THE OTHER SIDE

Saturday of the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lk 20:27-40

The last days of the present liturgical year are upon us. The Gospel reminds us, however, that there are no last days for God. In God, all are alive; they never die. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the living, not of the dead. He is our God, too. There is no other in fact.

The Filipino language has a very beautiful word to refer to the dead: sumakabilang-buhay. Sumakabilang-buhay literally means, “Gone to the other side of life”. The closest English word to it is “passed away”, as when we say, “He passed away today,” to mean that he died today.

Sumakabilang-buhay expresses the Filipino’s innate belief that dead are alive and the hope that death is not the end of everything. Jesus confirms that belief today. In Him, sumakabilang-buhay is no longer an object of our hope, but the reality of life for us. Our God is the God of the living, not of the dead.

However, while death does not cut life, life after death is not a mere continuation of how things are before death. At the other side, everything is perfect. While marriage is never a bad thing, we do not need to be married at the other side of life. Our whole being is totally focused on God after death. We have no need for any other.

Let us live our lives here on this side as best as we can, but let us not forget that when we cross to the other side we will leave everything behind here and cling totally – without distractions or any attachments – to God. Thus, the woman in the Gospel today who was married to seven men will never marry again. She had had enough!