For Sunday, November 6, 2016 – Luke 20:27-38
Curiosity inspires people to come closer to Jesus. The depth of their motivation varies, but curiosity is a common element. Zacchaeus wonders who Jesus is and why people are drawn to him, so he comes closer. He opens his mind and ends up with far more than he could have imagined, a completely changed life. Now some Sadducees come to Jesus with their own curiosity. Will it be the sort that leads to life-changing discoveries, or the kind that mocks new answers and delays real inner growth?
The Sadducees care particularly and passionately about the teachings of Moses. He is their primary guide for answers to significant questions, and his five books, the Pentateuch, contain no reference to the resurrection. Now here comes Jesus, not only preaching and practicing resurrection, but filled to overflowing with the essence of the eternal. He appears to them as just a man, walking through their villages, eating at their tables, breathing the same ordinary air they breathe. Yet everywhere he goes he emits vibrations of hope and healing. He might stand on the same ground as they, but he is clearly rooted in the Beyond, in the soil of resurrection.
Curious about how Jesus aligns with Moses, the Sadducees pose a theoretical question about a widow left childless who subsequently marries seven brothers in succession, none of the marriages yielding children. They say they are curious about which brother she will belong to “in the resurrection.” Wait, have they forgotten that they do not believe in the resurrection? What are they really curious about? Maybe they want what Jesus has but are not able to let go of their dearly loved, familiar beliefs. Maybe they wish they could consider new answers to the eternal questions, not just turn them into curious little puzzles to trick and amuse. What matters for us is not their motivation, but ours. Are we simply curious or are we committed? If we want to, we can go ahead and live in resurrection now, unbound by old theories and old fears. We can join the revelation of God already in progress, within us and among us.
