A Reading from
the 20th chapter of the Gospel of Luke…
Some
Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him
a question,
“Teacher,
Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no
children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the
second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died
childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose
wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”
Jesus said to
them,
“Those who
belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are
considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore,
because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the
resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in
the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as 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 of them are alive.” Then some of the scribes
answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him
another question.
The Gospel of
the Lord.
Yesterday,
many remembered and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall – a symbol of the Cold War, of the hard and fearful divide between
democracy and communism that defined much of the latter half of the 20th
century. In the following days and months in 1989 and into 1990, dramatic
pictures of the people of East and West Berlin, pulling down this physical
barrier that had separated them since 1961 with their bare hands would flood
the media. And yet, this all might not have happened if not for one spontaneous
word from a government leader in East Berlin –
Immediately.
Gunter
Schabowski was tasked with providing updates on loosening travel restrictions
between the East and the West at checkpoints in the wall. When asked by a
reporter for clarification about the timetable for the new restrictions – when
would they start? – Schabowski fumbled and then replied –
Immediately?
Suddenly…the
whole world changed. The news reported that the gates were opened and while
this was never the intent of the East Berlin government it became true
as thousands of East Berliners rushed to the check points to travel to the
other side. The world was alive with possibility as the wall between East and
West literally crumbled…
Walls are
built on fear
Fear that
divides us, fear that leads us to question one another.
Jesus knows
this cat and mouse tangle well. Today’s “one bride for seven brothers”
inquisition is only the latest in a line of verbal skirmishes between Jesus and
the religious leadership in Jerusalem - since the crowds raucously welcomed
Jesus into the city, riding on a donkey.
As Jesus
continues the ministry he had be doing all over the countryside, now in
Jerusalem, tensions rise with the religious leaders – the scribes, chief
priest; the Pharisees, the Sadducees.
·
over money changers in the
temple
·
about where Jesus’ authority
comes from
·
regarding paying taxes
Each time,
Jesus’ answers deftly (almost craftily) and the religious leaders become more
and more frustrated. They fear Jesus and seek ways to kill him, and yet they
fear the people who love Jesus. Division, pushing these groups apart, east from
west, continues, as the religious leaders continue to find a way to trap Jesus,
to set him up.
In our reading
for today, our gospel writer Luke captures this rising drama. I can almost hear
the rising music in the background as here again, the religious leaders come.
Luke makes it clear this is a trap as he tells us “those who say there is no
resurrection” have come to ask a question about resurrection.
I find there
is a familiarity to this kind of cornering question. It pits people against each
other; it puts us on the defensive before a question is even asked.
·
So, I don’t really believe
in all this God stuff. Why do you believe?
·
How could you have voted
for that person?
·
Why would you eat that food?
Don’t you know how bad it is for you?
There is so
much judgement in the question, we know we are set on opposite sides before we
even have a chance to form an answer. We’re cornered and must decide how to
defend ourselves, or admit we can’t. Pushed apart.
From East to
West.
Or perhaps we
have asked these questions, full of deep conviction in our beliefs. Desiring to
share what we believe is good with those we care about. Concerned about how to
address issues that seem to have gotten so far away from how we understand the
world to be. Reaching out to understand but it feels so far away –
Far as East
from West.
Jesus tears down the wall.
Immediately. The world is changing.
God is.
God is here.
God is alive.
Jesus points
to God’s presence with humanity since the beginning, from Abraham and Moses,
through today – the God of the living. For Jesus boldly responds to religious leaders’
question about death that,
“Now God is God not of the dead, but
of the living; for to God all of them are alive.”
God told Moses
– “Here I am…I am who I am.” Jesus reminds us here that
God is.
God is here.
God is alive.
Jesus shows us
that part of being children of the living God, of being resurrection people, is
living with that awareness of God’s “present-ness,” of acknowledging and know
God of the alive-ones. And that this God not only enlivens each one of
us but also connects us to one another.
What the
Sadducees began as a disconnecting question – whose wife will she be? – forcing
separation between brothers, focusing on death, Jesus instead gathers all
people together, connected as children of the living God.
For in God,
there is no East or West.
As a hospital
chaplain, I have seen God alive in a man grappling with the latest changes in
his cancer progression. In dark midnight moments, I have seen the life-giving
love of God connect this man to his wife as he shares that he does not want
further treatment, but instead wants to focus on comfort and their time
together. God’s life of peace and relationship.
As a volunteer
with prison ministry, I have seen God alive in women incarcerated for years
upon years, sometimes for the rest of their lives. In Debra and Alice,
sentenced to life in prison, who through relationship with Jesus and the faith
community at Marysville women’s prison, have become faith leaders and mentors
to many women. Debra and Alice now mentor women through a Christian-based
re-entry program, supporting women as they prepare to leave the prison and
return to the outside world. These two women share their faith and help teach
other children of God to be ready to re-enter society, bridging a great divide.
God’s life of strength and growth.
Breathe in
this new life!
We are called
to live as children of the living God!
We are
enlivened to spend each moment in connectedness with God and with one another.
This is God’s
call to share in and uplift one another’s whole lives.
Tomorrow we
will celebrate Veteran’s Day. As a country we will honor those who have seen
the worst of the divides between people. Perhaps some of you sitting here have
seen and experienced this violence, when East and West push so far apart that
war breaks out. To you, I think God calls us to say more than thank you and to
offer 30% off on a meal at TGI Fridays, though these acknowledgements are not
insignificant.
My call to
seminary has been a winding road. Along the way, I worked as a social worker
and for a time I supported individuals struggling with employment. At one time,
half of my caseload was made up of veterans of all ages – from their twenties
to their sixties. Many were homeless or living with friends. They had served in
a variety of branches of our military and a variety of wars over the past
several decades. I’ve never forgotten these veterans – longing to work,
struggling to survive. It was a great joy that through their efforts and the
teamwork of our agency each of those individuals was able to be employed.
How are we
called to care for the whole person, the veteran child of the living God this
Veteran’s Day? To see the needs of the whole person and provide more than an
obligatory “thank you” on one day and move on?
Jesus tells us
we are all children of the living God, we are connected in relationship to God
and to one another. How will this impact us today, tomorrow, this week?
Resurrection enlivens us in the here and now – gives us new life each day to be
connected to one another through the love of God. To see each other as
resurrection people and not through the lens of East and West.
And we
remember always that -
God is.
God is here.
God is Alive.
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