Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, March 25, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I like this! God is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. God is the God of Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Leah, Bilhah, Rachel, and Zilpah. These, then, are not dead, but living, as far as God is concerned. They and all who have gone before. Thus, as the kingdom of God exists in “the already and the not yet” as I’ve been talking about, so is the resurrection already and not yet.
What does that look like in practical terms? There are conflicting theological understandings of what happens when you do, whether you remain dormant until the last day, or whether you at once are with God in the resurrection. This, at least, seems to indicate the latter. And maybe Jesus was just being snarky to the Sadducees—he was really good at that, especially because they were being snarky with him—but I think I’ll take him literally on this one. Just ‘cause.
God of the living, hold those beloved departed in your eternal arms until we are all reunited in your kingdom. Amen.
