Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770

God is not a God of dead people, but of living people

 

 

Reading: Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” Mark 12:26-27.

 

Good morning, happy Wednesday, and many blessings.

 

Again today (Mark 12:18-27), we meet people who are not really open to the truth, but who want to believe their own version of things and then try to persuade others that it is the truth. They do not believe in life after death, so they ask Jesus a question designed to show that life after death is a ridiculous concept.

 

The strange questions lead to a good answer about God - God is the God of life, of living beings. We are to leave what comes after this life to God acknowledging that answers will not be easily forthcoming. Many faith-questions have a place in prayer. We grapple with big religious questions but know that they get some sort of a context at the feet of Jesus, or at the cross. Our questions are not always answered in prayer, but prayer gives them a context in which they can be lived.

 

Jesus, however, does not even attempt to give a reply to their question. Instead, he tries to open their minds to other possibilities. I ask Jesus to show me if I approach God and others with a closed mind, a mind that is not willing to be open to truths that I find, perhaps, uncomfortable. I pray for trust. Jesus, however, does not even attempt to give a reply to their question. Instead, he tries to open their minds to other possibilities. . I ask Jesus to show me if I approach God and others with a closed mind, a mind that is not willing to be open to truths that I find, perhaps, uncomfortable. I pray for trust.

 

The resurrection of the dead is nothing like anything we can imagine. It means that God will never let go of us because he loves us. Can I make an act of faith in this? Let me pray for the dead today, - relations, friends, the forgotten, sinners…

 

God is not a God of dead people, but of living people. Our world is so concerned with competition and the violence it generates, that it does need to hear this wonderful message. Yet, religious people seem to waste so much time arguing about details, while the life-giving message is neglected.

 

Do I sometimes find myself closing my heart to others in God's name, because I am a Christian? Lord Jesus, save me from such blasphemy.

 

I leave you with these questions: How strong is my belief in the resurrection? What difference does this belief make to the way I live my life here and now?

 

Blessings,

 

Fr. Luis+

Date news: 
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - 13:15

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

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