Luke 20:27-38

Meditatio (Reflecting)

The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

Oratio (Responding)

I love this passage. here again we have the Saduccees trying to capture Jesus in a false teaching. The Saduccees, only belived that the torah (first five books), were the word of god, and that all others should not be considered canonical. So they believed that the torah did not talk about after life at all. They know that Jesus is a teacher of the ressurection and they believe that they can capture him in this question. So they use a technique called reductio ad absurdum. Basically when you have no positive evidence for why or why not to do something, then you must come up with this techique and try to prove that something is not possible because the god would not allow the most absurd set of circumstances…, that is what we are seeing today. They beleived that the torah, nowhere taught for the ressurrection. and so they believed that it cannot be. and so they come up with this crazy example, of the 7 times widow. They believed that if Jesus says yes, that the woman will be one mans wife, but not the others then that will be slight to other men, and would make the sacrament of all of those other marriages meaningless. So this cannot be. If he were to say that she would be all their wives then he would be making a mockery of the law of Moses. So once again Jesus answer’s perfectly, making a point that they never anticipated. That marriage is only a convention between man and woman in this world, and does not matter in next live. Marriage is a sacrament that is meant for the procreation of children, and for the raising of them in the faith. It is a way of baptizing sex and putting it into the context of what god intended. In the next life, we will be espoused to christ, and all of our fellow men and women will be brothers and sisters in christ. One big family, and sex will literally be the last thing on our minds. But while we are here in this world we should not forget that we are blessed to partake (rightly) in the beautiful gift of lovemaking, and the sacrament of marriage. Let us honor god, and honor our spouses, and honor finally the whole of gods creation by being the best spouses, parents and friends that we can be every day. For after all, they will be our brothers and sisters in heaven.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Oh lord help me today to honor you, by faithfully honoring my wife, and the commitments I have made to my family and my community. Amen.