The Sixth Sunday of Easter (CL)

Luke 20:27-40

²⁷ There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Afterward the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Many times we focus on the facts of the question. Jesus addresses the Saduccees problem with the resurrection. People will not be married nor marry in the new creation. It could be interesting to think about never dying and if death parts the married, then they would never part.

But the thing that stands out to me is their confession and likewise Jesus passes over the statement, "For the seven had her as wife." It is not just having sexual relations with your sister-in-law but it is marrying your sister-in-law. The brother may then have multiple wives. Would not the greater unanswered question, if a man marries several women, who is his wife. Likewise, if you join your body with several people who are you married to?

Many of struggle with our life choices. Many people with one night stands, late night booty calls, and the various other references to sexually permiscuous life-styles. St Paul references being joined with a prostitute. Here the sexual relation makes the woman the wife of all seven brothers. Jesus does not correct this. Because it does not matter how many or how few you have been joined with in flesh or lustful thought. 

In the resurrection you are made perfect and holy. Christ joins you to himself. You are forgiven of all your sexual sins. You are forgiven of all your sins. God is the God of the living not of those who are dead in their transgressions, because Christ is making you alive.