The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine our tendency to have “our version of the truth” to limit our exploration of the Way we are invited to follow by Jesus.
The Reading from 1 Maccabees 6.1-13 relates the death of the Seleucid king, Antiochus.
a. [6:1–13] 2 Mc 1:13–17; 9:1–29; Dn 11:40–45. (1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 9 states loosely connected themes: the rescue of the helpless poor from their enemies, and God’s worldwide judgment and rule over the nations.
* [Psalms 9–10] Ps 9 and Ps 10 in the Hebrew text have been transmitted as separate poems but they actually form a single acrostic poem and are so transmitted in the Greek and Latin tradition. Each verse of the two Psalms begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet (though several letters have no corresponding stanza). The Psalm states loosely connected themes: the rescue of the helpless poor from their enemies, God’s worldwide judgment and rule over the nations, the psalmist’s own concern for rescue (Ps 9:14–15). (Psalms, PSALM 9 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus responds to the Question About the Resurrection.
* [20:28–33] The Sadducees’ question, based on the law of levirate marriage recorded in Dt 25:5–10, ridicules the idea of the resurrection. Jesus rejects their naive understanding of the resurrection (Lk 20:35–36) and then argues on behalf of the resurrection of the dead on the basis of the written law (Lk 20:37–38) that the Sadducees accept. See also notes on Mt 22:23–33.
* [20:36] Because they are the ones who will rise: literally, “being sons of the resurrection.” (Luke, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB, n.d.)
Eileen Wirth notes that today Jesus asks us to consider if we are asking the right questions so that our concerns align more closely with God’s.
When I picture God judging me, I hope he doesn’t nail me for all my garden variety faults. Yes, I gossiped. Yes, I lost my temper etc.
I HOPE God will be concerned with things that Ignatian spirituality asks us to focus on like whether we have tried to be men and women for and with others or tried to change the world for the good. (Wirth, 2025)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus cites Moses to affirm the resurrection,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The Savior also demonstrated the great ignorance of the Sadducees by bringing forward their own leader Moses, who was clearly acquainted with the resurrection of the dead. He set God before us saying in the bush, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob' (Exodus 3:6). Of whom is he God, if, according to their argument, these have ceased to live? He is the God of the living. They certainly will rise when his almighty right hand brings them and all that are on the earth there. For people not to believe that this will happen is worthy perhaps of the ignorance of the Sadducees, but it is altogether unworthy of those who love Christ. We believe in him who says, 'I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25). He will raise the dead suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, and at the last trumpet. It shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52). For Christ our common Savior will transfer us into incorruption, glory and to an incorruptible life."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 136) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 20:27-40 comments that the One who fills our hearts and guides our lives here on earth will not condemn us to a life of eternal boredom or reluctant celibacy. No, heaven will be the “fulfillment of the deepest human longings” in ways we don’t yet fully understand (Catechism, 1024).
It’s not exactly clear how our loved ones fit into the picture, but we can be confident that all our relationships will be perfected. We will know nothing but joy and perfect unity among all the redeemed. For now, all Jesus wants is that we trust in his promises and fix our hope on the glory to come.
“Lord, I long for the day when I will be with you forever!” (Meditation on Luke 20:27-40, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler recalls how Seleucid king Antiochus persecuted the Jews, retreats to Babylon, confesses that he is being punished and then dies. This probably is not actually biographical, but fictional, to teach that God will protect his people. Some Sadducees, who only accept the Pentateuch as the Bible, try to trap Jesus. Jesus rejects the premise of the problem of the widow. We rise like angels without exclusive love and human traps. Jesus reminds the Sadducees of Moses' encounter with “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” as proclaimed in the Pentateuch. Friar Jude notes their response to Jesus “You have answered well” as appreciating Jesus' cleverness.
Fr. Mike Schmitz discusses the ministry of the apostles and encourages us to allow God to work in our lives in the same way. He also reminds us that through Baptism, we are set free from our fallen human nature and given the freedom to live according to the spirit. Today’s readings are from Acts 5, Romans 8, and Proverbs 27:7-9.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Introduces Pastor Molly Baskette who urges us to let go of rigid binaries in our thinking. All claims to the contrary, Jesus did not preach from a place of rigid binaries and judgments but from a place of continual becoming.
The churches I’ve served strive to follow Jesus in this “third way”: neither returning evil for evil nor caving in to it. Our God does not hate all the same people we do, nor does our God particularly want us to be rich or admired. Our faith, frail as it is sometimes, is also flexible. It is self-correcting as we have profound encounters with people who are different from us and are exposed to new experiences and ideas. If we are willing to be humble, we can continuously root out our own biases, the weeds of white supremacy that are deeply seeded into the soil of our culture, religion, and country.
Staying in the liminal place of holy uncertainty is deeply uncomfortable. But certainty in the life of faith doesn’t serve us well. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the Wisdom of the Spirit to consider what might be beyond the simple binaries that we accept and Jesus rejects.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/20?27
Meditation on Luke 20:27-40. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/11/22/1433216/
1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/6?1
Psalms, PSALM 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/9?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Recognising our Bias. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/recognizing-our-biases-weekly-summary/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). All Live to Him. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
Wirth, E. (2025, November 22). Daily Reflection November 22, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved November 22, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-november-22-2025
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