the souls of all those who have gone before us, which gets great emphasis during this month of November.”