Bethel Lutheran Church

One thing have I desired of the Lord... that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...Psalm 27:4

Simply the Sermon for November 9, 2025: Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost

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Our readings for Sunday, November 9 are: Job 19:23-27a; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38. 

Our reading today from the gospel of Luke sounds particularly interesting to our 21st century North American ears and sensibilities, but different cultures had rules and laws that were appropriate to them. Reading about a culture where the concept of eternal life was granted not through God but through male children who would carry on their father's lineage takes a bit of clarifying to understand. The Sadducees were using what they understood as a newfangled understanding of eternal life as a way to trick Jesus into denigrating other factions of Jewish religious hierarchy. But Jesus didn't fall for it. Instead, he revealed to the Sadducees and those around him that the reality of life eternal in God was so much deeper and fulfilling than even our best, most transcendent experiences here on earth! No one owns anyone but instead we live in love, grace, and peace. 

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