To Be the Change Agents!

Saturday, November 25, 2023

1 Mc 6:1-13; Lk 20:27-40

Today’s Gospel suggests that our faith in the ‘God of the Living’ should inform our commitment to transform the unjust conditions in the present. 

The Gospel presents a tricky situation in which Jesus finds himself. 

It is quite ironic that the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, should ask a hypothetical question on the resurrection. Why would they do so? 

However, Jesus is not startled by the nature of the question or by those who ask it. Rather, Jesus plays smart when he explains the resurrection to those who do not believe in it. In talking about the transformed reality that the resurrection will bring with it, Jesus is teaching them what he believes, even though they do not believe in it. 

Also, to dissuade them from asking pointless questions further, Jesus explains the nature of God as that of the living and not of the dead. Jesus here clarifies that God’s concern is for the living, though resurrection is a promise for all those who are dead. 

Jesus’ response teaches us three lessons. 

1.We should not take pleasure in aimless pursuits. The Sadducees bother Jesus with something that they themselves don’t believe. We lose focus when we indulge in purposeless pursuits.

2. Our Christian existence is ordained for the future. However, the fact about the future should not distract us from living in the present fully. For Christians, the present is the springboard for the heavenly future. 

3. Following the ‘God of the Living’ means to be concerned about those who live. If those who are alive are caught up in vicious cycles of marginalization, oppression, poverty, and misery, we are called to create the best that is possible for everyone. In other words, our faith in the ‘God of the Living’ should compel us to transform oppressive structures. 

Let the ‘God of the Living’ animate our lives to be the change agents in our world.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar