A God of Infinite Love
32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time November 6,
2016
A Reflection on 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2
Thessalonians 2:15-3:5; Luke 20:27-38.
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus
Order Franciscans of Mercy
At the end of Sunday’s
Gospel passage, Jesus explains the reason why there must be life after death. "Those
who are deemed worthy to attain the coming age and the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are
like angels."…… "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."
Some people ask “Where in
that is the proof that the dead rise?” The answer is; Since God is called the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jesus calls God a God of the living, not of
the dead, then one must conclude that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive
somewhere, even if they had been dead for centuries at the time God spoke to
Moses from the bush.
In the preface of the Mass
for the dead, the liturgy says “that with death life is changed, not taken
away" That means that we or at least the one thing that separates us
humans from all other creatures of God, our soul, lives on.
The material shell may
disintegrate and it returns back to the earth from which scripture says “God
created the human from the slime of the earth” and which we are reminded of every Ash
Wednesday when we place the sign of the Cross on the forehead with these words,
“Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return” Therefore after mortal death we continue
living but in an altered state and specifically a state of perfection.
We will be living in the
perfection of God, a state unlike anything that is possible here on earth. The
love for the people we loved here on earth will be enhanced to perfection and
those things that annoyed us or separated us will be wiped away for they were
not of perfection.
Christ, in His response to
the Sadducees, meant that which is
an integral part of our life, even a marriage that did not last here on earth,
will be perfected in the love that united the two individuals in the first place
even if only for a brief time.
I personally believe, a
marriage that did not last but one that began with true love for each other was
according to a plan God had for reasons known only to Him.
It could well be that the
children born of that marriage had to come into being to fulfill some plan God
has for them.
The defects,
misunderstandings, pain or suffering that the two people inflicted on each
other, will be forgotten when they are rejoined in heaven and only the love
that brought them together will remain.
In God, all things are
understood, all transgressions will be excused, all sin is forgiven. We exist
in perfection.
Even those who have
legally remarried (This was the concept presented in the Gospel story) will
have their feelings enhanced and their love continue because God is Love and
all love is objectively a good coming from God, that cannot be dissolved.
Rivalry, jealousy, hatred,
prejudice, bigotry have nothing to do with love and indeed are the total
opposite to Love but tools of Satan.
Heaven is a state of
perfection and the ultimate expression of Love; THE LOVE OF GOD. St.
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, one of the Spanish martyrs who was canonized a few
years ago wrote "Let My Memory Always Remind You There Is a
Better Life" in a letter to his fiancé the day before he died and
ended it with the following advice “Goodbye, until that moment, then,
dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, try to be a
model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no
avail if we do not manage to save our souls.”
This Tuesday we will be called to vote for the person who will lead this great nation for the next 4 years. I will not tell you who I plan on voting for but I will tell you the qualities that the person you do vote for should be committed to carry out.
This Tuesday we will be called to vote for the person who will lead this great nation for the next 4 years. I will not tell you who I plan on voting for but I will tell you the qualities that the person you do vote for should be committed to carry out.
The next president should
be one who is not going to eliminate programs that help the poor, the elderly
who live on low fixed incomes because they never knew in their day the kinds of
salaries people receive today so their Social Security which they paid into
from their salaries is very low and not adequate for today’s cost of living.
The next president should not be advocating cuts in Medicare which allows
seniors to receive quality health care.
The next president should
be one who wants to insure that our veterans receive quality health care
including mental health care for those who suffer from PTSD because of the atrocities
they witnessed while serving our country.
The next president should
work to find ways to end all the senseless violence that permeates our nation
and get weapons of war off our streets.
The next president needs
to insure that that big business and the richest of our citizens pay the same
rate of taxes and the individual working for minimum pay, speaking of which,
the person you choose to elect should be committed to making sure that the
minimum pay is commensurate with the cost of living and that everyone receives
equal pay for equal work.
In two weeks we will be
celebrating Thanksgiving, let us hope that everyone, including the poor,
homeless, and elderly can all enjoy the festivities of the day We need to
remind ourselves of the final admonishment of St. Bartolomé Blanco about
worldly goods and delights and think about how we can share some of the things
we have been given with those who are in need.
Let us put aside the petty
human disagreements that may have divided family and friends and reach out to
mend them.
Let us go forth in the
spirit of love and brotherhood, reaching out in friendship and Christian love to
the disenfranchised and our Asian, Latino, Moslem, Arab, Jewish, and all other
nationalities who are our brothers and sisters in Christ and therefore children
of God.
Let us work diligently to
put an end the bullying, violence, hatred and bigotry that separates people
from love and full participation in God’s love and has caused pain, suffering
and even death to so many innocent people.
I end this reflection with
the words of St. Paul from Sunday’s second reading, “ Pray that the Lord’s
message may spread quickly, and be received with honor and pray that we may be
preserved from the interference of bigoted and evil people, for true faith is
not given to everyone. But the Lord is faithful, and he will give you strength
and guard you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 2:16 - 3:5)
May the Lord turn our
hearts towards the infinite love of God and may we find fortitude in Christ to
live our life in a way that is pleasing to God and which will assure our
perfection with God in Eternity. AMEN
