Pentecost XXV Sunday, November 11, 2007
By pastor John Jorgenson
Jesus continually had to deal with groups that were opposed to the simplicity of the Good News He was presenting. Again and again Pharisees and Sadducees came with questions and arguments against His concept of God and what God expects of us. So often these groups tried to impose their complex order of human life traditions upon the Gospel and its simplicity. The Gospel is based on our relationship with God and our relationship with others. Its simple requirement is first, we are to Love God and second, we are to Love Neighbor as Self.
In doing that Jesus taught us that loving God and loving one’s neighbor is what is meant by our being responsible to God for what we do each day. This then fulfills the requirements of the Law and in doing that we enjoy the freedom God offers us each day, which is the gift of the Gospel. God is in charge. We respond to God.
This frustrated the Pharisees, the Scribes and the Sadducees who liked their positions of authority and were not interested in giving them up. I mean, look at the perks of being in authority. You got the best seats in the synagogue and the temple. You were looked up to in the market place. You were listened to when you spoke. I mean like you were almost like God, well almost.
Then here comes this here Jesus from Nazareth and who ever heard any good coming out of Nazareth anyway? He gets these poor ignorant people all excited. He feeds them, cures them and tells them they are free to be who they are. I mean where do we fit in such a scheme? After all, we are Pharisees, aren’t we? We are scribes, aren’t we? We are Sadducees, aren’t we? I mean look at the Romans. Look at the Babylonians. Look at the Egyptians. You don’t see them following this here Jesus. They know what we are talking about. They respect the power of God. They respect the importance of order. You know, I think we gotta get rid of this here Jesus before the Romans, the Babylonians and the Egyptians come and do us in. I mean we live in this world, not some fairyland.
The feelings and attitudes of the Pharisees, the scribes and the Sadducees have not changed much over the years. Only the names have been modified.
Basically the question hinges on what if anything we are able to bring with us after death if the resurrection process is actual and real. Well, that is an interesting issue to deal with, especially on Veteran’s Day when we extend honor and thanksgiving to those who gave their lives that we might remain free.
Coming back from Korea I asked myself whether or not it was worth it when I landed in Seattle and a friend and I went out for dinner. We wore our uniforms and were totally ignored by everyone we met, even the cab driver and the staff of the restaurant. We thought people would talk with us, find out about what was going on in Korea and Japan. See if things were changing now that fighting was over and rebuilding had begun. No way, all we heard was conversation about baseball, the work at Boeing Aircraft, politics and where to go fishing this fall. We looked at each other and asked why we had wasted our time. Never did we were a uniform off base ever again. Now was the blame on the people we met? Or were we looking for some praise that was not justified? I am not sure. When you are early twenties justice and fairness may not be part of your thinking yet, even though you have had some rather life threatening experiences that made little sense, but certainly were real.
Maybe my friend and I were being more like the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and wanted the fame of surviving battle and war. Maybe we wanted our place in society rather than being part of society and sharing what God intended in the first place anyway. Maybe that is what seminary does to a person. Maybe there really is more to life than what we experience each day and exercise our selfish motives in doing that.
So that is what lies behind Jesus comments. There is much more to life than survival. God created us for a purpose and maybe coming back from Korea was only a very small part of that expectation.
The Pharisees were very different from priests and scribes who were Sadducees. The Pharisees were a religious group that was most interested in rites and ceremonial law such as keeping the Sabbath and washing your hands. The Sadducees were working with Rome and not willing to risk losing their wealth, comfort and place in society at that time.
The Pharisees believed in the resurrection from the dead and in angels and spirits. The Sadducees accepted only the law of the Old Testament and none of the Prophets. There was no resurrection, were no angels or spirits in Sadducee thinking.
The Pharisees believed in fate and that our life was planned for everyone by God. The Sadducees believed in unlimited free will with no restrictions.
The Pharisees believed in and hoped for the ultimate coming of the Messiah. The Sadducees did not. The coming of a Messiah would upset their carefully ordered lives.
So we see why the Sadducees asked the question about to whom the woman belonged to in heaven when she had been married to seven men. They used this question in order to make any thought of resurrection to seem to be ridiculous.
Jesus replied that we not think of heaven in terms of this life on earth. Whether there is a Starbucks or Wawa in heaven is nonsense. Whether every faithful person who dies drives a big red Hummer in heaven is irrelevant. When we stop and think of heaven, we are much better off leaving that to an expression of God’s love for each of us. While this lesson may sound sort of or kinda silly or nonsense, it bears a very important truth for us all. Jesus used actions and words that people could understand.
Jesus did not confuse people. He talked with them about fundamentals of life and about God in their own language. He met people right where they were on their own ground and that is why common ordinary people enjoyed Him so much.
Jesus used language and arguments that people could understand because the examples came from their daily lives. Jesus taught people using their own words and actions. Jesus helped people using their own ideas and thoughts.
You and I will be far happier in our expression of and living of our Christian faith and belief if and when we do the same.
Amen.