Isaiah 30:26 The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times greater, like the light of seven days, On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people and heals the bruises left by his blows.
The above picture is from my niece Laura who took the picture of a full moon on October 5th this year. It was the closest our planet will come to the moon for a number of years( If I remember correctly the next closest will be 2027 but I could be off by a year or two). Jesus, today is talking about heaven. Ancient mans had a concept of heaven but it was a physical place up in the sky and beyond. Way up! We think of heaven in earthly terms, concrete terms.
In today’s Gospel Jesus gives us a vision of what heaven is really like. In Luke 20:36 speaks of those who have died. “They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
Speaking of children, our granddaughter, Jessie has a projected due date of December 24th. A blessed event just before the birthday of another blessed event that we celebrate every year. My granddaughter has had a difficult pregnancy. My wife, Anna, and I have been constantly praying for this child. Everyday, Jessie does not give birth is another day her baby has to grow and develop with no complications.
It is no wonder that we as Catholics, as well as, certain Protestant denominations are pro-life. We are a people who are all alive as children of God. Earlier in Luke 17: 20-21 Jesus says Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you”, and He is among us this very moment.
In the state of grace, living or dead we are alive in Christ like angels. I never thought of myself as an angel but the idea is appealing to me. We can hangout with Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It calls to mind the reason we have a devotion to Mary and the Saints. They are alive and have influence.
I said earlier that we think in earthly and concrete terms. How more concrete can you get when the King of the Universe (Salvator Mundi) whose feast day is tomorrow tells us we are alive in Him. It is most coincidental that Leonardo da Vinci’s painting should have been recently sold for $450,000,000. Disregard the price. In heavenly terms it means nothing. The picture and what it represents is important. Christ is with us alive right now. He is the God of the living, the Savior of the World.
We just finished Thanksgiving in the United States and these are supposed to be great family occasions. For some people it can be a somber occasion because of loneliness or loss of a loved one or a pet. I have worked shift work a good portion of my life and if I didn’t celebrate on the exact day our family would do it on another day. Every day we should celebrate the fact that we are concretely alive in Christ. This is such a positive message and it should make us all celebrate and give thanks to God for life and all the people alive or dead who are still alive in Christ at this very moment. Praise God!
God Bless you
Bob Burford
Readings: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13; Psalm 9:2-3, 4, 6, 16, 19; 2 Timothy 1:10 ; Luke 20:27-40
