Some Sadducees- those who say that there is no resurrection- approached Jesus and they put this question to him, Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man's married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for this brother. Well, then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the women herself died. Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven? Jesus replied, The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.

Introductory Prayer: I place myself now Lord in your presence, retreating to the interior room of my heart to be alone with you. Open my eyes of faith to the supernatural reality that you are present here with me to dialogue in my heart. I trust that you will reveal to me the truths I need to mature in my hope for you and that meditating on these will strengthen my love for you today in a real and tangible way.

Petition: Lord, grant me a docile heart that I may embrace only the moral and theological truths that you proclaim. Let this be a reality that shapes the way I live as a believer today.

1. Those that say there is no resurrection. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were like the two poles of our modern world: those who limit their horizon of life to the here and now and those who shape the actions, attitude and aspirations of this life in the real anticipation of a life to come. There are always many apparently rational arguments to prove life is limited to our experience in the here and now. In our western world with so many distractions, and like man throughout history suffering from weakened morals and values, it is easy to claim agnosticism, and disconnect our daily life from God and eternity. Only Christ's revelation can turn this tide of self -absorption. His resurrection tells us for sure that there is a future life, and his words tell us that the nature of that life is beyond our imagining.  It is not enough to know that God exists; it is more wonderful still to know that he not only gave us life in this world, but also wants us to live with him forever. 

2. Those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world. Christ's words here give us an additional, sobering message about the resurrection and the afterlife: we must be "judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead". This means an eternal life of bliss with God is not something automatic once this life is over. Christ does not explain further in this passage, but elsewhere he gives us what we need to understand his words. He shows us that he died for all men and his sacrifice was acceptable to the Father, in him we have life. He has done his part but we in turn must respond to this offer of love by likewise embracing the Father's will in the totality of my life: attitude, deeds and profession of faith. It is the good and faithful servant who will hear the words, "well done, come into the Kingdom prepared for you." My life in this world is an investment in Eternity and Time itself is its precious commodity. No one knows the day or hour when the Son of Man will come to judge this world but the Father. St Paul exhorts the early Christian community to work out your salvation in fear and trembling. God is love, but his love has expectations.

3. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living. How many people tell us, and act, and even pass laws as if God meant death to all things human, advanced and interesting! Yet Jesus seems to say, only those who believe in God can hope to truly live. Life is much more mysterious than the play of our senses. "Only the person who loses his life for my sake will save it."

Jesus tells us, Our God is the living God. What does this mean? He tells the Sadducees that life is more than this world of flesh and blood. Yahweh revealed Himself to Moses as the Father of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They had died many centuries before, to men they seemed dead, but Jesus says that God is not the God of the dead but of the living. If they are his, they are alive in the eternal present of the afterworld. Like all those tried and found to be faithful' servants of God, they live in never-ending life with God.

We too are all called to this communion in God, the beatific vision. Communion in God begins with our sacramental life. The sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confession and Holy Eucharist confer upon our soul the life of grace. Grace infuses the light of God in our soul, claiming it from the darkness of death and sin. The Blessed Trinity dwells within our soul when we are in a state of grace, this is life with God. The life of grace, persevering and growing in the state of grace, is meant to continue even when our physical condition ages and eventually reaches physical death. It is this life of grace that ushers in eternal life with God in the next. 

Conversation: My Jesus, how I yearn to be with you now and in eternity to receive your loving embrace! I earnestly desire your friendship and the fullness of life in heaven. You know my heart though, and how often my desire drift s from you to less worthy loves. May this time of prayer and reflection on the truths of eternity help me to be stronger, more hopeful and more grateful towards you. Grant me the grace of persevering always and growing in your friendship so that I will be found worthy of the resurrection in the life to come. 

Questionnaire:

1. Do I really believe in the resurrection and the life to come? Does this affect my attitude towards life here and now?

2. How do I use the talents and opportunities God gives me to possess him now and to be judged worthy of eternal life when I die?

3. Am I striving to grow in the life of grace, or are my ambitions more like those of someone who does not know of the great gift we have received? Do I ever think that those who don't know God are somehow "luckier" than those who do?