Prepare
This reading begins with a question about the afterlife from the Sadducees, a group of leaders who did not believe in the resurrection. This is important to note because the question is not really about the resurrection at all, but about trapping Jesus. The Sadducees want him to give an answer that somehow “convicts” him. Keep in mind that this gospel lesson comes just one chapter after Jesus has made his final entry into Jerusalem, what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. So this conversation takes place sometime between Sunday and Thursday, before the Last Supper.
To clarify the question, the Sadducees are asking about a law that sort of protects women. In practice though, it mostly protected a man’s property and lineage. According to the Torah, if a man died without a son, his brother was expected to help by marrying the widow and attempt to give her a son. In many ways, this helps the woman since she cannot own property. Either her new husband or son would inherit her dead husband’s wealth and take care of her. Ultimately, it’s a symbol of the patriarchy that existed and Sadducees’ question becomes one about ownership, who the woman “belongs to” even in the afterlife.
Jesus does not answer the question directly. He defers to the fact that some are worthy to be in God’s kingdom and some are not. Yet, more importantly, property and wealth won’t matter anymore, because earthly rules do not apply in the kingdom of God. He reminds them that God is God of the living, and not of the dead, and that life in God’s kingdom is not bound by the same rules and hierarchies of this world.
Opening Exercise
Question for pairs or trios: Has someone every asked you a question that didn’t seem to have a right answer, but felt like it could have many wrong answers? How do you feel about or respond to dangerous questions?
Texts Read Aloud
Luke 20:27-38
Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
How Jesus Handles Loaded Questions (And How We Can, Too)
It’s so easy to fall into the wrong conversation, isn’t it?
When the question is a trap, choose what really matters.
It’s common these days. Someone asks you a question about a hot-button topic, and you answer with what you know to be right. But then, it happens. The questioner disagrees with you and argues with you. Suddenly you feel like your values are at stake. The conversation turns into a heated discussion about the particulars of one side or the other and everyone walks away feeling beat up, angry, or confused.
This is exactly the kind of question Jesus is asked by the Sadducees in today’s reading from the gospel of Luke. They are trying to trick him into answering, then trap him on the specifics of his response. Jesus, however, is a master at seeing through questions like these. He answers with a response that truly gets at the heart of things…what really matters.
Instead of answering which husband she would belong to, he flips the conversation to one of what matters most in the afterlife, and these details apparently don’t. Jesus speaks of not being dead but being alive, that everyone at this point is a child of God, and that God is a God of the living. In other words, eternity is not a place where wealth, status, or hierarchy matter anymore. This question is irrelevant in God’s Kingdom.
Maybe the best lesson for us from this gospel reading today is to stop and take a breath when someone asks a tricky question and think about it from a deeper perspective. Rather than be tricked into quibbling over details that aren’t important, we can approach questions asked of us with answers that aim to bring both parties together. Jesus recognizes the Sadducees’ question to be one of wealth and status. Rather than playing into their hand, Jesus assures those listening that God’s love is for all the children of God, and that God is God of the living. There is no need to worry about power and wealth when God is God. And it’s an answer that no one can argue with.
Paul urges the Thessalonians to do this too: “let no one deceive you” he writes in 1 Thess. 2:3. Here he is writing about people who come with false information; not about people who ask dangerous questions. But the message is the same. Don’t let people deceive you or draw you into what’s not important. Instead, focus on what is important:
“13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 For this purpose he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It’s a great message for us today in a divided world. When asked a dangerous or tricky question, take a breath. Find the true meaning behind the question, keep the focus on what’s important, and answer in love.
Reflection Questions
- What did the Sadducees want to know?
- Why do you think the Sadducees asked Jesus this question?
- How does it feel when you are asked a question that feels a little dangerous?
- How might you answer differently if you took a breath and received more context for the question
Closing Activity
Have the students practice answering hard questions with a response that gets more at the heart of the matter. For example:
- Question: Do you think people should be allowed to have automatic rifles in their home?
- Answer: instead of answering yes or no, answer how you feel about safety.
- “I think it’s important that all people feel safe at home, therefore this is a question that is hard to answer. One person might feel safe with a gun, another might feel unsafe knowing that there are guns out there. I think it’s important that we find ways to help all people feel safe.”
Closing Blessing
Holy God, you have all the answers and we have all the questions. Help us put our trust in you and to know that your love is more important than anything else. Give us patience with each other’s questions and guide us into answering in love. Amen.
Bio
Pastor Heather Hansen serves as Associate Pastor for faith formation and pastoral care at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas. She has served as a youth minister, youth ministry professor and youth pastor for 29 years. Heather is an avid Aggie fan, loves everything nature and outdoors related, and rescues animals of all kinds including turtles, geckos, guinea pigs, sugar gliders, cats and dogs!
