Misunderstandings abound, with regard to the resurrection. In Matthew 22, Jesus encounters a group of Sadducees. They pose to him the scenario in which a man dies without having produced any children. As required by Jewish law, his brother marries the widow in order in hopes of a child for his brother. The second brother dies, as does the third, and a fourth. There were seven brothers in all; none are blessed with a child. “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?” they ask Jesus.
“You are wrong,” Jesus tells them. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
Misunderstandings abound.
My thoughts and prayers this morning returned to a popular theme – we tend to answer these questions in a way which holds forth what we most want to hear. We think of the resurrection as a reward for living rightly rather than seeing it as an opportunity to praise God 24/7. Such thinking puts heaven of – it becomes a future event.
Responding to a video clip on Facebook, I found myself speaking of a differing understanding of resurrection. Such an understanding is reinforced by Jesus’ repeated acknowledgement that “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Resurrection, heaven – these are not future rewards for a life lived a certain way here and now. These are present realities for those who know themselves to be participants in “The Way.” In becoming a disciple of Jesus, we are already transformed into residents of heaven. Our resurrection has begun.
Sure, I look forward to that day on which what I see now dimly will be fully revealed. Yes, I anticipate a joy which bursts open the sense of joy I find in my life today. But that fuller expression has already begun in what God is doing in my life right now.
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