Reading 1, 1 Macabbees 6:1-13

1 King Antiochus, meanwhile, was making his way through the Upper Provinces; he had heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais, renowned for its riches, its silver and gold, 2 and its very wealthy temple containing golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by Alexander son of Philip, the king of Macedon, the first to reign over the Greeks. 3 He therefore went and attempted to take the city and pillage it, but without success, the citizens having been forewarned. 4 They resisted him by force of arms. He was routed, and began retreating, very gloomily, towards Babylon.

5 But, while he was still in Persia, news reached him that the armies which had invaded Judaea had been routed, 6 and that Lysias in particular had advanced in massive strength, only to be forced to turn and flee before the Jews; that the latter were now stronger than ever, thanks to the arms, supplies and abundant spoils acquired from the armies they had cut to pieces, 7 and that they had pulled down the abomination which he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem, had encircled the sanctuary with high walls as in the past, and had fortified Beth-Zur, one of his cities.

8 When the king heard this news he was amazed and profoundly shaken; he threw himself on his bed and fell sick with grief, since things had not turned out for him as he had planned. 9 And there he remained for many days, subject to deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he realised that he was dying. 10 Then, summoning all his Friends, he said to them, ‘Sleep evades my eyes, and my heart is cowed by anxiety.

11 I have been wondering how I could have come to such a pitch of distress, so great a flood as that which now engulfs me — I who was so generous and well-loved in my heyday. 12 But now I recall how wrongly I acted in Jerusalem when I seized all the vessels of silver and gold there and ordered the extermination of the inhabitants of Judah for no reason at all.13 This, I am convinced, is why these misfortunes have overtaken me, and why I am dying of melancholy in a foreign land.’

 The message of the author is clear: Antiochus has messed with God’s people and suffered the consequences. It’s unclear whether the author would have extended his criticism of oppression to include acts committed against other peoples. The story however can be appreciated by all peoples who have suffered the tyranny of the great.

 Luke 20: 27-40

Some Sadducees — those who argue that there is no resurrection — approached him and they put this question to him,

28 ‘Master, Moses prescribed for us, if a man’s married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. 29 Well then, there were seven brothers; the first, having married a wife, died childless. 30 The second

31 and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman herself died. 33 Now, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

34 Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives and husbands, 35 but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry 36 because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are children of God. 37 And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him everyone is alive.’

39 Some scribes then spoke up. They said, ‘Well put, Master.’ 40 They did not dare to ask him any more questions.

This is the only teaching we have from Jesus on the doctrine of resurrection which was held by the Pharisees. The Jewish Bible contains only a few verses which may point to resurrection, whereas there are many passages that depict the dead as shadows or dust. (“Pulvis et umbra sumus” The Roman poet Horatius thought the same) 

Jesus’ teaching is interesting:

1. Some are judged worthy of a life in the resurrection, and the implication is that some are not.
2. Resurrected persons are not bound by the relationships of their former lives. “Re-united in heaven” is often said, but is not Jesus’ teaching.
3. Resurrected persons are “children of God” i.e. their human parentage is not relevant. God has brought them to life.
4. God is not the God of the dead but the living, for to him everyone is alive. (Does this conflict with (1)?

 For me, the doctrine of resurrection is central to Christianity and should be much more discussed than it is. Amongst other things it assures me that those whose lives are needlessly snuffed out on earth will have ample recompense, and that the great killers, who arranged the snuffing, will get theirs.