Daily Catholic Mass Readings for November 23, 2019
First Reading: 1 Maccabees 6.1-13
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Psalm 9
1I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.2I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.3My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.4For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.5You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.6Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.7The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.8He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.10Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.11Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.12For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.13O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,14that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.15The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.16The LORD is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah17The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.18But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.19Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.20Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah
Gospel: Luke 20.27-40
27Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.28"Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.29Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless.30The second31and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children.32Finally, the woman died too.33Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"34Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.35But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage,36and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.37But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'38He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."39Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!"40And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter two distinct narratives that converge on themes of divine justice, the afterlife, and the consequences of human actions. The first reading from 1 Maccabees portrays King Antiochus, overwhelmed by grief and regret, as he confronts the repercussions of his oppressive deeds, particularly against Jerusalem. His downfall serves as a testament to the principle that sin leads to downfall, while the Jewish people, though oppressed, ultimately find triumph through their faith and resilience.
The Gospel from Luke presents a theological debate where the Sadducees challenge Jesus on the concept of resurrection. Using a complex scenario involving seven brothers and their wife, they aim to discredit the idea of an afterlife. Jesus, however, transcends their earthly perspective, explaining that in the resurrection, relationships will be redefined, akin to the angels, and all will be alive in God's presence. He underscores this by referencing Moses, affirming that God is the God of the living, not the dead.
Both readings, though differing in context—one historical and the other theological—unite in their exploration of death, divine justice, and eternal life. The Maccabean narrative highlights earthly consequences of sin, while Luke's Gospel elevates our gaze to the hope of resurrection. Together, they remind us to live with integrity, trusting in God's plan beyond our mortal lives. The moral lesson is clear: sin has consequences, but through faith and virtuous living, we can embrace the hope of eternal life, where all are alive in God's eternal embrace.