Deacon Tom Anthony

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 156

Reading 1 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law.
One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:
"What do you expect to achieve by questioning us?
We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors."

At the point of death he said:
"You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,
but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.
It is for his laws that we are dying."

After him the third suffered their cruel sport.
He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,
and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
"It was from Heaven that I received these;
for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again."
Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage,
because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he had died,
they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
When he was near death, he said,
"It is my choice to die at the hands of men
with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;
but for you, there will be no resurrection to life."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15

R. (15b)  Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
My steps have been steadfast in your paths,
my feet have not faltered.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Keep me as the apple of your eye,
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

Reading 2 2 Thes 2:16-3:5

Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
and word.

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us,
so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified,
as it did among you,
and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
for not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful;
he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you,
you are doing and will continue to do.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the endurance of Christ.

Alleluia Rv 1:5a, 6b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead;
to him be glory and power, forever and ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."

 MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 The Law as dictated by God to Moses was given to us to serve as instructions regarding how we should conduct ourselves and live our lives in communion with Him. It was a structure for us to follow so as to experience His creation to the fullest and to receive the fullest benefit of a relationship with Him. Under the Law there were consequences for not following it and for violating its provisions. It was through fear of the consequences of one’s actions and their standing in society which prevented someone from violating these laws. There was also an outright fear of reprisals to be suffered from God Himself. With the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the establishment of The New Covenant Jesus Christ became the fulfillment of the Law and brought it to perfection. The Apostle Paul describes Jesus as freeing us from the Law because with the Coming of Jesus Christ the Law was now redefined and revealed in a different way to the entire world. Yes, we were still required to follow the Law but not out of fear of punishment but out of a wantonness to do so because we love God. God so loved the world that He sent His only son to suffer die and be resurrected so that we main gain eternal life.

There is no reward for following the rules. Some may even argue that there is no punishment except that which we inflict on ourselves for not following them. They are presented as guideposts that we stay within as we live our lives with Jesus Christ. Sacred Scripture in its entirety is seen as an instruction manual that helps us understand our relationship with God, and through following it, a higher awareness is achieved that includes understanding the love that God has for us. Just as the Word becoming flesh was for our benefit, the establishment and fulfillment of the Law was entirely for us also. God gains nothing while we get everything.

The Law does not extend beyond God’s earthly creation. There is no need for it to do so. It was created for us in our corporal form and there is no need for it to extend to our spiritual state of being. When we are exploring our spirituality, we are exploring a relationship with God whose actions and state of being is not confined by laws. By extension, through our spirituality, we become free from the law because we are with God. The Law directs us towards God then frees us from its constraints because all of the reasons why we were following it have been achieved: we are completely with God; loving Him while being loved completely.

As logical creatures we tend to limit ourselves by our experiences and base our thought process off of these. Our perception of God, including what He can and cannot do, are based on the limitations that we set for ourselves and the rest of humanity. In other words we naturally set limitations of God’s greatness based on the limitations of what we see in ourselves. God is beyond all of these limitations and false barriers. God is not beholden to the Law because he created the Law. Those who create something are masters of it and control it. They are never controlled by it. Not only did God create the Law but He also created Natural Law which the entire universe is subject to. God is master of this also and is beyond its boundaries and affects. This obviously puts God in a higher position than us. He is our master and creator. Yet, He loves us so much that He meets us where we are and offers everything that He has for our benefit and for our salvation.

We as Christians are encouraged to understand that we should not do anything out of obligation but only in reaction to God’s love for us. Through our faith we will come to understand naturally what is the right thing to do and we will want to do it because God loves us and we love Him. We will definitely be aided through the guidance of the Deposit of Faith but in the end the presence of God in our lives and how we receive Him will be the determining factor of our actions and our conduct. The closer to Him we become the more joyful and content we will be.

Deacon Tom Anthony