Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 3, 2020
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.
“There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; and the second married the widow and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.”
Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
“And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”
Reflection
Today is the feast day of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions who lived in Uganda in the mid 19th century. Like so many martyrs in our Christian tradition, Charles saw the suffering of the innocent and confronted the structures of power that perpetuated their oppression. He walked the path of Christ and laid down his life for his faith and for the sake of the powerless ones he tried to protect. You can read more about Charles and his companions here.
Even today we are not free from unjust power structures that disadvantage our brothers and sisters (and perhaps ourselves). Oppression still confronts the Christian conscience on many fronts. For those who are not impacted by the multifaceted realities of discrimination, these problems can be difficult to see. Difficult, that is, until a time like now when protests and unrest confront us in daily life. For some, these protests are uncomfortable, inconvenient intrusions during a time already made strange by the long middle days of a global pandemic. Perhaps now is a good time to remember that the Gospel is uncomfortable. The Gospel is inconvenient. Jesus intrudes on our lives with his radical message. When those who are suffering or oppressed use peaceful means to cry out for justice, equality, dignity, respect, and safety, where do we imagine Jesus in that time? Can we see him standing next to them?
One of the great touchstones of the Notre Dame community is the iconic image of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh linking arms with Rev. Martin Luther Luther King, Jr. at a civil rights rally in Chicago in June of 1964. Like now, tensions were high in that summer, and, reportedly, many Catholic leaders declined invitations to attend the rally. Fr. Ted answered the call and this iconic image later became part of the fabric of Notre Dame’s identity. He was a person who never shrank from the challenges of the present in his vision for the future. I think it would do him no honor to make our vision of civil rights merely a noble memory of the past.
As today’s gospel passage recounts, our God is “God not of the dead, but of the living.” We pray that all those who have suffered unjust death are now alive in God. And we pray that “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” will live in us as we work for justice.
Prayer
Almighty Father, you are the living God. May we always revere you and look to you as our help. Guide us always so that one day we come to share in the everlasting life that is yours. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Even though Africa was one of the earliest homes for Christianity, the interior of the continent had not been evangelized until modern times. Missionaries first entered central Africa in 1879, and started to evangelize there.
Catholic missionaries made progress engaging people in Uganda until the local ruler was replaced by a new leader, Mwanga, who was displeased with Christians because they opposed his indulgent lifestyle.
Mwanga was often drunk, and forced himself upon the young boys who served at court. One of Mwanga’s subjects, Joseph Mkasa, was in charge of the pages and led the Christian community that had started to grow in the palace. Joseph openly rebuked Mwanga for these evils and for killing Protestant missionaries in a massacre. Mwanga threatened Joseph with death, but Joseph replied, “A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die.” In November of 1885, Joseph was beheaded.
Tensions continued to rise when other Christians refused to be fearful of this display of power. Charles Lwanga had taken over care for the pages and for the small Christian community from Joseph, and did what he could to spare the boys from the king’s vice. In May, Mwanga learned that some pages were receiving instruction in the faith. He sealed the royal palace and rounded up all of the pages with Charles.
The Christians were separated from the group, and Mwanga asked them if they intended to remain Christians. “Till death!” they replied. He ordered them all to be executed—most were just boys.
The group of boys were marched to a place for their execution 37 miles away. A number were killed along the way. When they arrived, they were all wrapped in reed mats and burned to death.
In all, 22 martyrs were killed under Mwanga, and they are memorialized on this date. When missionaries returned to Uganda after Mwanga’s death some years later, they found the Christian community had grown nearly four-fold in secret, encouraged by the witness of these martyrs.
The Catholic faithful of Uganda mark this feast day with pilgrimages and major liturgical celebrations. The relics of St. Charles Lwanga rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and his story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Charles Lwanga and friends, you confronted evil, died for your faith, and encouraged Christianity in Africa—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Charles Lwanga is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.