HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION

Reflection for Wednesday of the 9^th Week in Ordinary Time

(2 Tim 1:1-3, 6-12; Mk 12:18-27)

Let us meditate on the encounter between Jesus and the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection. Imagine these men standing face to face with Jesus, who Himself is the resurrection and the life! They came with a smart question to disproof the resurrection. Their debate was like the struggle between life and death. For them, the resurrection meant an elongation or continuation of earthly life. If there is no resurrection as they claimed, evil will go unpunished and the good will end in the grave. And there would not be any hope to inspire righteousness. Then the earthly life would be a burden unto itself. Death will be a god to religion and worship!

We have modern day Sadducees even in our Churches who acknowledge the resurrection but practice a death-laden worship of God. Their faith and prayers are all centered on getting married, boosting their income, health and well-being, etc. If they do not meet their material targets, their faith may fail. And anywhere they hear of prosperity in the name of God, you see them at the front seat. Where does this error come from?

Jesus answers that their misunderstanding about the resurrection came from their lack of knowledge of the Bible and the power of God. When people do not read the Bible or misinterpret its content, they will be thinking smart like the Sadducees, following wrong doctrines, and misrepresenting the resurrection. Jesus said to them, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

Jesus came that we may share in His resurrection, and live today with an eternal hope. “So, alive or dead, we belong to the Lord” (Rm 14:8). That is why the Holy Spirit is given to us to inspire us with the power of the resurrection so that we can carry out our daily works in holiness and with a shining hope. St Paul in the first reading said that we should not be timid like people who have no hope. With courage and the power of God each day, we carry out our responsibilities, sharing in the suffering of Christ. “For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity but a Spirit of power and love and self-control.”

Yes, we may meet obstacles that smell death. People with wrong ideas and beliefs may challenge our hope in the resurrection. Disappointment and struggles of life may summon us to account for the resurrection as the Sadducees did to Jesus. Yet, we must remember that Christ Jesus “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” We are serving a living God. May this be our testimony today. AMEN!

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday June 3^rd, 2020.

Memorial of St Charles Lwanga & Companions.