Daily Retreat 11/11/07
2007 Nov 11 SUN:THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
2 Mc 7:1-2. 9-14/ Ps 16(17):1. 5-6. 8. 15 (15b)/ 2 Thes 2:16 – 3:5/ Lk 20:27-38
From today’s readings: “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by Him.... Lord, when Your glory appears, my joy will be full.... May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.... Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus....”
The Resurrection
Have you ever heard of the Sadducees? Possibly not at all, or at most, only a little, for it’s only a little that history has recorded of that Jewish faction mentioned in today’s Gospel passage, and in a few other places in the New Testament, and in a couple of other contemporary works.
And sadly to say, the Sadducees are chiefly characterized, not by what they believed, but by what they disbelieved, as we see from their introduction in the Gospel: “Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection....” Now, perhaps some have forgotten, but resurrection is really the linchpin of our Christian faith - as St. Paul admitted pointblank to the Corinthians, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty, too, is our preaching; empty, too, your faith..... If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all men!”
Clearly, then, just like Christ, Christianity rises with the resurrection, or is buried forever, if those Sadducees were right in denying the resurrection. Now, remember, “resurrection” means something that is fallen or dead “rises again.” Thus, (and too many have lost sight of this crucial point!), “resurrection” is a much more audacious claim than mere affirmation of the immortality of the soul - “resurrection” is a precise reality that dispels so much of our contemporaries’ foggy notions of “life after death.”
Do you believe in the immortality of the soul? Do you believe in life after death? The nearly unanimous majority of all peoples of all times would say “Yes!” but with quite different visions of what those concepts entailed. For some would put it this way: “Death cannot destroy the essence, the spiritual core of a person.” Fine, as far as it goes, but that’s far short of Christian belief! Or those who affirm: “After death, a person lives on in the hearts and memories of the next generation.” So what? Even the Sadducees wouldn’t hesitate to agree with such platitudes! Even those who insist, “We mustn’t cry, because Grandma is with God now....” - even such faith-grounded remarks haven’t begun to fathom the fullness of Christian faith in the resurrection!
You see, by definition, “resurrection” is an assertion about the eternal fate of the body - the physical, carnal, corporeal, mortal body! And, in spite of the historical insignificance of the Sadducees, there are many, many people (perhaps even most!) who would flatly deny the resurrection of the body.
Quite a wide spectrum, in fact, of philosophies and religions see the body basically as a disposable vehicle for the soul, hypothesizing that, at the beginning of a mortal’s life, the soul enters and animates the body, which in turn “bears” the soul until death. At that point, the assumption is that the body is abandoned by the soul and left behind forever, so that the soul can continue its existence in a different mode, perhaps through reincarnation (entering another body), or amalgamation (uniting with a greater spirit), or whatever. In any case, the presumption is that, at death, the soul certainly lives on, but the body is history, literally buried forever.
Such notions, however, are absolutely incompatible with even a mustard seed of Christian faith! For Jesus Himself said, “I am the Resurrection.... I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.” So those who believe in Him, must, by definition, believe the truth He taught and wrought about the resurrection of the body!
For, to be Christian, to believe in Christ, means to believe, as Jesus taught, in the resurrection of the body: at the moment of human death, the body and soul do separate, but only for a time. For the soul is immediately ushered to God for the particular, private judgment - and remember, according to Jesus, not all go to Heaven - it’s not a “shoo in,” by any means! And at the end of time, the eternal fates of all souls will be publicly reiterated at the last judgment; then, the body will be resurrected, re-vivified, and reunited for all eternity with its proper soul. For, God created us humans body and soul, He redeemed us body and soul, and His will is for our eternal life, body and soul!
Now, for the historical Sadducees and for their modern disciples, any notion of “resurrection” is an absurd abstraction, and hence, they would endure no discussion of it! Is that true for you? Would you dismiss these clarifications as inconsequential? Be warned, for that would amount to dismissal of your Christian faith, for all true Christians are known for what they believe!
2 Mc 7:1-2. 9-14/ Ps 16(17):1. 5-6. 8. 15 (15b)/ 2 Thes 2:16 – 3:5/ Lk 20:27-38
From today’s readings: “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by Him.... Lord, when Your glory appears, my joy will be full.... May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.... Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus....”
The Resurrection
Have you ever heard of the Sadducees? Possibly not at all, or at most, only a little, for it’s only a little that history has recorded of that Jewish faction mentioned in today’s Gospel passage, and in a few other places in the New Testament, and in a couple of other contemporary works.
And sadly to say, the Sadducees are chiefly characterized, not by what they believed, but by what they disbelieved, as we see from their introduction in the Gospel: “Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection....” Now, perhaps some have forgotten, but resurrection is really the linchpin of our Christian faith - as St. Paul admitted pointblank to the Corinthians, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty, too, is our preaching; empty, too, your faith..... If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all men!”
Clearly, then, just like Christ, Christianity rises with the resurrection, or is buried forever, if those Sadducees were right in denying the resurrection. Now, remember, “resurrection” means something that is fallen or dead “rises again.” Thus, (and too many have lost sight of this crucial point!), “resurrection” is a much more audacious claim than mere affirmation of the immortality of the soul - “resurrection” is a precise reality that dispels so much of our contemporaries’ foggy notions of “life after death.”
Do you believe in the immortality of the soul? Do you believe in life after death? The nearly unanimous majority of all peoples of all times would say “Yes!” but with quite different visions of what those concepts entailed. For some would put it this way: “Death cannot destroy the essence, the spiritual core of a person.” Fine, as far as it goes, but that’s far short of Christian belief! Or those who affirm: “After death, a person lives on in the hearts and memories of the next generation.” So what? Even the Sadducees wouldn’t hesitate to agree with such platitudes! Even those who insist, “We mustn’t cry, because Grandma is with God now....” - even such faith-grounded remarks haven’t begun to fathom the fullness of Christian faith in the resurrection!
You see, by definition, “resurrection” is an assertion about the eternal fate of the body - the physical, carnal, corporeal, mortal body! And, in spite of the historical insignificance of the Sadducees, there are many, many people (perhaps even most!) who would flatly deny the resurrection of the body.
Quite a wide spectrum, in fact, of philosophies and religions see the body basically as a disposable vehicle for the soul, hypothesizing that, at the beginning of a mortal’s life, the soul enters and animates the body, which in turn “bears” the soul until death. At that point, the assumption is that the body is abandoned by the soul and left behind forever, so that the soul can continue its existence in a different mode, perhaps through reincarnation (entering another body), or amalgamation (uniting with a greater spirit), or whatever. In any case, the presumption is that, at death, the soul certainly lives on, but the body is history, literally buried forever.
Such notions, however, are absolutely incompatible with even a mustard seed of Christian faith! For Jesus Himself said, “I am the Resurrection.... I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.” So those who believe in Him, must, by definition, believe the truth He taught and wrought about the resurrection of the body!
For, to be Christian, to believe in Christ, means to believe, as Jesus taught, in the resurrection of the body: at the moment of human death, the body and soul do separate, but only for a time. For the soul is immediately ushered to God for the particular, private judgment - and remember, according to Jesus, not all go to Heaven - it’s not a “shoo in,” by any means! And at the end of time, the eternal fates of all souls will be publicly reiterated at the last judgment; then, the body will be resurrected, re-vivified, and reunited for all eternity with its proper soul. For, God created us humans body and soul, He redeemed us body and soul, and His will is for our eternal life, body and soul!
Now, for the historical Sadducees and for their modern disciples, any notion of “resurrection” is an absurd abstraction, and hence, they would endure no discussion of it! Is that true for you? Would you dismiss these clarifications as inconsequential? Be warned, for that would amount to dismissal of your Christian faith, for all true Christians are known for what they believe!
posted by FrPitstick | 11/10/2007
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