What do you want from this story? (Luke 20:27–38)
What do you want Jesus to do or say?
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I appreciate so much of what Jesus is doing in this passage from Luke, but part of me always wants him to go further.
I love that he is taking a political and theological stand, wading into the debates between the Pharisees and Sadducees, though gracefully and gently. And I am so grateful that he helps his audience imagine an alternative reality in which women are not property and are not forced to marry in order to have stability and standing.
But I find myself wanting in here so much of what is found throughout the gospel of Luke: attention to this world and its bodies and relationships. Say more, Jesus. I also find myself wanting to know more about the resurrection. What’s it like aside from “other”?
That really says more about me, though, than Jesus. I know that. I wonder what, if anything, you find yourself wanting in this passage? What do you want Jesus to do or say?
I didn’t watch Inside the Actor’s Studio—just the Saturday Night Live spoofs of it. But I love that James Lipton ended interviews with the question, “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?” It was an insight into the interviewee and their hopes and fears.
What question would you want to ask Jesus in this story about life or the resurrection? There’s no reason to think he’d answer it directly; that wasn’t his way. But asking the questions is what keeps faith so interesting.
