In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     In many ways, we have been immersed in eschatology here at Saint Luke's, since Rally Day. First, because our Monday night apologetics book study has been about "Final Things"-the end of time, the final judgment and the resurrection of the dead; and second, because in Sunday Adult Class, we've been studying John 6, the Bread of Life chapter where Jesus says, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Between these two adult education opportunities, I've been studying more than usual, Scripture related to the eschaton, the end of time, or literally, "that which is furthest out". And between that diving into Holy Scripture, and the chapters we're discussing on Monday, and the related reading-the Last Day, and the resurrection of the dead has been on my mind for months. And yet, when we discussed the above text from John in Sunday Adult Class, about eating the bread of life and having eternal life-and when I asked the adults whether they think much about death, eternal life, and the resurrection of the dead-out of thirty or so adults, few, if any hands went up! I thought, if nothing else, our recent study of these things would cause half of the class to respond positively-but what that said to me is, these are not pressing issues for most of us today! The one or two more senior folks in adult class who raised their hands, said they are thinking more about death and resurrection, the closer they get to it! But for most of us, it isn't yet on our radar screens. And for our, predominantly younger congregation, that probably shouldn't surprise us. When we are in the midst of child-rearing, when we're worrying about kids, or grandkids, when our lives are consumed with job, and day to day responsibilities, and paying the bills, and running the kids here and there; when the press of the day's activities keep us focused on now, today, and perhaps a little bit on tomorrow-it's no wonder we aren't thinking much about our own death, and the second coming of Christ, and resurrection. And surely that's reflected in the busy-ness of our families, and the inability of many of our families to get to church regularly, to sign up for anything in advance, or to be on top of church commitments and responsibilities. When we're consumed with concerns of the day-how can we ever shift our focus, to something like, the eschaton? That which is "furthest out"? Our own death, or eternal life, or Jesus, coming again? And if we rarely give it a thought-how can we hope to be prepared?

     The month of November can be referred to, as we do here at Saint Luke's, as Kingdomtide.not an official season of the Church Year, like Advent or Lent, but a time in the church year when the lessons serve to focus our attention a little more, on just those events which are all too easy for us to ignore. The month begins with All Saints, a time for us to begin to think about death and resurrection unto eternal life, and then each Sunday during November, the lessons bring to mind some aspect of Final Things, culminating with Christ the King Sunday the end of November, when it all reaches a crescendo, with the Church gathering around Jesus Christ, the King, enthroned as King of kings and Lord of Lords. And today, our lessons address the theme of the coming kingdom, as the Sadducees come to Jesus to test him, and try to catch him in some false teaching, some incorrect doctrine, some philosophical slip up that proves him wrong. This section begins in Luke's gospel, with verse 20, where we read, "So they (the Sanhedrin-the Jewish religious leaders) watched him, and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might take hold of what he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor." And here, in our excerpt, it is the Sadducees who come to Jesus, pretending to be sincere, asking him about the resurrection of the dead, and posing to him a hypothetical question that was surely a question debated regularly among the Pharisees, who did believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the Sadducees, who didn't believe in such a thing. Like young people always trying to trip up their pastor with "gotcha" questions, like, "pastor, could God make a rock so big, even he couldn't lift it?", the Sadducees present a situation that they are sure will cause Jesus to paint himself into a corner. The Mosaic law provides for a brother to marry his deceased brother's wife, so as to care for the widow, assure her of status and position in society, and keep his brother's wife from becoming destitute, perhaps even having to resort to prostitution. The Mosaic law was based on familial responsibility, care for one's family, and mercy toward a woman who was left without a husband. The Mosaic law was a good, established by God for good order within society and family. The Sadducees, however, turned something good, into something ridiculous, as they posed the question, "What if seven brothers all took the woman as wife, and all died-in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be?" What they should have said was, "if there is such a thing as resurrection, as you say-how absurd it would be!" Jesus knew the Sadducees didn't believe in such a thing as resurrection of the dead, because they believed in being just and righteous in this life, not waiting for an eternal reward. And Jesus also knew that they were trying to trap him with a philosophical, hypothetical conundrum. And Jesus' answer, from one who knows what He's talking about, stops the Sadducees in their tracks. Because Jesus knew, first, the fact of the resurrection of the dead, and second, Jesus knew what the resurrection of the dead would be like. He saw, that they were thinking of such a resurrection, in purely earthly, human terms, which naturally, creates any number of dilemmas-dilemmas that we struggle with, when we think of eternal life and resurrection, only in temporal terms. But Jesus says, "those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who have a place in the age to come neither marry nor are given in marriage.because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection." And as proof of the resurrection, Jesus points to Moses, who speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God not of the dead, but of the Living-but Jesus might also have quoted Job, in the Old Testament, who said, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth, and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God." Jesus knew there were many texts and references to resurrection after death throughout the Hebrew Scriptures-texts which would prove the Sadducees wrong, definitively. But more than that, Jesus speaks of what He knows to be true-as Himself, Son of the Living God! And to these words of Jesus, we should cling, and trust-because not only has Jesus talked of resurrection after death, but Jesus has been there! Jesus has himself died, and been raised, the first-fruit of those who have fallen asleep, and we can trust his teaching, and his promises with regard to eternal life, so that we, when we do think about death and resurrection, we can do so-not with fear and confusion and uncertainty, but with confidence, and hope! And what can we believe confidently, about our eternal existence? What can we hope for, securely and without doubt?

     The Church has always believed and taught several things about our resurrection bodies, and what that existence will be like, once our bodies are raised, our bodies and souls reunited, and we are taken fully and completely, into the heavenly city, New Jerusalem.

     First, our resurrection bodies will be, what's termed, "impassible"-we will be immortal, having no pain, indeed, we will have immunity from death and pain. This is what Revelation means when it says, of the New Jerusalem, "God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away."

     Second, our resurrection bodies will be "subtle", or permeable; subtle in the original sense of "thin, tenuous, not dense or heavy"-in other words, we will be free from material restraint, just as Jesus was able to move through closed doors.

     Third, we will experience agility-not that we all have it here, but agility in heaven, we understand as the ability to move through space and time with merely a thought-again, closely related to subtilty-we will have freedom of movement as spiritual beings-again, exemplified by Jesus' own movement in his resurrection body.

     Fourth, there will be clarity-the beauty of the soul will be manifested in the body-not unlike Jesus, as he was manifested, or transfigured on the mount. Finally, the clarity, the splendor of the immortal soul, will shine through our incorruptible bodies- so that we are truly integrated, whole spiritual beings.

     These four characteristics, or traits of our resurrection existence have long been defined by the Church, and are based on actual evidence in Holy Scripture, and give us at least a brief glimpse into the reality of heavenly life. But regardless what you might think about these, the even greater glimpse comes from Jesus' own words, in our Gospel lesson today-when we learn from him, that there, there will be no need for marriage, or temporal forms or relationships. Why? Jesus says, because in heaven, we will all be like angels! Because in heaven, we will all be children of God! Because in heaven, we will all, together, be the Bride of Christ, and Jesus, Himself will be the bridegroom-so that in the heavenly household, the relationships, in Christ Jesus, will transcend all earthly limitations and qualifications, will transcend all human categories of husband and wife, divorce and remarriage, unity and disunity, community and chaos. In heaven, while we will know one another, as the disciples knew Jesus in his resurrection body, Jesus is saying earthly forms of relationships will pale, compared to the intimacy, the closeness, the connection we will have with our Lord, and with each other. So, no need to ask questions about divorce and remarriage in heaven. No need to worry about what form our relationships will take in heaven. No need to question whether we'll have to live with our ex-wives, or our current wives, or both of them together! Heaven will be beyond all earthly comparison-and our relationships will be beyond all earthly comparison-so that, if we can think of it in this way-we will all be a heavenly family, but with none of the stresses and strains we experience here. There, we will be like angels-there, we will be, together, children of God. And that, we can look forward to. That, we can anticipate with joy and hope. From that, we can draw strength and stamina, and endurance, for this life-as we long for, eternal life!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.