DAILY- HOMILY

November 24, 2018 – SATURDAY, 33RD Week in Ordinary Time

St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

Memorial. Red.

Rv 11: 4- 12 / Lk 20: 27- 40

St. Andrew Dung-Lac (c. 1795 - 1839), a Vietnamese priest, was among 177, of whom eight were eight bishops and fifty priests, who were martyred over the course of a few years in Vietnam.

FROM THE GOSPEL READING:     Lk 20: 27- 39

Then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection and they asked Jesus the question, "Master in the Scripture Moses told us: 'If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and the child to be born will be regarded as the child of the deceased man..' Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact all seven died without leaving any children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be wife? For the seven of them had her as wife."

And Jesus replied, "Taking husband or wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides they cannot die for they are like the angels. They too are sons and daughters of God because they are born of the resurrection.

"Yes, the dead will be raised, and even Moses implied it in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For he is God of the living and not of the dead, and for him all are alive."

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, "Master, you have spoken well."

REFLECTION

What happens in the after-life? In the Gospel reading today, the Sadducees wish to trap Jesus in a useless question about a woman who, following the law of Moses, had been married to seven brothers, each of which died without any offspring: "On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be wife? For the seven of them had her as wife."

In his reply Jesus told them that there was indeed the resurrection of the dead; he clarified that there would be no more marriage in the after-life. He stressed that the Lord was "God of the living and not of the dead, and for him all are alive."

We all look forward to the after-life where we hope to be with God, the source of all goodness and light.. We hope that we are able to among the elect when we face the Just Judge at the end of our lives.

Meanwhile let us not waste time on such useless questions but focus on living our lives with our eyes and efforts focused on following the commands of God.

Have a good day!

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