| Gospel | Mark 12:18-27 |
Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’
Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for Roy Everitt RIP
Reflection
Today’s saints are mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I. Marcellinus was a priest while Peter was an exorcist. They were secretly beheaded during the time of Emperor Diocletian. Their executioner was converted and told how these men bore witness to the Faith.
In today’s Gospel, the Sadducees presented Jesus a ridiculous case about a woman who married all seven brothers. Their question, “Now at the resurrection of the dead…whose wife will she be…?” showed their poor understanding. Then and now, the reality of the resurrection of the dead has been misunderstood by many. Saints Marcellinus and Peter, as well as other martyrs, suffered and died from violence. In the eyes of the world, they died in vain. St John Chrysostom tells us, “Do you see God’s wisdom, how the greatest of evils, the ultimate disaster for us, which the devil introduced (I mean death), how this changed into our honour and glory, because it led the athletes towards the prizes of martyrdom?…The martyrs went to meet their torturers with joy as if they were dancing, and as if they were in battle they displayed complete courage and strength and conquered their opposition.” The glory that they are now enjoying will be ours too if we keep up the faith.
- How do you enrich your understanding of the scriptures and the power of God?
- What lessons can you take from our belief in “the resurrection of the dead”? Why?
- How do the martyrs strengthen your belief in “the resurrection of the dead”?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Through the prayers and example of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, fill us with courage and strength amidst opposition. Make us hopeful in the resurrection of the dead. Amen.
(Pietro)
