A Reflection for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C).
2Mac.7:1-2,9-14 – 2Thess.2:16-3:5 – Luke 20:27-38.
Dear brothers and sisters, the penultimate month of November is a month of remembrance of those our loved ones who have gone ahead of us and who inspire us in faith and through their sacrifices. We have celebrated the feast of All Saints – those known and unknown whose lives inspire us in the faith, the triumphant Church in heaven. We have commemorated All Souls – our departed loved ones and the suffering Church in Purgatory. Next Sunday will be Remembrance Sunday when we remember those whose ultimate sacrifice during the great war brought us peace and freedom we enjoy in our time. All these are about keeping that connection between us and those who have laid the foundations and traditions that we have today – our faith traditions and socio-political milieu. Knowing where we are coming from, we shall know where we are going and how not to miss the track on our heavenly race. So besides preparing for the end of the liturgical and calendar year in this month, we also take stock of how we prepare for the eternity of the afterlife.
There are exciting things, similarities, and emphases in today’s readings for our instruction as we take stock as a faith community.
In the first reading from the 2nd book of Maccabees, we heard the story of the seven brothers of the same mother who were put to the test and martyred for their insurmountable and indestructible faith in their God. They never gave in to their fear of death during their hour of martyrdom because they were sure of the glory and joy of the resurrection and the afterlife. They believed God would raise them and unite them in the blessed life of eternity. For the sake of that eschatological future, they refused life’s fleeting pleasures promised them if they were to apostatize. In the gospel reading, the Sadducees asked Jesus a tricky question about resurrection using an example of seven brothers who married the same woman(widow) as observed in the Jewish tradition. Jesus explained how wrong they were in their disbelief about the resurrection (Acts 23:8) and how they didn’t know the state of those resurrected.
Now, think about the faith of those seven brothers from the same mother and the tradition of the seven brothers who married the same wife.
We know the symbolism of the number seven in the bible. It means perfection and completeness, a sense of fullness. The seven brothers represent all those under the umbrella of the Holy Mother Church with Christ her head, all those living by the faith of our fathers, handed down through scripture and tradition. In each instance, the brothers, up till death, held on to their religion (1R) and custom (G). So should we, no matter the trials and dangers we may face.
Therefore, what are the lessons for us today? If we know where we are coming from, we can understand where we are heading. The word of God today addresses all of God’s children, especially you and me. We are reminded why we should be strong in faith in resisting the temptations of our time and anything that will lead us to compromise our heavenly race. It reminds us that:
- There will be a resurrection from the dead into eternity.
- There is heaven and the rewards of God, and there is hell and the punishment of the unjust in that eternity. So, we should focus on the prize.
- Our Faith is meant to guide us and keep our focus on the prize.
- Our traditions of the faith of our fathers and forebears should lead us to remain one in God, in whom we have eternal life.
- Therefore, the type of body we shall assume at resurrection into eternity will not be like our current and finite body but a glorified body like those of angels.
This is the faith we confess and should always live. Let our faith be our source of courage and motivation during the winters and nights of life.
I pray with St Paul (2R) for all of us that our faith in eternal life and eternal reward of God may guide us daily in everything we do or say; and that God’s message today will be spread quickly and received, as we do, by those who doubt or don’t believe in God and in the resurrection, which has influenced their attitude in this life. May all of us, brothers and sisters in the Lord, remain one with God and in the faith till we reach our heavenly homeland. Amen. God bless you.