C: 32nd Sun of OrdTime (10 Nov 2019) - LIFE WITHOUT A CAUSE (Lk 20:27-38)

We find in our gospel today the character of the Sadducees. The Synoptic Gospels describe them as one of the leading religious leaders in Judea along with the Pharisees who were opposed by Jesus on account of their hypocritical ways (Mt 3:7; 16:1, 11, 12). Their main difference, however, with the Pharisees is that they “say there is no resurrection” (Mk 12:18; Mt 22:23; Lk 20:27). With this context, they started to question Jesus on what happens to a woman after having been married seven times on earth: “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? (Lk 20:33).

We should bear in mind that this is not an honest question seeking an honest answer. More likely, the Sadducees were posing this query to trap and, possibly, to imprison Jesus. How do we know? The Acts of the Apostles enlighten us with their real color: “While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:1). Later, in the narrative: “Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him, that is, the sect of the Sadducees, being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.” (Acts 5:17-18).

What we can surmise, then, is that the Sadducees were aristocratic power players in Jerusalem, conniving not only with the High Priest, but even with the Roman imperial hegemony, in their ulterior motive of preserving their status quo. A Roman-Jewish historian in the first century C.E. by the name of Flavius Josephus underscores the cruelty of the Sadducees on those Jews who would violate their laws (cf. Against Apion 2, 276-278). They were too strict in advocating the implementation of Mosaic laws to the point that they became very tough on ordinary Jewish citizens. Moreover, Josephus claims that “the Sadducees are able to persuade none but the rich, and have not the populace obsequious to them” (cf. Antiquities of the Jews XIII, 297).

Looking at the greater picture of the beliefs and traits that we can gather about the Sadducees and relating them with our gospel today, we can say that their non-belief of the resurrection might have affected heavily their outlook in their daily living, becoming cruel and opportunist for the larger part. Believing that the only life is the one here on earth, they behaved in such a way that earth becomes a heaven for them: they were socially esteemed by the Jewish public, they were in political power, they were rubbing elbows with the rich, they enjoyed Rome’s protection, and they were making judgments on who goes to prison or is released.

Conversely, if one believes that there is the resurrection of the dead as Jesus himself teaches, then one’s life on earth becomes disentangled from the mundane concerns. A believer, hence, does not put much effort climbing the ladder of socio-economic success nor does much politicking in order to secure power and public influence. It is because s/he is at peace within him/herself, investing only for what really matters the most: life eternal in God’s kingdom in heaven. Jesus rightfully summarizes what happens in the afterlife for those who are not poisoned by worldly allurements: “Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection” (Lk 20:36).

However, for those who live as if there is no afterlife, they remain unhappy. Despite their fame, power, and riches, they do not find peace. And much more, they end up being bitter in themselves and in their relationship with others. And even worse, when they finally die they will find out that there is “no resurrection, no new life” (2 Macc 7:13) awaiting them.

- Rex Fortes, CM