Daily Gospel Reflection for November 6, 2016 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel: Luke 20, 27-38 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Those wacky Sadducees! Don't you just wish for once that Jesus would say, "I don't answer hypothetical questions"? They think they are trapping Him by asking a question about the afterlife when they don't even believe in it. Maybe they think that, if he stumbles through the answer, it will help their case that there is no hereafter. Yet, the Sadducees do believe in Scripture, so Jesus also quotes Moses to show that they are hypocrites. They can dish it out, but can they take it?

And what about the wife question? Here, like many places in the Gospels, Jesus gives us hints about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He says that the question is moot. Even the sacraments are earthbound institutions. They are visible signs that bridge the gap that man set between himself and God with the Original Sin. When one is in heaven, there is no longer any need for that line of communication. You've already made it! Therefore, there is no need for marriage in the afterlife because the goal of our very existence is to be with Him. I know this is kind of a bummer for the romantic in us who want to live happily ever after with our spouse and other loved ones. All I can tell you is that heaven is unimaginably wonderful: better than the best food you have ever eaten, the best sunset you have ever seen, and, yes, the best spouse you have been blessed with.

Besides, there is free Starbucks in heaven, so you can get together with family and friends any time and enjoy their company over a mocha. That's got to be in Scripture somewhere.

Ponder:

Do I get too wrapped up in guessing what heaven is like or when the end of time is coming based on what I see day to day? Can I stick to the game plan of faith, hope and love and leave the rest to Him?

Pray:

Dear Lord, bear with us when we get so preoccupied with our earthbound questions and forget why we are here. We know that we can't skip this step and that it is only by your grace that we are here in the first place. We pray that the Holy Spirit will open our hearts to the true meaning of your Word and that we refrain from pushing our own interpretations.

Copyright 2016 Tim Prince