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Remembrance Sunday

Luke 20
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[b] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”


It remains perhaps the best epitaph ever carved in stone.

There, in the south-east corner of the crypt, the architect of the great St. Paul’s rests, along with some members of his family. Carved above the spot is a longer description of Sir Christopher Wren that concludes with these words:

Reader, if you seek his monument, look around.
(LECTOR SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE)

It seems only fitting for the man who designed the finest church in the world—along with rebuilding another 52 churches in London alone. Indeed, while visitors to Paris will delight in catching that occasional glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, visitors to London can look for one of Wren’s 30 church towers that remain.

There is a delightful story that may or may not be true, but gave rise to the motto of St. Paul’s, carved this time on the exterior of the cathedral. The story goes that within days of the Great Fire of 1666, Wren was walking about the rubble of Old St. Paul’s trying to determine the best location for the central dome of the new cathedral, at that moment no more than a dream.

Having determined the best spot, he wanted to mark it, and needing a stone he called out to a child nearby and said ‘lad, bring me a stone.’ The boy grabbed one and presented it to Wren, who placed it on the spot. Looking down at the stone he just placed, he realized it was an old grave marker, carved with a single word ‘RESURGAM,’ meaning “I shall rise again.” It became the cathedral’s motto, inscribed under the symbol of the cathedral, the phoenix.

We have a wonderful word for stories such as this one: apocryphal, meaning ‘doubtful, thought widely circulated as true.’ In other words, there may have been no lad, or stone, but it sure makes a great story. History is filled with such stories, like Queen Victoria personally selecting a logging outpost called Bytown for our nation’s future capitol, and we delight in them. But they remain, well, apocryphal.

Even without the lad and the stone, it was common to inscribe grave markers with the word RESURGAM. Such is the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, so convinced of eternal life that some choose to inscribe the phrase “I shall rise again” on their marker. And it’s to the resurrection we turn as we seek to understand Luke 20.

The preamble, which was not included in what Shauna read this morning, is the scenario that the ever tricky Sadducees set out for Jesus. They don’t believe in the resurrection, so they create an impossible story where a woman is widowed seven times marrying seven brothers. ‘If there is a resurrection of the dead,’ they ask, ‘which brother will spend eternity with this poor woman?’

‘Well,’ Jesus likely muttered under his breath, ‘now you’re just getting silly.’ That’s in the New Revised Michael Version (NRMV). Then he went on to say five things:

The dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
They are like the angels.
They are God’s children.
Even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive.”

Now, for the academically minded, you will see that what Jesus has done is constructed the perfect counter-argument to the Sadducees. He has defined a thesis, added some points of note, and reached a conclusion, all in four verses.

So first, his thesis: ‘The dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.’ In our service book (1985) we find these words by way of introduction: “The bond of marriage was given by God who created us to be in covenant.” But that’s on earth. Jesus is reminding us that in death (and resurrection) we become something unlike our earthly selves.

And to further this point, he gives us a simile, the first part of his argument: “The [dead] can no longer die; for they are like the angels.” Now, this is also tricky, since few of us have ever met an angel, so the simile might not be so helpful. But that’s okay, since the argument continues: “They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”

Angels may seem unclear, so he opts for a metaphor instead, saying we are God’s children. And metaphors, of course, are simply vehicles for transmitting truth. I am literally the child of Marilyn and Henk, nice folks from Mount Albert, but metaphorically, I’m a child of God. This doesn’t diminish my relationship with Ma & Pa, but they are just my literal parents. My eternal parent, the Father and Mother of us all, is God.

So we can’t die, and therefore we are children of the resurrection, and furthermore we are children of God—something that even Moses recalled when he shared the story of the burning bush. In a direct appeal to his listeners, Jesus goes back to the foundational moment of the Exodus and tells the story of Moses’ encounter with God.

“Do not come near,” God said, “and take the sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Then God said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

It is not “I was the God” but always “I am the God.” Moses’ father, along with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are very much alive, and living with God, and therefore Jesus can conclude: “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive.”

So there are three things happening here. First, there is no death. Second, we can’t precisely say what that looks like, but we know that the dead are somewhere between angels and greats of the Bible, maybe saints might be the best word. And third, all are alive.

All are alive. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive. In our moral minds we quickly become preoccupied with who’s in and who’s out. Will sinners make to to heaven? Since we’re all sinners is there hope for any of us? If all are alive, are all forgiven? Yes, it would seem all are forgiven, but it hardly matters, because in the infinite and unfathomable grace of God, all are alive, forevermore.

***

I have to say that the memorial plaques that I find the most moving are occupational. Down at Old City Hall, just as you enter, you will find the names of city workers who made the greatest sacrifice in two world wars. They were clerks and cleaners, inspectors and bylaw officers, people who left ordinary lives to do something extraordinary for their country—and in doing so, gave up their very lives.

At Queen’s Theological College nearly the entire student body enlisted at the beginning of the Great War, and six did not return, including Prof. John Dall, memorialized in the Morgan Chapel. Even the House of Commons remembers one of her own, George Harold Baker, the only sitting Member of Parliament killed in action, near Ypres in 1916. His statue can be found in the Centre Block, parliament’s only war memorial to an individual.

For us, we have the names of members of Central, Silverthorne, Prospect Park, Chalmers, and Pearen Memorial, those who served and those who died, a lasting memorial to two unique moments in our history. Women and men from these congregations departed from homes and family to serve us, to further the cause of peace and to protect the victims of war.

Today we remember their service, and the service of all who served Canada at home. In particular we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and proclaim: “All are alive. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive.”

In the infinite and unfathomable grace of God, all are alive, now and forevermore. Amen.

posted by michael jacob kooiman @ 6:15 AM