There is Life After Death – Matthew 22:23-33

Lectionary Readings for October 18, 2020            20th Sunday After Pentecost, Year A
Exodus 33:12-23   Moses Sees the Lord’s Glory
Psalm 99       Praise to God for His Holiness
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10   v2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.
Matthew 22:15-22 The Question about Paying Taxes

But this week we’re going to focus on Matthew 22:23-33.

Peace Quotes

“Respect for the rights of others means peace.” ~ Benito Juarez

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.” ~ Peace Pilgrim (born Mildred Lisette Norman)

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

Today’s artwork is the massive stained-glass mural at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS. Pictures don’t do it justice. It incorporates people and symbols stretching from ancient Biblical stories to modern heroes and heroines of our faith. I chose this image because today’s text tells us that our relationship with God never ends. Even after our time on Earth passes, we continue living in and with God’s presence – whatever that means!

As a friendly reminder, today’s verses occur during the last week of Jesus’ life. As I mentioned last week, this chapter of Matthew contains three instances of local leaders trying to discredit Jesus through clever arguments. In each case, Jesus embarrasses his adversaries and stuns onlookers with His wisdom and boldness. Today verses are the second of the three confrontations and one of the few times that Jesus directly addresses what happens after we die. And Jesus is frustratingly vague while He offers us an incredibly encouraging word!

As you hear today’s story, notice the humor in that the Sadducees are asking Jesus for details about a post-resurrection existence. Since the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, it’s obvious they are giving him a hard time rather than sincerely seeking wisdom.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts to today’s readings.

Read Matthew 22:23-33.

I thought today’s text was pretty straightforward, but then our Tuesday evening Bible Study group met, and the group’s genius observations filled my head with new thoughts, two of which I offer to you today.

First, someone with the sharp ear of a great lawyer pointed out that Jesus’ comment (v 30) “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage…” only addresses new marriages. Jesus doesn’t specifically say anything about existing marriages, for example, if a couple dies together. Will they remain married in Heaven? That’s definitely a fair question and one which many people have pondered for centuries. If I like my spouse will I spend eternity with them? If I don’t like them, will I be stuck with them forever?!?

Consider that a fun question, but one not worth spending much time pondering. Here’s why. In the centuries leading up to Jesus’ time – and quite frankly, many centuries after Jesus – marriage primarily served two functions: keep the peace and crank out babies. Romance, was a bonus, not a starting point.

Marriages kept the peace because they served as a contract uniting extended families, aka clans. The contractual aspect was important because women had essentially no legal rights; widows needed a male relative to marry or adopt them to keep them safe. That may sound brutal, but such was life then. And infant death rates were so high that a clan’s survival depended on having as many babies as possible just to beat the odds. All of that is the context of the Sadducees’ question. They were basically asking Jesus, “When this woman dies, who owns her?”

Part of Jesus’ point was that in the afterlife, nobody owns anyone. That was a pretty radical “social justice” proclamation. Imagine the hope this offered people stuck in slavery or abusive relationships – personal or political. If you, today, have experienced a life of abuse and oppression, imagine a post-death, resurrected existence free of all that. That sounds mighty appealing to me!

Secondly, someone else pointed out that in the second creation story in Genesis (Genesis 2:4-25), God created Eve because Adam was alone. Her comment was “in heaven we won’t be lonely.” What a beautiful idea and feeling! I often talk about God sharing His presence with us – both here on Earth as well as after death, but loneliness… that’s a feeling far too many of us have struggled with during our lives. Imagining “heaven” as a place where no one is lonely. That also sounds mighty appealing!

The part of today’s reading that jumped out to me was Jesus quoting God talking to Moses through the burning bush in Exodus 3:6, “‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’.” God and Jesus say all three of our forefathers – the patriarchs of Israel – are “living” with God after their Earthly existence.

Jacob… Remember Jacob?
This past summer we read selections from Genesis. In July, we followed Jacob’s life. One of my big take-aways from that journey was realizing that Jacob – Abraham’s grandson – was not a nice guy. In Genesis 27, Jacob, cheated his older brother Esau out of his birthright and his father’s blessing. He then went on to tolerate marring Leah so that he could marry his first love, Rachel, whom he forever favored. Later on, he wrestled with God and demanded that God bless him. And he doted on his favorite child, Joseph, much to the aggravation of his other sons. Of the three patriarchs, Jacob is definitely the rotten apple.

And that gives me a glimpse of God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness. The idea that Jacob is “living” with God gives me great hope for my own ongoing relationship with God. This is the Good News that Jesus was sharing with anyone who would listen: God made you; God loves you; God wants to be in a close, loving relationship with you. That’s not just Good News, it’s GREAT News! And its news worth sharing with people carrying the burdens of guilt, of insecurity, of hate, of neglect, abuse, and suffering of all forms! Our living God offers them and us relief and release!

If you yourself are wondering, or if someone asks you, “What’s so great about this Good News? What’s so great about this Christian faith?” No matter what is happening in our lives, no matter what we’ve done or imagined doing, the Good News is that we are born into a relationship with the creator of the universe, and that Creator is crazy about us! In the words of the great gospel song from 1976, “Soon and very soon. We are going to see the King. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We’re going to see the King.”

My prayer is that all of us see the King this week, experience the King’s loving presence this week, and help others do the same.
Amen? Amen!