In our first reading today from 1 Maccabees 6, we see a king who knows the score in his life. King Antiochus had done some dastardly things. He began to undergo great misfortune and was soon to die. And near the end, he realized that he was being punished for the terrible things he had done to God’s people. Consequences, consequences.
In the Gospel reading from Luke 20, Jesus gets asked another one of those trick questions, this time by some Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the body. They painted a scenario for Jesus where a woman had been married to each of seven brothers, all of whom died childless. They asked, “Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?” Read the Gospel to find out Jesus’ answer.
Many tried to trick Jesus. But He never bit; never got tripped up. But it reminds me about how we often try to trick Jesus, too. What do I mean? Well, we paint fancy stories, too, with great hypotheticals and circular logic to try to weasel our way out of responsibility and culpability for sin. I think if you try hard enough you may get a sense of what I’m talking about. Just know that when we do that, Jesus doesn’t bite on our lame excuses and stories either.
Father, help us to be honest and forthright with You. Teach us to walk in Your ways, and not make cockamamie excuses when we don’t. Amen.
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