Reflection
The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection as taught by the Pharisees and other Jewish religions. In fact, they rejected the supernatural. They did not believe in a spiritual dimension. They did not believe in angels. And they did not believe in life after death or any resurrection of God's people to live in heaven forever with God. Also, they only believed in the authority of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures.
Notice Jesus’ first words in his response to the Sadducees, "Is this not the reason you are wrong?" (v24). They were wrong and Jesus was about to tell them how and why they were wrong. Jesus gave them two major reasons. They didn't know the Scriptures and they didn't know the power of God. While as Christians we believe in not just resurrection but of Jesus’ Resurrection, how often do we decide what we want to believe out of ignorance of what we don’t know?
For those who have remarried after the death of a spouse, will they be married to both spouses after they die? What does the Church teach? Jesus said we will neither marry nor be given in marriage when we enter Heaven. Rather, we will be like angels, spiritual beings enjoying the Perfect Happiness that accompanies seeing Jesus face to face. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the love of others in Heaven results from the Perfect Love of God. While our Perfect Happiness is not contingent on the presence of others, St. Thomas writes that “friendship is, as it were, concomitant with Perfect Happiness.” Thus, rather than an indifference to the others in Heaven, the friendship among and between all those in Heaven, including those who received the sacrament of Matrimony together, accompanies Perfect Happiness.
We must understand that we cannot fully comprehend the power of God. This doesn’t give us license to decide what is true or not true. Rather, we should always trust that God is Divine Truth. Trusting in the power of God, we place our questions, doubts, and fears in His Hands, seeking His Divine Truth and Wisdom through the Holy Spirit.
Life here on earth is not the life we will have when we pass on to eternal life in Heaven. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for making our future life possible.
Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
Can you live with joy in this world given the knowledge of the Perfect Happiness to come in the next life?