Pastor’s Corner – November 9, 2025
From Old Establishment to New – Luke 20:27-38
The government shutdown has entered 37 days, the longest ever with no end in sight. Thousands have been laid off from jobs. 42 million Americans are without SNAP (that’s one out of eight people). Many are working without a living wage. The rich are getting richer and the poor are falling into abject poverty. At the same time we are witnessing a level of corruption by the Trump administration that is unmatched with corporate greed and abuse of power. However, this week’s election results across the nation feels like a breath of fresh air with a renewed sense of hope!
This Sunday, we hear a story of the Sadducees, who were the religious and political elites of the Jewish community. They asked Jesus a question concerning the resurrection, that is life beyond present reality that is hopeful; the message Jesus embodied and preached concerning the kingdom of God. They didn’t believe in the resurrection so they questioned him to confront and contradict him: according to Moses the law stipulates that a widow must be taken care of by remarriage with brother-in-law, if her husband dies. However, if all seven brothers-in-laws die after marriage with the woman, in the life to come on the day of resurrection, whose wife will the woman be?
Jesus’ answer is classic in that rather than directly responding to the question, he dismantles the very assumption of the question; “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage, 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. Indeed, they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.”
The point Jesus is making is clear; the worldview of the elites who maintain their status quo will come to an end. The identity of a woman defined by a relationship to a man will come to an end. In that age of resurrection all are children of God, being children of the resurrection! In other words there will be realignment, a major shift in how we relate with one another as human beings and our identity rooted in God’s divine nature!
When we witness destruction, hunger, poverty, violence, abuse of power and greed and feel the weight of oppression all around us, it’s easy to despair but we also witness creation of hope, resistance against oppression and resilience to transform and change the establishments to something new that values all children of God, not just for the few. As Christians we don’t have an exclusive claim to the resurrection, it’s happening all around us as God’s creation groans for new creation and new life from the ashes of death and destruction. Come Sunday, let us worship God and follow Jesus who shows us the way to this truth and life so that we may be fully alive as human beings as God’s children. Amen.
Pastor Dae