Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The God Of The Living
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. At a time when the first persecutions of the Church had begun, the Book of Revelation speaks of the killing by evil forces of those who witness with their lives. But like the dried-up bones in Ezekiel, the martyrs will be raised to life and go to heaven.
Gospel. “God is the God of the living,” says Jesus. He calls back to life those who die; death is overcome, since Jesus rose from the dead. The witnesses of the first reading are put to death by the mighty of this earth because they contest the abuse of power, but God raises them up. The resurrection is the core of our faith, not only as a promise to live on in God’s joy after death, but already now as a power of building up one another in human dignity, justice, peace and serving love. We cannot die for ever, because God cannot stop loving us.
Opening Prayer
God, source and purpose of all life,
you have committed yourself to us
with a love that never ends.
Give us the indestructible hope
that you have prepared for us
a life and a happiness
beyond the powers of death.
May this firm hope sustain us
to find joy in life
and to face its difficulties and challenges
resolutely and fearlessly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
These are the two olive trees, and the two lamps, which stand before the Lord of the earth.
If anyone tries to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths to destroy their enemies; this is how anyone who attempts to harm them will perish.
They have the power to close the sky and hold back the rain during their prophetic period; they also have the power to turn water into blood and punish the earth with a thousand plagues, whenever they wish.
But when my witnesses have completed their mission, the beast that rises from the abyss will make war against them, conquer, and kill them.
Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which the believers figuratively call Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
For three and a half days, their bodies will be displayed to people of every tribe, race, language, and nation, who will be ordered not to bury them.
The inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, celebrate, and exchange gifts because these two prophets were a torment to them.
But after those three and a half days, a life-giving spirit from God entered them, and they stood up. Those who watched were filled with great fear.
Then a loud voice from heaven called out, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in the clouds, in front of their enemies.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection.
They asked Jesus this question:
“Master, the law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.’
Now, there were seven brothers: the first married but died without children.
The second married the woman, but also died childless.
And then the third married her, and in the same way, all seven died without children.
Last of all, the woman died.
On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”
And Jesus replied:
“Taking a husband or a wife is proper for people of this world,
but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage.
Besides, they cannot die, for they are like angels. They are sons and daughters of God because they are born of the resurrection.
Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
For God is a God of the living, not of the dead, for to him everyone is alive.”
Some teachers of the law then agreed with Jesus:
“Master, you have spoken well.”
They didn’t dare ask him anything else.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That we may keep up the good fight against all that is deadly to Christian life: dehumanizing kinds of labor, suppression of freedom, paralyzing fear, lack of love and compassion, we pray:
– That all suffering and dying people may share in our resurrection faith and find strength in the knowledge that God loves them in life and beyond death, we pray:
– That our beloved dead may live on in the life they gave us, in the faith they passed on to us and in the good we do, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God of the living,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the memory of Jesus, your Son.
He died for us,
but he is now alive here among us
as our risen Lord.
Strengthen us with his body and blood
and give us a great respect for our own body
in which we hope to rise one day.
Like your Son, may we use it
to serve and love and thank you
and to reach out to our neighbor
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God of the living,
you want us to live even beyond death
as fully human and complete persons,
and yet totally transformed by your love
that makes us your daughters and sons.
Give us the quiet but firm faith
that life is meaningful and worthwhile
and that death is not the end
but the beginning of a new way of living.
May this certainty encourage us
to share our hope with those
to whom life makes little sense.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We are people of hope and joy, for Christ is risen. We are sure that we too shall rise with him one day. This is why our hope in God’s love and life is indestructible. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Owned by God alone!
Luke 20:27-40
Today's Gospel passage teaches us about the resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and attempted to trap Jesus with a crafty question. However, their question only served to expose their lack of understanding of sacred scripture. They totally misunderstood the meaning of resurrection from the dead and life after death.
Luke uses this incident to address some serious misconceptions about life after death among his Christian community. Some early Christians thought life after resurrection was a continuation of life on earth.
Imagine a parent goes to the school where his or her child studies and says, “I am the dad or mom of so and so.” The parents identify themselves with their children. God does something similar – He identifies himself with men and women who trust Him, and this bond is stronger than death. God takes pride in saying – “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob…” and that list would include each of our names too!
St. Teresa of Avila narrated one of her mystical experiences of the vision of the child Jesus. One day she saw a beautiful boy standing at the stairway in her convent, where there was no chance for a boy to walk in. And the boy asked Teresa, “Who are you?” She replied, “I am Teresa of Jesus. And who are you?” Teresa returned the question. And the child responded, “I am Jesus of Teresa!”
Is it not beautiful to believe that Jesus would speak the same of each of us, too! Imagine Jesus telling us, “I am Jesus of … let us add our names here! This is the meaning of life after death: all that matters is that we belong to Christ.” Everything else loses its meaning!
Here is the wisdom that no science can ever give. Here the mystery of the resurrection is revealed. Because the mystery of life is revealed – that life belongs to God, and what belongs to God cannot perish. On the contrary, there is no life where one refuses to belong to God but only to people and places of this world.