32nd Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
What
does marriage and re-marriage have to do with the resurrection of the
dead? Nothing, as it turns out. But Jesus' opinion on marriage and
re-marriage was never in dispute. The dispute is about his teaching
on the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees are practicing a
time-honored form of argument – the reductio
ad
absurdum.
Take an absurd but possible real-life scenario and challenge your
opponent to explain this scenario using his beliefs. The goal here is
find what's called a limiting principle, some rule or boundary that
helps to define the reach of your opponent's position. If there is no
limiting principle, then your opponent's beliefs explain everything,
meaning
they explain nothing thus making his beliefs useless. The Sadducees
are probing for the limits of Jesus' explanation for what happens to
the righteous after death. More specifically, since they do not
believe in the resurrection of the dead, they are trying to refute
this novel theological teaching. But Jesus doesn't play their game.
Instead, he teaches them (and us): “. . .the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [. . .] is not God of the dead,
but of the living, for to him all are alive.” All who are alive in
Christ are alive forever. Even in death there is no death in Christ.
Here's
what the CCC teaches us: “Christ
is raised with his own body. . .but he did not return to an earthly
life. So, in him, 'all of them will rise again with their own bodies
which they now bear,' but Christ 'will change our lowly body to be
like his glorious body,' into a 'spiritual body'” (nos. 999-1000).
How does this happens? It starts at baptism. When you were baptized
your “lowly body” was started on the path that leads to a
“glorified body” and you were made a member of the “spiritual
body,” the Church. In other words, all that you are – body and
soul – was initiated (started) in the process of becoming Christ.
If you remain in the body of Christ, the Church – through the
sacraments, prayer, and good works – then, like Christ, you will,
at your death, be raised like he was. So, even in death there is no
death in Christ. The life you are living now is not your own. You
belong to Christ. Your death belongs to Christ. And your life eternal
belongs to Christ. The question to ask yourself at this point is: am
I living my life as if I belong to Christ? If not, what can I do to
change course?
Staying
in the Body of Christ is a matter of consistently and worthily
celebrating the sacraments, esp. confession and Mass; diligent and
devoted daily prayer; and doing good works for the greater glory of
God. As Catholics, we gather weekly (daily) to participate directly
in the divine life of the Blessed Trinity. When we gather to
celebrate the Eucharist, we gather as One Body to partake in a
sacrificial meal, a meal where Christ is made present in the bread
and wine, where we eat and drink his body, blood, soul, and divinity,
where we take into ourselves everything he is for us and anticipate
our own transfiguration after death. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus
wrote, “Just as bread is no longer ordinary bread after God's
blessing has been invoked upon it, the Eucharist is formed of two
things, one earthly, the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which
partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the
hope of resurrection.” Living in the hope of the resurrection is
not just an intellectual exercise — it is living a Eucharistic
life, one moment of thanksgiving after another, one instance of
praise after another, taking into ourselves all that Christ is for us
so that we might become Christs for others.
We
find our strength and energy to be Christs for others in diligent and
devoted daily prayer, receiving the graces that the Father pours out
on us, clearing away any obstacles to reception and sharpening our
ability and willingness to say, “Thank you, Lord!” Gratitude
builds humility; and humility builds holiness. The further we are
from the world while still living in the world, the closer we are to
being perfected in the Christ who owns us. The closer we are to
Christ, the more like him do we speak, think, feel, and act. And the
closer we are to speaking, thinking, feeling, and acting like Christ,
the readier we are to do the good works we are vowed to do. The
old-school corporate works of mercy still apply: feed the hungry;
give water to the
thirsty; clothe the naked; shelter the homeless; visit the sick;
visit the imprisoned; and bury the dead. The spiritual works of mercy
apply as well: instruct the ignorant; counsel the doubtful; admonish
the sinner; bear patiently those who wrong us; forgive offenses;
comfort the afflicted; pray for the living and the dead. All who are
alive in Christ are alive forever. Even in death there is no death in
Christ. Are you living your life as if you belong to Christ?
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