Presence

Dear Jesus, I come to You today, longing for Your presence. I desire to love You as You love me. May nothing ever separate me from You.

Freedom

God is not foreign to my freedom.
Instead, the Spirit breathes life into my most intimate desires,
gently nudging me towards all that is good.
I ask for the grace to let myself be enfolded by the Spirit.

Consciousness

Holy Spirit, fall afresh on me during this time of prayer. Through You, may I come to know that I am a beloved child of God.

The Word of God

²⁷Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him ²⁸and asked him a question: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman and died childless; ³⁰then the second ³¹and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. ³²Finally the woman also died. ³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶Indeed, they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸Now he is God not of the dead but of the living, for to him all of them are alive.” ³⁹Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰For they no longer dared to ask him another question.

Inspiration

The Pharisees believed in the resurrection but the Sadducees did not. Each group had its own concerns about Jesus. Lord, may our questions be authentic and bring us into a deeper relationship with you.

Jesus saw that the world had its rules and its limits, but he was leading to something beyond that. He drew attention to events such as the burning bush, which was not burnt up. May we appreciate the God of the living, who offers so much more than does this passing world.

Conversation

Dear Lord, stay by my side always.
Gain for me a trusting heart.
Thank You for loving me.

Conclusion

I thank God for His gift of love
as I go forth with joy and hope
to serve His people.

Amen