This Age, Or That

Luke 20:27-38

Last night our state's legislatures held an all-day session on the issue of marriage equality. It was a day filled with passionate words and actions on all sides of the issue. Many of you know where I stand, so there's no need to get into that discussion. What I would like to discuss is the importance of this topic according to the words of Christ.

Today's passage is a great example of how Jesus felt about marriage. Jesus is being challenged on the validity of the marriage laws of his day. (I find it interesting that every time Jesus is challenged it's through an interpretation of the law of his day, and usually by a religious leader.) A Sadducee is asking Jesus to whom a widow would belong to in the resurrection after marrying 7 brothers in accordance to the law. (Yes, it was required that a woman marry her husband's brothers if her husband died before her, and to keep on marrying his brothers until she died.) The question was meant to trip Jesus because in the Sadducee's mind all of the brothers had the rights to own the woman. (That was difficult to say, but it was the law of their day.)

Jesus answers that marriage in their day and time is of insignificance, because in the resurrection people don't get married. Instead they are all the children of God, alive in the resurrection, never to die again. Jesus goes one step further to make mention (and to turn the law back to the Sadducee, another thing Jesus does well) that even Moses himself proves that the resurrection is true, making God a "God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive." (20:38)

Jesus is trying to make the point that the laws we live by in this day and age are not the same laws which are in heaven. In fact, if you read deeply into how Jesus describes the Kingdom of God you will see that there are no laws in that age. This is because heaven is a place where all people are unconditionally accepted by all people. There is no need for laws because people live in peace, respect, and harmony. There is no need for justice or equality because life in that age is just and equal.

According to Jesus, the laws of our day and age exist for this day and age. As Christians I think we need to help realize God's age here and now. In order to do this we need to stand up for justice, we need to fight for equality, we need to speak out in favor of unity over division, and we need to find ways to respect one another's human rights.