Reflection for Wednesday of Week 9 in Ordinary Time
Do we pass the test?
The Gospel readings for this week take us through Chapter 12 of Mark’s gospel. There are some important teachings in this chapter and you are encouraged to read it all. In the extract for today (vs. 18-27), the Sadducees try to trick Jesus with the question of a woman who was married seven times. Who will be her husband at the resurrection? Jesus concludes his reply by saying that our God “is not God of the dead but of the living.”
The passage leads us to consider the fascination that mankind has about life after death. Common questions are, “What’s is going to be like?” and “What do I have to do to get to heaven?”. We are tantalised by Jesus giving us several parables which begin with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”. The fact that he uses several parables does not make it any clearer – like telling someone that a food tastes like pineapple, if they have never tasted pineapple.
Of course, there are those who choose to reject the concept of heaven (and hell) because they cannot comprehend it and so abandon God completely. But even for the average committed Christian – Catholic or otherwise – there remains a huge desire to know more about heaven. After all, we hope to spend eternity there so the question remains.
Nevertheless, in spite of our desire for the unknown, we have the assurance from Christ that there is a place for each one of us if we do His will. And that is the crux of the matter. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We have no control over the will of the Father in heaven but we can strive to make it happen on earth.
There is great joy in being a true disciple, filled with the Holy Spirit and knowing that we are doing his will. The challenge is learning to discern what the will of the Father is in our own lives.
God Bless and please stay safe. Dc Mike
Footnote: We are aware that, as the lockdowns around the world are lifting, the number of online Masses is being reduced, including Word on Fire with Bishop Barron. We will try to keep you updated on some that are still available.
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