“Stewards of God’s Justice

22nd Sunday after Pentecost

November 9, 2025

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Luke 20:27-38

Children’ Message:

What do you think heaven is like? What do you imagine happens in heaven?

We tend to describe heaven using words and ideas that describe this world. Because that’s all we have. But what if heaven is something we can’t even imagine—or describe? Imagine describing a cell phone to someone who lived in Jesus’ time. I think that’s what it’s like to try to imagine and describe heaven.

There’s this word that keeps coming up in the move, “The Princess Bride.” The word is inconceivable. Do you know what it means? It means something that can’t even be thought of. Like heaven. But you have to say it just right. Inconceivable!

Let’s pray. Dear God, your kin-dom is more than we can imagine or dream. Help us trust in your promise and share your love and justice with the world. Amen.

Message:

Did you know that most pastors would prefer to do a funeral than a wedding?  When young couples plan weddings, it seems that everything is of utmost importance except what’s really important.  There are conversations about floral arrangements and whether the pastors’ stole will clash with the bride’s maid’s dresses.  And there’s concern over the length of the service—making sure the bar at the reception is open when the guests arrive.

At a funeral, typically the biggest concern is what is most important—where is God, and what happens next?  At a funeral, the focus is on God’s faithfulness.  At a wedding, the focus is on the bride’s dress.  But a true worship service—funeral, wedding, or weekend—always points to God, to God’s presence, to God’s provision, and to God’s justice.

God’s justice happens when what is important to God becomes important to us.

This conversation between Jesus and the Sadducees highlights the confusion over what is important.  It occurs right around the turning point of Luke’s gospel account.  Jesus had just entered Jerusalem like a king—only with humility on top of a donkey.  Then Jesus went to the Temple and overturned the booths where officials were ripping off people by selling sacrificial animals for more than they were worth.  From the beginning, he was concerned about just practices.

After that, the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees began looking for ways to trap him in his words.  First, the priests and scribes asked him about his authority.  But Jesus boxed them in with his answer.  Then they sent spies to ask him about the coins with Caesar’s image on it—whether it was faithful to God to pay taxes to Rome.  Jesus boxed them in again by pointing out their confusion over what was truly important. 

Finally, the Sadducees come asking this question about the resurrection and marriage.  The weird thing with this is that they didn’t believe in the resurrection.  The Sadducees were Temple officials who looked only to the Torah—the five books of Moses—as authoritative. 

So instead of resurrection, the Sadducees believed that this life is all we have.  They believed that one ‘lives on’ through the seed of the descendants—which meant sons.  Of course, that discounts any value of women other than giving birth.  Women were property—men lived on through the birth of sons throughout the generations.  That’s why there was this rule about marriage—if a man dies before producing a son, his wife would be passed along to a brother or other male relative in order to bear a son on his behalf, so that he can live on. 

But if all the brothers die without a son to pass along the seed, two problems occur.  First, the woman belongs to no one and is therefore worthless.  Her only source of livelihood is begging or prostitution.  Both of those are death sentences.  But, more importantly, if there is a resurrection, who does she belong to then?  Who will continue the attempt at lineage in the afterlife?

Of course, the Sadducees weren’t at all concerned about the woman.  That’s not the point.  They wanted to trap Jesus with his answer—no matter which brother he assigned her to, they would devise a reason to arrest him for his answer.  They had no idea what was really important in the conversation—their search for justice ignored God’s justice.

God’s justice happens when what is important to God becomes important to us.

Jesus sees right through their deceit.  His answer addresses the problem of justice and pushes against the cultural context of marriage, itself.  In the resurrection, there is no longer any need for marriage. For one, a man lives on in the promise of eternal life. For two, a woman is more than property. Her worth and her care is no longer associated with her husband.  It rests solely and securely with God’s love for her.  The resurrection is a necessary element of God’s redemptive work in this world because when we’re left to call the shots, we get justice wrong.

God’s justice is still unrealized for a number of people who can only hope to know their value apart from their color, gender, ethnicity, social status, financial worth, country of origin, strength, or knowledge.  We still judge one another and ourselves by how we look, what we can do, and how much we produce.  Anyone unable to fit our expectations is considered lazy, worthless, or even stupid.

God’s justice happens when what is important to God becomes important to us.

We have to remember that God’s justice is a gift—not something we can create.  If we could, we wouldn’t need God—we wouldn’t need the cross.  If we could save the world, we wouldn’t need Jesus.  And for the millions of people who cry out on behalf of the oppressed and hurt, this is good news.  Because most of us sit here, wringing our hands, wondering what we can do, worrying about this problem and those people.  How can we change what’s going on in Washington?  How can we change the justice system?  How can we change the healthcare system?  How can we stop the bullying and the shootings and the deportations and the war?  It’s overwhelming—and thinking that we have the power to fix this world leaves us stuck in our seats, staring at the mess of the world, unable to even take a first step.

But we don’t have to save the world—we aren’t called to save the world.  God did that through Jesus.  We are called to be changed—transformed from the inside out. Change begins when we are changed—and that’s a gift from God. 

God’s justice happens when what is important to God becomes important to us. 

Whether or not you impact the world directly, a larger piece of God’s heavenly Kingdom is visible through the light shining through you.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE