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Jesus exposed the ignorance of the Sadducees concerning life after death.

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is God of the living. The Sadducees were a Jewish sect that did not believe in life after death. They believed that the dead remain at a place reserved for the dead which is known as shoel. It is for this reason they came to Jesus to test Him with the hypothetical case of seven men marrying the same woman one after the other of which all died together with the woman. The question, therefore, is who will be the rightful husband to the woman if truly there was life after death. (Mark 12:18-23).

Beloved in the Lord, the concept of death is limited to our physical bodies and not our spirit. Genesis 2:7 reminds us that “then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The body was lifeless, meaningless, dead but immediately became a living being when God breathed into it life. In the same manner, when we die, our spirit is taken from our bodies awaiting a new and eternal nature distinct from what we had on earth. In effect, we never die, it is only our bodies that become lifeless and goes back to where it belongs hence the words “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Jesus exposes the ignorance of the Sadducees and further reemphasize the point that God is not the God of the dead but the living when He said “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (Mark 12:24-27) In other words, our forefathers continue to live, it is only their earthly bodies that died.

Today’s lesson challenges the African’s perception about the dead, indeed Africans pay more attention to the dead than the living. In Ghana where I come from, funerals can be very expensive because of the prolonged period of keeping the body at the morgue, buying expensive coffins with its accompanied transportation arrangements and cost, organising very elaborate and grand funerals at the expense and to the detriment of the bereaved in most cases. The dead receive better care, love and honour than the living. The sick are neglected but when they die their bodies are cared for. When funds are needed to settle medical bills and for emergency surgery, helpers are scarce but when the person in question dies, funeral donations are in abundance and the funeral grounds are populated with family members and friends. African Christians must begin to understand that God is the God of the living and not of the dead. The body of a person becomes totally useless once it is lifeless, Paul reminds us that ” I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. (Acts 24:15-16) Let us always focus and ponder over the life after death and continually live for Christ, He says that “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” ( Revelation 22:12-15) Shalom.

PRAYER

GOD OF THE LIVING STRENGTHEN US TO DO YOUR WILL AND TO FOCUS ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST SO THAT EVEN WHEN OUR EARTHLY BODY BECOME LIFELESS WE SHALL HAVE HOPE FOR ETERNAL LIFE IN OUR NEW NATURE. AMEN

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)