Jesus teaches something interesting about the resurrected life by responding to a potential trap set by the Sadducees in the Gospel of Luke (20:27-40). The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, and so they crafted a question to Jesus: If a barren woman is widowed and remarried several times during her lifetime, who will be her husband in heaven? The Sadducees believed that it is impossible for Jesus to provide an adequate answer since it is impossible for him to select a particular husband, nor is it possible to say she would be married to all of them. Either choice would deny certain aspects and understandings of marriage itself. This argument and attempt to trap Jesus, however, merely demonstrates the depth of their ignorance and lack of comprehension regarding eternal life.
Jesus counters their question by teaching them that in heaven, there are no “goodbyes.” Relationships are perfect and unending. All of our relationships will exist within the context of our relationship with God, a relationship based on a perfection of love that is not realized during our lives on earth. Marriage is an imperfect reflection of the perfect love of God for us and of the Trinitarian love that will sustain us in the eternal life of the resurrection. Therefore, the limitations and restrictions on love that exist within the context of human relationships vanish in the presence of infinite, eternal love.
Father, help me to love. I desire to love others as myself. Give me the courage and strength I need to love as you love, and to forgive as you forgive. May my relationships with others reflect more boldly and brightly that eternal and infinite love with which you love me. Amen.
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