In today’s
Gospel, some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, ask Jesus
a question in an attempt to trap him.
They ask him about seven imaginary brothers. The first brother married and then passed
away. Since the woman had no children to
care for her, the second brother married her.
Then, that brother passed away and the third brother married her. This process continued until all seven
brothers had married this woman. So, the
Sadducees wanted to know whose wife this woman would be after the
resurrection.
Of course,
they weren’t interested in Jesus’ answer to this ridiculous question. They expected him to say one of two
things. Either the brothers didn’t need
to marry the woman and support her as was the custom at that time. Or these seven brothers would be fighting
over the same woman after their resurrection.
Instead, Jesus commented that after the resurrection we no longer marry
or are given in marriage.
Throughout
the Gospels, there are stories of people trying to trap Jesus. Even Pilate tried to trap him by asking him:
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
Eventually, they gave up trying to trap him and crucified him. Even then, Jesus out smarted them when he
rose from the dead and they were left with an empty tomb. Then, they were forced to lie and to say
that someone had moved the stone and stolen the body.
The
Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Romans couldn’t tolerate Jesus’ message. He was a threat to them. Since they couldn’t discredit him, they dealt
with Jesus in the only way that they knew.
They crucified him. Of course,
this is what the Old Testament prophesied and it led to the glory of the
resurrection.
In the first
reading from the Book of Maccabees, we find another seven brothers. These seven brothers refused to eat pork in
violation of God’s law. Each of the
brothers were tortured and killed. When
he was near death, the fourth brother said: “It is my choice to die at the
hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him.”
It is remarkable
that before Jesus’ resurrection, these seven brothers had faith in their
resurrection and were willing to die for it.
These brothers yearn for an end time when God will rule with justice and
peace.
Today,
someone might ask us a question to trap us when they really aren’t interested
in the answer. For example, someone
might ask us how we can oppose abortion.
Aren’t we forcing unwed mothers to have children that they cannot afford
and will be forced to raise in poverty? We
might say that we support adoption. In
fact, I recently saw a study that Catholics are three times more likely to
adopt a child than the general population.
Just like
during Jesus time, those who oppose the truth don’t stop at ridicule. They aren’t willing to tolerate those whose
beliefs oppose theirs and threaten their life style. When
the students from Covington Catholic High School, for example, were approached
by a native American during the Right to Life rally in Washington DC last January,
he and his supporters weren’t interested in tolerating these high school
students. And the Washington Post wasn’t
interested in the welfare of these young men when they posted their inflammatory
article describing the encounter. And
those who threatened these young men on Facebook also weren’t interested in
tolerance.
There is a
price to be paid for proclaiming the truth.
These young men were marching at this large rally proclaiming the truth
that life begins at conception. Some
would say that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I’d say that they were in the right
place at the right time and were meant to stand up to the intolerance and hate
of those who oppose the truth.
As a hopeful people, trusting in
Jesus, we shouldn’t be depressed or worried about the ridicule and intolerance we
might receive from others who cannot accept Christ or his truth. Like
Christ, we are to respond to them lovingly but firmly. Christ has risen, he has conquered the evil
one, and he has established his church which will survive until the end of
time.
Some of us might be reluctant to
proclaim the truth, especially on controversial topics such as abortion and
same sex marriage. As Abraham Lincoln
once said: "All
it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." All
of us are called, like the early witnesses of the resurrection, to lovingly
proclaim the Good News of Christ’s resurrection.
Let us all boldly proclaim the truth
with our actions and our words. Let us put
our trust in the power that was unleashed at the opening of that empty tomb two
thousand years ago.
