The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to believe beyond the limited view of our culture and time as we seek life in faith and humility.
Seeking fullness in life
The reading from the Book of Tobit describes the prayers of Tobit and Sarah for death and God’s answer to their prayer.
* [3:6] It is better for me to die than to live: in his distress Tobit uses the words of the petulant Jonah (Jon 4:3, 8), who wished to die because God did not destroy the hated Ninevites. In similar circumstances, Moses (Nm 11:15), Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4), and Job (Jb 7:15) also prayed for death. Everlasting abode: a reference to Sheol, the dismal abode of the dead from which no one returns (Jb 7:9–10; 14:12; Is 26:14). See note on Tb 4:6.1
Psalm 25 is a prayer for guidance and for deliverance.
* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus cleverly handles the question about the Resurrection from the Sadducees.
* [12:13–34] In the ensuing conflicts (cf. also Mk 2:1 3:6) Jesus vanquishes his adversaries by his responses to their questions and reduces them to silence (Mk 12:34). * [12:18–27] See note on Mt 22:23–33.3
David Crawford observes that many of us struggle with humility, in part because we may not be exactly sure what humility entails. Recently he came across a helpful definition that contrasts the liberating character of humility with the controlling nature of a competitive, me-first attitude.
It causes me to examine myself and wonder: How often have I tried to be clever – at work, at church, in our homes – insincerely asking “innocent” questions to maneuver someone into an awkward or disadvantageous position? How often have I tried to be clever with God, rationalizing my behavior and choices? I fear the answer to these questions is “too often.” Loving God, help us to walk humbly with you. Guide us to justice. Teach us your way. Let our interactions with others and you be filled with your love, mercy and grace.4
Don Schwager quotes “No marriage in the resurrection,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"What did the Lord say to the Sadducees? He said, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God. For in the resurrection they marry neither husbands nor wives; for neither do they start dying again, but they will be equal to the angels of God' (Mark 12:24-25; Matthew 22:29-30). The power of God is great. Why do they not marry husbands or wives? They will not start dying again. When one generation departs, another is required to succeed it. There will not be such liability to decay in that place. The Lord passed through the usual stages of growth, from infancy to adult manhood, because he was bearing the substance of flesh that still was mortal. After he had risen again at the age at which he was buried, are we to imagine that he is growing old in heaven? He says, 'They will be equal to the angels of God.' He eliminated the assumption of the Jews and refuted the objection of the Sadducees, because the Jews did indeed believe the dead would rise again, but they had crude, fleshly ideas about the state of humanity after resurrection. He said, 'They will be equal to the angels of God.' ... It has already been stated that we are to rise again. We have heard from the Lord that we rise again to the life of the angels. In his own resurrection, he has shown us in what specific form we are to rise again." (excerpt from SERMON 362.18-19.30)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 12:18-27 notes that Jesus wasted no time in calling out the real problem. These men didn’t want Jesus to render judgment about a many-times married widow. They were trying to trap and humiliate him. So he turned the tables on them.
Jesus’ answer was more than a rebuke of his opponents. It was a promise to us as well—especially to all those who have lost a loved one. He promises that we will be reunited with our loved ones. He promises that his love is creative enough to find a way through all of our worries and anxieties. Your heavenly Father is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and of you (Mark 12:26). He will never abandon you. He will never leave you unfulfilled. “Thank you, Lord, for binding us all together in your love.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the intervention of the archangel of healing, Raphael, in the events of the lives of Tobit and Sarah. Jewish tradition recognizes seven (the perfect number) archangels. Three of whom are mentioned in Scripture. Friar Jude reminds us that if Abraham, Isaac, and Moses have access to God, they must be living in some sense.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes that one of the markers of an evolving faith is an ability to integrate doubt—to hold the tension between what we’ve been taught and what we’ve come to know as true. When grounded in an experience of Love, doubt does not represent a step backwards, but is a necessary condition for any movement forward. CAC teacher Brian McLaren speaks of his personal journey with doubt as the essential ingredient in the evolution of his faith from “orthodoxy” or right belief to “orthopraxy” or right way of life.
For example, whether or not the creation story happened factually as described in Genesis, I was committing myself to live in the world as if it actually were a precious, beautiful, meaningful creation, and as if I were too. . . . What mattered most was not that I believed the stories in a factual sense, but that I believed in the meaning they carried so I could act upon that meaning and embody it in my life, to let that meaning breathe in me, animate me, fill me. . . . Whether I considered the stories factually accurate was never the point; what actually mattered all along was whether I lived a life pregnant with the meaning those stories contained. To my surprise, when I was given permission to doubt the factuality of my beliefs, I discovered their actual life-giving purpose. . . .7
Our degree of resonance with the argument of the Sadducees may reflect our position in our journey from literal belief to faith in finding the fullness of life.
References
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