Reflection for Wednesday June 3 Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs: Mark 12:18-27

Gospel: Mark 12:18-27

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.  

So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?   

When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled.”

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Reflection:

The story is told of an ailing man who was given only two months to live by his doctor. After hearing this prognosis, he knelt before God and begged Him to extend his life indefinitely.

As we reflect on this, we are invited to ask ourselves: why are we afraid to die? Perhaps it is because we have grown deeply attached to this world, to what we own, to what we enjoy, and to what we have built. We also struggle with uncertainty, not fully knowing what awaits us beyond this earthly life.

In the Gospel, when Jesus was asked by the Sadducees about the resurrection and whose wife a certain woman would be in the afterlife, He revealed to them that life in heaven is completely different from our present life. Earthly relationships and realities cannot fully define the mystery of eternal life with God.

Yes, there is an afterlife, and there is heaven, as Jesus assures us in the Gospel. This truth calls us to live with deeper purpose and awareness. While we are still alive, we are invited to align our lives with the will of God—not with our selfish or sinful desires, but with His holy and loving will.

Why is this important for us? Because we all desire, deep in our hearts, to be with God when our journey in this world comes to an end. We are reminded not to be blinded by the glitter of this world, for everything we possess—no matter how precious, beautiful, or valuable—will eventually be left behind.

Instead, let us fix our eyes on heaven, our true and lasting home, prepared for us by God’s unfailing love. May we live each day with faith, humility, and hope, choosing what leads us closer to Him rather than what keeps us tied to what is temporary.

And so, as we continue our journey in this world, we are gently invited to reflect: Are we truly living in a way that prepares us for eternity, or have we become too attached to what we will one day have to leave behind?— Marino J. Dasmarinas