Proper 27.C.25
Luke 20:27-38
Melanie L. McCarley
How does one spot a Sadducee? Are they still around? I’m quite convinced they are—perhaps not in the same guise as those living at the beginning of the Common Era; but alive and well nonetheless.
In the time of Jesus, Sadducees were the religious elite. Speaking in generalizations, they were learned and wealthy. They were powerful figures who controlled the Temple and believed that only the written Torah was authoritative. They rejected the Pharisees’ oral traditions (If I had to guess, they probably thought them provincial). Composed of high priests, aristocratic families and wealthy merchants, they were the movers and shakers in society; they had taste, style, verve and elan. Wait….that sounds a lot like….well ….. us!
Sadducees also had some clear theological opinions—most notable, was their conviction that there was no afterlife.
And here is where we can begin to see the issue surrounding the question they pose to our Savior in the Gospel lesson for today. Think of this encounter as an occasion of theological sparring. What we are beholding in Scripture this morning is not a genuine question that is being asked. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, so their question is not in good faith. It’s an attempt to prove how ridiculous, and how unrealistic the whole concept of resurrection is.
The Sadducees question reveals two interconnected things: First, their love of Scripture; and second, how they understand legacy, or heritage. They create a ridiculous sounding scenario based on the law of Moses (in the book of Deuteronomy). In their tradition, marriage (and having children) … that is what keeps a person’s name alive here on earth. So, a widow marrying her husband’s brother is the way her husband’s heritage and lineage is protected. This is especially important to a people who do not believe in any sort of afterlife: if there is no resurrection, this earth and this time is the only space where our existence matters. And thus, we find ourselves enmeshed in the unhappy situation posed by the Sadducees of one (presumably exhausted) woman, and seven brothers who were not long for the earth. “In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?”
This is a convoluted question. Think of it as a theological “Gordian knot” of marriage and remarriage. As you may recall, a Gordian knot comes from folklore of the time of Alexander the Great: King Gordius tied a knot so infuriatingly complex that it was believed impossible to untie—and if anyone did, the prophecy was that they would rule Asia. Alexander beheld the knot, and realizing that he, like others before him, probably couldn’t untie it, does something “out of the box”, he takes his sword and slices through it instead. This is what Jesus does with the question of the Sadducees—he cuts straight to the heart of the matter.
Paraphrasing Jesus’ response for those of us with modern ears, what Jesus is saying is something like this: You folks have no understanding of resurrection. It’s completely different from what you’ve constructed in your minds. It’s about how we live in the presence of God—both now, in this present moment, and beyond death. And honestly, the beyond-death part can’t be grasped by people on this side of the grave. In other words, you are wasting your time with this farce of a question. But not with the issue of resurrection. Because without resurrection, there is no way to escape death; and with no escape from death, what can we hope for in this life? And yet…God offers us an escape from death. For our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And yet, both the living and the dead are alive in the presence of God.
It brings to mind an excerpt from Frederick’ Buechner’s book The Son of Laughter. Here Joseph is speaking to the King of Egypt and says: “My God is a god of those who are alive. He makes us no promises about death, he makes us promises about life...” For Joseph, God is God of both the dead and the living and in him all of them are alive.
This brings us to Sadducee spotting in our present day and age. Modern-day Sadducees are everywhere—New England, in particular, is rife with them. They are learned, prosperous and witty—generally, great fun at cocktail parties. They are also skeptics. Philosophy is all well and good—but religion, that’s for fanatics. The best approach is to keep theological questions light, focus on the good you can do in this life and avoid any messy questions about the afterlife.
These aren’t bad people; these are individuals who believe in themselves and the world they are creating. Sometimes, to be perfectly honest, this is far closer to the Gospel truth than other Christians who engage in a “pie in the sky” theology absolving them from having to take any action to make changes in the age in which we live—kicking the sad lives of the poor down the road to the afterlife where all will presumably be made well.
What the Sadducees among us miss, however, is the ultimate hope of God’s promise—a life and relationship that is being offered by Jesus Christ. With trust and hope in the promises of God, we can begin to see resurrection, not simply in a time to come, but right now, here among us when we see the ways in which God is working through us and our world to bring new life. Think of it this way: The proof of Christianity is not found in the words of Scripture, beautiful hymns, lovely worship or even theological finesse. The proof of Christianity, is a life—the life of our Savior, Jesus, risen from the dead, and the lives of all those transformed by the love and grace of God.
When I think of Jesus’ answer to the question posed by the Sadducees—what I imagine I hear in his response is less frustration—and more of an offer, an invitation to step into a world where what is most true isn’t merely what is before our eyes; but also what is promised by God. Here is an invitation to see that the greatest achievement in life isn’t what we have accomplished through our own efforts and faithfulness; but what God has done for us. This is an invitation to experience grace. Ultimately, it is an invitation to accept God’s love—and to live not only for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again. It is an invitation not only to life everlasting, but also to live the life we have been given in this day and age with trust, with hope, with wonder, and with love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.