Tricky Questions
27 Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28 and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her." (Luke 20: 27-33)
We are told at the beginning of this passage that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, so for them to ask Jesus a question about who would be married to whom in the resurrection was a setup from the start. But, Jesus answered the question they asked - by essentially saying that theirs was an earthly concern rather than a heavenly one - as well as the question they didn't ask - by recounting their own faith history as evidence in favor of acknowledging resurrection.
Our minds are made to solve problems, and in the absence of an immediate problem (or as an escape from our current situation) our minds will create problems to solve. This can cause, or fuel, anxiety and stress and send us spiraling in negativity. It can be valuable to take a step back and ask ourselves if the thing we are worried over is something we can take concrete steps to work through. But sometime we are just at a loss, and giving those things to God is the only way to get free. It doesn't matter if our concerns are of eternal import or tedious fretting, we can take them to God in prayer. God will take us and our concerns seriously, and will guide us with compassion to greater understanding and peace - and, sometimes, peace even when we can't understand.
34 Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive." (Luke 20:34-38)
