Weekly Reflection 110704AD

November 7 2004AD

32^nd Sunday in Greentime

Jesus and the God of Mystery

When God Self-revealed to Moses on top of Mount Sinai, the Self-given Name was YHWH. The tetragrammaton (4 consonant word) is related to the Hebrew verb, hyh, “to be, to live, to become, to exist”. What YHWH means eludes us after 3200 years, the time of the slave revolt led by Moses. Two possible translations of YHWH are the God of Life and the God of Mystery, viz., the name might mean, I am who I am (and mind your own business!! God is indefinable.

Based on the Name YHWH, Jesus offers an interesting riposte in today’s Gospel on the curious question of the women married to 7 brothers. The questioners, the Sadducees, were the Temple authorities and the leading Jerusalem families who tended to emphasize the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) over the other works in the Hebrew Bible. The concern (feigned or otherwise) was that the doctrine of immortality and/or Resurrection do not appear in the Torah, only in later works.

The authenticity of Jesus’ response to this challenge shows Jesus at His left-brain best in responding to the challenge. (The religious law about which the Sadducees were seemingly so concerned was known as the “levirate law” in the Torah, brothers married childless widows of their brothers to keep the clan going.)

Jesus, in essence, says “You brought up the Torah, and so will I”.Even though the doctrine of Resurrection does not appear in the Torah, YHWH in the scene of Self-indentification claimed to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (all of whom had died before Moses). Jesus implies that even though the patriarchs are dead, “All live in or through or by YHWH”. Leave it up to God.

Jesus maintained His Honor in this challenge by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Through His response, we have a great meditation in this month of November (“Remember for Catholics”), the month of the Christian harvest in thanksgiving. We change, we are born, we live, we die, we live with God forever. We experience the universal process in Christ Jesus of death and Resurrection. Words are inadequate to express the mystery. Isn’t that consoling?

The shortest psalm, Psalm 117, sums it all up. We come and go, but YHWH (the God of Love Who is the God of Mystery) is always faithful.

Praise YHWH, all you nations!

Glorify YHWH all you people!

Steadfast is YHWH’s Kindness to us

YHWH’s Fidelity endures forever.

As we heard in the second reading on All Saints Day, “We are YHWH’s children now. What we are yet to be has not yet come to light.”

Jesus is asking us that if we, indeed, believed in God the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, what is stopping YHWH from insuring the Resurrection of the Body and life in the world to come? Yes, Lord, we believe. 110704AD jfq