From what we know to what will be known
by Joanne Corney
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And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection (Luke 20:36).
In my faith journey, I have found times of wonder and deep and rich benefits from investigating cultural and original language insights when reading the Bible. Wonderful also have been times when a liberating or comforting sense of elevation has come to me when contemplating the reading. Such times are a gift – often simpler, gentler, not driven by my effort but deep in the impact on my faith experience. Such a space has been mine as I’ve considered today’s reading.
In this reading, we see discussion stemming from a set line of questioning. A question set on a possible scenario involving a circumstance of marriage, widowhood, childlessness, enforced responsibility and ownership – a question that touches on both obligations for now and a wondering of how these subsequent actions reach forward for eternity. Seemingly valid questions of that time as influenced by social order, culture and the governmental model.
Nowhere, though, is it noted by the questioners about the human experience of being immersed in such circumstances – relational love and the loss of a brother or spouse, recurrent loss and grief to the woman and to themselves as brothers, the pain of childlessness if a child has been hoped for, or the two-way gift of kindness – and how it can bountifully bless the giver and receiver if kindness is responsive to need and not offered due to perceived obligation or as a transaction. The questioning seems to have been loaded, but innately, it launches from a platform of obligation – this was a focus, not the heart’s toll.
Jesus responds and takes it to a different platform – the space of eternity, of which we, as yet, have no firsthand experience. As we journey in faith in this life, eternity can be a space that can seem almost familiar but not quite. From this space, Jesus reminds us of what will be eternal. He puts eternity into descriptions that we can begin to grasp on some level as we all know something of death and, generally, we have a perception of angels and have each experienced childhood. He then amps up, taking our focus to God as Father and reminds us of the core place in the Christian faith of resurrection. What a wondersome lift from what we now know to what we believe will be known.
Merciful God, in our burdens of responsibility and obligations, please help us to do well with what is before us. As it is of help to us, please bless us with comfort and hope from considering ‘always’ with you. In the name of Christ, Amen.
Joanne Corney is an active member of the LCANZ in Queensland. She has served over many years in voluntary parish pastoral care, ministry and development, and representative roles. During the past seven years, she has worked in the delivery of aged-care chaplaincy for Lutheran Services. Joanne’s areas of service in the church stem from her varied professional roles in healthcare and personal roles in life.
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