21 November 2015 - the whole story

he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.

We are called to live with an eternal frame of reference. We should have minds fixed on heaven.

We can't make sense of things from the earthly frame of reference only. We can't see the logic in the death of seven sons nor make sense of what would be fair for the widow. The Sadducees don't have this frame of reference. The try to impose an earthly understanding on the idea of the resurrection in order to show that it doesn't make sense.

Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.

And indeed, from an earthly point of view it doesn't make sense. But from an earthly point of view there is no making sense of this broken and fallen world in which we live. There is nothing we can say from this point of view to make sense of the widow's story. From this point of view there are only the dead and the dying.

Yet we do often live and act as if this was the whole story. Without an frame of reference our priorities become confused. When we try to sort out fairness for the widow on a merely earthly level there is nothing that we can say. We can even become like King Antiochus, telling ourselves that we are doing good things for people while actually harming them and harming ourselves. We put things that seem good in the short term before things which are truly good in the long term.

Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.

But to God all are alive. When we are alive to him we have access to a perspective which transcends the limits of time and space. This perspective prevents us from becoming near-sighted and selfish. It is more than just a way of thinking. It is a connection to the one who holds the universe in his hands. He has a plan that makes sense of the pain. He can see the beauty that can come from places where we can only see sorrow. When we are in relationship with him this perspective can transform our outlook as well.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor shall the hope of the afflicted forever perish.