I don't hear them so much anymore, now that I'm no longer in business, but there used to be lots of them around: lawyer jokes. Why don't poisonous snakes bite lawyers? Professional courtesy. Or how about surgeons who prefer to operate on lawyers instead of accountants (where everything is numbered) or librarians (where everything is in alphabetical order) or electricians (where it's all color-coded). Why? A lawyer's got no guts, no heart, and the head and other parts are interchangeable. Lawyers have the kind of reputations that make for jokes. The Sadducees were the first century equivalent of lawyers, but as far as I know, no Sadducee jokes survive. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were engaged in a ferocious competition for market share in the first century temple. As the conservative right-wing temple elite and rich guys, the Sadducees had priced themselves out of the market, but they had the support of the Roman rulers. They claimed Moses and his tradition as their authority. Their SOP was asking impossible-to-answer "what if" questions and then waiting for their opponents to hang themselves by their own ropes. When they asked Jesus today's silly question, they weren't interested in information. Their ploy was to get Jesus arguing with them, to embarrass him, and then force the audience to choose sides.

Jesus, the old fox, answers their question. This was not in the Sadducee script. First Jesus says how inappropriate the question is. Then he uses their authority - Moses - and proves that since God is the God of the living, and the patriarchs are spoken of in the present tense, they must be "living," even though there was no dispute that they had already died. Obvious conclusion: resurrection.

What is this story about? What are the Sadducees really asking Jesus? Sure, there is the element of competing for market share. Jockeying for supporters in religious politics was the immediate issue. The religious community was a fragmented place. Within Judaism there were splinter groups with their own agendas, each needing market share to boost political clout with the Romans. But today's sermon isn't really about the marketing techniques of the 1st century temple factions. We at Springwater aren't so much concerned about marketing and becoming a mega-church, as we are concerned about how we respond to God's gracious gifts in our lives. Therefore, the more meaningful question is, what were the Sadducees really asking Jesus with that silly question? Jesus ignores the silliness of seven brothers for one bride and just goes for what lies beneath: Is there life after death? What is it like? What happens to us when we die? Gigantic questions, all assuming the Big One: Is this "it"?

Do you remember the book/radio program/TV show about 15 years ago called, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? The premise is that Earth is demolished to make way for an inter-galactic by-pass, and a poor sap named Arthur Dent is the only person to escape. Arthur gets shuttled between galaxies and time warps, discovering that our planet was originally created as a complex computer to answer the ultimate question about life, the universe and everything. The answer is "42," but before the computer can explain the meaning of "42," Earth is demolished for the by-pass. That's what is beneath the silly question the Sadducees ask Jesus. What about life, the universe and everything? Is this it?

Sometimes I am asked this by people who are grieving the death of a spouse or of a parent. Where is my mother now? Will I still be married to my spouse in heaven? Do we have pets in the afterlife? No one knows the answer to these questions. There are pastoral responses, but that is not the kind of question the Sadducees are asking Jesus. Jesus does not answer "42" to the Sadducees. He answers in terms of resurrection. While no one can really understand either resurrection or immortality, there is a difference between them, despite what we have been led to believe by tele-evangelists. Immortality is about life continuing after death, with no lapse of time. The notion of immortality is rooted in Greek philosophy and does not require a belief in God. Immortality is really about humans, and pre-supposes a separate body and spirit. The body dies, but the spirit continues. Resurrection is about God raising a person from the dead after a period of time. You remember Jesus and Easter? That is the basis of our understanding about resurrection. Resurrection is God's action, based on the nature of God, and it starts with Jesus.

The way the Sadducees ask their question, they are assuming that resurrection is an extension of life-as-we-know it. Jesus says, "Na-ah." The ancient world understood the purpose of marriage to be procreation. Jesus' point is that, since, like angels, resurrected beings don't die, there is no need to "replace" dead beings with children, hence no need for marriage. Companionship and other perceived marriage benefits are a modern invention, and we're not going there right now. Although, the children who were at the pajama party last week and saw The Princess Bride might want to remember the wedding scene between Buttercup and the Prince where the priest tells the assembled congregation that "Mawriage is what bwings us togethew."

The point Jesus makes is that this resurrection thing is God's work. He is speaking about the dead being raised, and that they are alive after death. When my life fell apart, the church helped me to an understanding that the resurrection wasn't just life-after-death. Resurrection has an element of the here-and-now in it - resurrection as a matter of "new life" in Christ right now, in this life as we know it. That was good news to me then, and it should continue to be good news to all of us right now. But there is more to understanding resurrection. There is an eschatological element to it. You were hoping I'd get to this, weren't you?

Eschatological: end times. Apocalypse is part of eschatology, and this is the time in the lectionary year when we do apocalypse. In fact, next week's sermon title is "Apocalypse Right NOW." Come to see what part Robert Duvall plays. When I say that there is an eschatological element to resurrection, I'm telling you that resurrection is first of all and most importantly Christological. It's about God's work through Christ. God vindicates Jesus and raises him from the dead. Therefore believers will also be resurrected.

Friends, this is not about living forever and will I have my appendicitis scar in my heavenly body. This is about God acting. God is so much the life-giver, the creative force of all creation, that our very deaths are unimportant to the fulfillment of God's purpose. God's imperative to be in communion with us is so strong that it overcomes even our death.

Now, doesn't this change how you live your life? It should. Does this mean that how we see the events of September 11 should be different than if there were no resurrection? Yes. Oh yeah? If this is the end of the story, we are, as the apostle Paul says, among all people to be most pitied. If the only meaning to life is what you can squeeze out of what's happening in the here and now, that puts a lot of pressure on a person. That means, your calendars can never be full enough to cram in all the things you oughta do. That means, not just what my great-grama used to say - that busy hands are happy hands - but that means busy hands are what justify your existence here on earth. And that's a lie.

Earlier this fall I felt called to begin to practice Sabbath time. Not just a day off - you know, the day when you run errands and clean house and make appointments. But Sabbath - a time when we rest in God's providence and celebrate the goodness of God's declaration that the work is done. I really struggled with that. How come other people get to have hobbies and I don't have time? When do I get a chance for recreation, if I have to rush around to get all my work done so that I can afford to take time off for Sabbath? My spiritual director helped me with a little card that reads, "Sabbath means your work is done." That really hit me. It doesn't mean, "Quick, get everything done so that you can celebrate Sabbath." It means, "Because Sabbath is here, what you need to do is already done." I have come to understand that Sabbath is a deeply spiritual matter, and one that involves stewardship of God's gift of time.

As Americans, we know that time is our most precious commodity. As a construction person, I know that time is sometimes literally money. As busy people, all of us here know that there is not enough time in the week to go to work, drive the kids to practices and lessons, get chores done around the house, shop for food, and get involved in two or three hours on Sunday morning. Or two hours on a weeknight for meetings or bringing the kids to some event. When does anyone sleep? And is there ever room for fun?

Trust me. It is stewardship campaign time at Springwater. Part of our stewardship response to God's gracious gift in our lives is about time. How you choose to spend your time is a part of your faith life. Time is about choices. We are not victims of our calendars. Time belongs to God and we just get to use some of it. In light of the fact that resurrection is God's work, doesn't that change how you choose to spend your time in the here and now? It should. Thanks be to God.