This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Who knew: There are two passages about seven men marrying the same wife in sequence, each dying in his turn. And they’re both found in today’s liturgy.
Love between a man and a woman is considered by many the height of happiness. In both of today’s readings, though, there is a lesson to be learned about the fleeting and unreliable nature of what humans tend to rely on for happiness. In the first reading, poor Sarah’s husbands keep dying immediately upon wedding her, and in the gospel, the Sadducees cite a hypothetical example of a woman marrying seven men in sequence.
In both readings, we see that the ultimate bringer of reliable happiness is God. In the first reading, God remedies Sarah’s plight after she moves from despair into hope and prays to Him; and in the gospel, the source of eternal happiness in the resurrection from the dead is God.
Still, we must not divorce our view of God’s Providence from the ordinary realities of life. We are body and spirit, and God cares for us lovingly in both. Sometimes we suffer, but even this suffering is curated caringly by God, for those who trust in Him.
And He often manifests His providential love in simple details in everyday life: Unexpected blessings, positive outcomes.
Perfect trust involves detachment from any particular gift or outcome, and at the same time, certainty that God will ultimately bring about the best possible outcome.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to transform your life such that it is led by perfect trust. Aware that you cannot trust this way yourself, ask Him with confidence for the gift.
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