9th Week in Ordinary Time – Mark 12:18-27
Today the Sadducees come to Jesus and question him. They begin by quoting Moses, who wrote: “if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the brother must marry the widow who then is to bear his children and raise up descendants for his brother.” Then the Sadducees give Jesus a specific scenario they wanted him to respond to.
This is the scenario they proposed: There was a family that had seven brothers. The oldest brother married and after a few months of their marriage, he died. Now, the custom at that time was that if a brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the second oldest brother was to marry his brother’s widow. This was the custom as the Sadducees only believed in what they could see. Thus, they could not conceive of heaven. Nor did they believe in an afterlife. They simply were trying to trap Jesus!
However Jesus does not fall into their trap. He realizes that they are testing him. Ask yourself: do you ever try to trap Jesus by asking him a trick question? Or perhaps we ask for a “sign” so that we truly will know that Jesus is at work in us?
Do we trust Jesus? Do we truly believe that He only desires the best for us? Do we trust that He always is with us, regardless of how difficult life is at times? Or do we only believe that Jesus is with us when something good or wonderful happens to us? Do we need a sign of his presence? Or do we truly trust that Jesus is with us always and He will grace us with all we need?
The next time you are tempted to “test” Jesus, stop and remember how He has been with you in the past. This will help you (and me) trust that He truly is with us now. Jesus is trustworthy! He will not let us down! May we wholeheartedly believe and trust this reality!
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