Life is good. Let it always be that way!

The gospel today (Mk. 12: 18-27) is not about marriage – either here or hereafter. It is about the resurrection and change – whether it is desirable or unreasonable. It is not a past idea; it is not a merely religious debate. It is political and it is happening in Congress as I write these words!

The Sadducees think that the resurrection is an absurd idea. But that position comes from their social location. This privileged conservative group really wanted to keep things as they were. For them, resurrection, change, transformation threatens their power and privilege.

Who are the Sadducees? They conspired with the Empire and benefited from its blessings. Their location gave them sufficient security. In the time of Jesus, they emerged as a political party in cahoots with the priestly class and imperial powers. Most members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court, were Sadducees. Annas and Caiaphas who judged Jesus were Sadducees. This aristocratic class was a convenient space of convergence where religion sacralizes politics and politics legitimizes religion.

For them, life is a great blessing. If this secure life is abundant enough, who wants change? If having power is advantageous, why do want to change the set-up? If life is good, what do you need resurrection for?

Do we have Sadducees today? There are many! They are in Congress and Senate now.

One (in)famous senator summed it well when he joyfully acclaimed: “Sarap ng buhay… ganito na lang tayo palagi!” O nga naman! What do you need change for?

They institute laws and processes so that things go on as usual!

1. Terror is the name of the game. This is their modus operandi from day one. This administration thrives on extrajudicial killing and the silencing of critics. This is State-terrorism at its finest.

2. For this continue, the anti-terrorism bill is now signified as urgent by Malacanan. The choir of Sadducees in Congress and Senate sings a joyful hosanna! As of this writing, Congress just approved the bill! Now, any dissenter can be tagged as terrorist!

3. To prevent criticism of the impunity of the military and the gross negligence and incompetence of this government in the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, the President now wants to extend his emergency powers.

4. While ordinary people are battling with hunger and the sick are dying in hospitals, the Sadducees in congress approved the 500% - 1000% in election campaign spending, also disqualifying poor political candidates who could not afford running. As a result, they have ensured the rule of the same.

5. Instead of taking care of this very difficult crisis, these same Sadducees continue to forward the “federalism” game – so that life continues as usual after 2022.

When things remain the same, “sarap ng buhay; dapat ganito na lang palagi.”

Thus resurrection does not come from the keepers of power. But from the desires of the victims. It is the victims who long for a different life, either here or hereafter.

The hungry, the poor, the homeless want all these crazy life to end. They do not mind chasing trucks just to get a ride for work. Because they do not want to hear their children again at midnight asking for food. They want to end such pain. They are willing to walk miles and miles just to be home. For they have lived in jeepneys for two months now. Enough is enough.

They just do whatever they can in order to change things. For change is a source of hope. Interruption is a source of salvation. If all we have are “endless homogeneous continuum without surprises”, to quote the theologian Johann Baptist Metz, we will never witness salvation, “the moment when the Messiah enters history”.

That is why resurrection always comes with a sense of the apocalypse, with the sense of an ending and a new beginning, “a new heaven and a new earth”. It is a metaphor of revolutionary change – that the old life implodes and a new life transforms itself into something beautiful, that a different world is truly possible.

The modern Sadducees' intoxication with power numb them to these realities. The laws and protocols they enact betray their cold-hearted and callous hearts.

But nothing can stop the resurrection!

Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, C.M.
St Vincent SchoolofTheology - Adamson University
danielfranklinpilario@yahoo.com
06.03.2020