Tuesday, May 31, 2016

9th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 01-06-16

2 Tim 1:1-3, 6-12 / Mark 12:18-27

The great pyramids of Egypt is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and in fact the only existing one left.

Standing magnificently and silently in the desert sand for four thousands years, those pyramids housed the tombs of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

The shape of the pyramids was thought to symbolize a stairway to the sun, so that the pharaohs could climb to heaven.

The great pyramids were built from about two million blocks of stone, each weighing about twenty tons.

So it can be said that the Egyptian belief in the after-life was rock solid.

So did the Jews in the time of Jesus. Yet, there was a hitch in the Egyptian and Jewish understanding of the after-life.

The pharaoh was buried with his treasures and possessions, his servants and his wives, so that he could bring them along with him to the after-life.

In the gospel, we heard that the Sadducees thought of the after-life relationships as a mere continuation of the present life relationships.

We too can become confused and skeptical when we try to understand the after-life in terms of the present life.

All we know for now is that we will see God "face-to-face" and receive the fullness of life and joy.

It is with faith in God and in the eternal life with Him that we will stop building pyramids on earth and strive to live the life of above.

The God that we believe in is God, not of the dead, but of the living.

Those who believe in Him will have life and life to the full.