My Best Self

 This story introduces us to a new group: the Sadducees. Another group that doesn’t love Jesus’ public ministry, and, interestingly, a rival to the Pharisees. The Sadducees were a wealthy, aristocratic Jewish sect. They had control over the Temple in Jerusalem–believed by Jesus’ friends and neighbors to be the very home of God–as well as the Sanhedrin, the court that charges Jesus with blasphemy and hands him over to be crucified by Pontius Pilate. The Sadducees are very powerful, and this story sets up an important upset, one piece in the puzzle that puts Jesus on the cross on Good Friday. The Sadducees had two crucial differences from the Pharisees, and one of them was their political views. The Pharisees were deeply opposed to the Roman occupation of Palestine. The Sadducees, on the other hand, were loyal to Rome, and benefited greatly from that loyalty. The other difference had to do with theology, specifically beliefs about what happens after you die. I learned a little quip back in college to remember the difference, and I sincerely apologize for how corny this is, but you will remember it: the Pharisees believed in life after death, as well as in spirits and angels. But the Sadducees didn’t. So they were sad, you see. Big groan, I know, I thank you for indulging me. Because the Sadducees didn’t believe anything happens when you die, they were most focused on maintaining the money and power they had in this life, and were little bothered with concerns for the afterlife. And apparently a few of them were feeling extra salty about that this morning, and decided it would be fun to antagonize the only person who annoyed them more than the Pharisees: Jesus.

So, the Sadducees came up with a hypothetical, and the most ridiculous one they could think of, one that invoked an Old Testament custom called Levirite marriage. Levirite marriage was an ancient law that held that if a man and a woman were married, and the man died with no heir, and he had brothers, his brother would be required to marry his widow, and the first son they had together would be the dead brother’s legal heir. Luke didn’t explicitly say the Pharisees were nearby, but you kinda know they always were, right? They trolled Jesus so often there’s no way they were far off, so they were going to be hearing this. And the Pharisees both believed in an afterlife, and were laser focused on the strict following of the Law of Moses, so the Sadducees decided both to stick it to the Pharisees as hard as possible with this hypothetical, and entrap Jesus. You have to imagine one man asked the question, and the rest pulled up chairs and made popcorn to watch what would happen.

This was the hypothetical: there once was a woman. She married a man. The man met an untimely death, so, per Levirite marriage, she wed his brother. Then that brother passed. The woman married the next brother in line. Then he died, too. The woman went through five more brothers, and all of them died. At this point, guys, I’ve got some questions about the woman. But then, ultimately, she died, too, and no one ever had any kids.

So, ask the Sadducees: in this “heaven” place Jesus and the Pharisees both believe in, who is that woman’s husband? We’re pretty sure we know what the motivation of the Sadducees was in asking this ridiculous question in the first place, and it wasn’t to understand Levirite marriage. For the record, there are no stories, in either the Bible or history, to support the notion that any woman would have been married to eight different brothers on account of Levirite marriage. The only stories we have are of a woman marrying one younger brother. Jesus knew that. And he knew the Sadducees were as transparent as saran wrap. They wanted to stump Jesus, to put him in a position with tons of eyes on him where he couldn’t possibly come up with a satisfactory answer, and then to watch a brawl break out, especially if it meant watching the Pharisees boil over in rage and clobber Jesus. This could be prime public theater. Fortunately for Jesus, this isn’t his first rodeo. The Pharisees have tried to stump Jesus in public many times. Still, how is Jesus supposed to wiggle out of this one?

As he always did, by taking the high road. Marriage is an earth thing, Jesus taught. We worry about Levirite marriage now. We worry about inheritance and family lineage and who goes with whom now. Heaven won’t be a place where anyone cares what you inherited from whom, or how wacky your family tree looks. Heaven won’t even be a place where marriage will exist. Indeed, it won’t even be a place where death exists. It will be a completely different, virtually unimaginable form of new life. Worry about today, today. Worry about heaven in heaven. 

Of course, the Sadducees must have walked away grumbling because they didn’t get to watch a big public fight. Jesus disarmed everyone with his wisdom. But, still, reading this story today, I have to admit the Sadducees’ question sounds absurd, and yet I’m still curious about that kind of thing. Who are we to God, and who are we getting ready to be someday, in the Good Place? I also admit that I don’t love Jesus’ answer. I’m very fond of my life partner, and I’d like to believe we’ll be partners in eternal life, as well. It’s hard to imagine heaven being the Good Place if it’s a place where my earthly marriage doesn’t matter anymore. And I have a pretty strong belief that when my Grandma F, my dad’s mom, passed back in 2020, the first thing she did in heaven was find my Grandpa F, her husband of 60 earthly years. I like to think he saved her a seat in heaven between his passing and hers, and waited for her.

But maybe, like the Sadducees, I’m too short sighted, and I’m missing the point. Maybe, like the Pharisees, I’m too hung up on how the rules work here. Maybe I need to think much bigger. Maybe heaven is a place I’m getting ready for now, just by being my best self. And the same is true for all of you. And if my man makes me my best self–and he does–then that’s what marriage and heaven have to do with one another. 

What makes you your best self in this life? What holds you accountable, strengthens your virtues and prunes away your lesser impulses? What helps you strive toward perfection, and sanctify yourself? Maybe it’s a partner. But, maybe not. Maybe it’s a friendship. Maybe it’s your career. Maybe it’s your kids. Or another family member. Maybe it’s a passion, or a skill, or art, or a favorite hobby. Whatever that is for you, let your focus be there. Because it shapes you, it shapes this world, and I have a feeling it’s what you spend eternity paired up with someday.

May it be so.

Amen.