Luke 20:27-38
Will Shewey: In God, ALL Are alive
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came
to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us
that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the
man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his
brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married and died
childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the
same way all seven died childless. Finally, the woman also
died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be.
For the seven had married her.” Jesus said to them, “Those who
belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who
are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the
resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in
marriage.” Indeed, they cannot die anymore, because they are like
angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
(NOTE here to interject – Jesus said they are like angels – NOT
ANGELS. People DO NOT become angels when they die. We do
not gain wings or earn a crown and halo.) HEBREWS 1:4-14
Last week, we saw Jesus making his way toward Jerusalem when
he met the tax collector, Zacchaeus (remember?) A lot has
happened in less than one chapter of the gospel of Luke,
including Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a colt, otherwise
known as the triumphal entry, Jesus stood on a hill overlooking
the city and wept over Jerusalem, he entered the temple and
drove the animal sacrifice merchants and their animals out of the temple and made
the religious leaders so angry they all want to kill him- or as the
text says, “They wanted to lay hands on him right then but were
afraid of the people.” Why? Because the common people are
absolutely spellbound by what Jesus is saying. Despite the
grumbling in Jericho when Jesus ate with that sinner Zacchaeus,
Jesus has watched as each rival group of religious and political
leaders take turns trying to entrap Jesus, and Jesus has, one by
one, shut them down. And so, the religious leaders are forced
to wait until they can manipulate public feeling in their favor.
As you know, eventually public feelings do turn, and even the
common people will want to see Jesus killed, but for now, the
tension builds around Jesus. Today, the Sadducees take their
turn at trying to entrap Jesus and hopefully win the public to their
side against him.
Now, we’ve talked a lot about Pharisees, and even about scribes
in the past few weeks, but who are the Sadducees? In the time of Jesus
the Sadducees were the upper-class folk who only accepted the first
five books of the Old Testament, those parts supposedly written by Moses,
and in those books, resurrection is never mentioned. (They figured), if God had
intended people to be resurrected (God) would have told… Moses
about it and Moses would have told them. Except Moses didn’t,
and that’s why they believed the resurrection was not scriptural
and just a fantasy.
In fact, those in the elite class probably thought the notion of
resurrection was just sour grapes for groups and individuals who
hadn’t made it like they had.
Why did Resurrection believers believe in a resurrection, even
though Moses never mentioned it? According to the Sadducees, it
was because they were still trying to make something out of
themselves unlike us Sadducees who had done that already.
Go back to the text- “Some Sadducees, those who say there is no
resurrection, came to him and asked him a question. Teacher,
Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but
no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children
for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married
and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and
so the same way all seven died childless. Finally, the woman also
died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman
be? For the seven had married her.”
So perhaps this paragraph now makes more sense- for the
Sadducees, believing there is no God-empowered resurrection,
the only way a man (yes a man, no one cared if the women
achieved anything) the only way a man could insure his continued
existence was through having children- and if a woman failed to
produce the needed children before he died, the brother of the
man should help him by marrying the widow and having children
for his brother. This… rule had been put into the Book of
Exodus—it was a way of achieving a resurrection of sorts through
procreation. Since they believed God wasn’t interested in
maintaining on-going-ness, they would have to take matters into
their own hands and do it through their offspring. The whole thing
was driven by the fear of death, the fear of going out of existence:
but we’ll get back to that in a second.
So when the Sadducees try to stump him, this was the
question they used to use in order to silence their resurrection
believing opponents like the Pharisees, Jesus doesn’t hesitate- He
says, “Those who belong to this age, marry and are given in
marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that
age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are
given in marriage. Indeed, they cannot die anymore, because
they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the
resurrection.”
So marriage, life, etc., is nothing like it is here – God is a God of
the living, in God everyone is alive- and he brings up Moses at the
burning bush as an example- the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob- meaning, God is the God of the living, and that those
three are still alive.
Jesus is trying to get them to see that we are in one world order
right now, one where many of us spend our whole lives avoiding
death- some think of it as a dark void of nothingness, some think
of it as a court date- our dualistic thinking comes into play, black,
white, right, wrong, good, bad, heaven, hell- and based on our
lives, we’ll be sentenced accordingly- and so we spend our lives
working to amass points for ourselves, comparing our lives to
others, are we good enough, did we do enough, how can I look
better in God’s eyes?
That kind of thinking can take us to a very dark place- and/or a
very self-righteous, or self-loathing, or self-focused place… and so
we practice avoidance- we practice escapism, we become obsessed
with health, monitor every vital sign, hoping to ward it off one
more year- yet each birthday that rolls around, each loved one
who passes, reminds us that we are not after all, so successful at
our avoidance- so we try to secure things for ourselves. As if any
of this belongs to us in the first place- even people, we treat as
property, our wives, children- we think we somehow own them or
have a right to own or possess them.
What Jesus is trying to point out is that though people here craft
our whole lives around the fear of death, in the age to come
meaning after death, all are as important as our wives, husbands,
children and loved ones.
And I realize what I’m saying- people don’t necessarily want to
hear this- we want to be surrounded, when we die by the people
closest to us here! And please hear me, I do believe that we will
be reunited with loved ones in the afterlife… But I also
believe that when we die and open our eyes for the first time, we
will be in a new understanding of what loved ones means… love
is love is love-it becomes real! And we don’t feel that we need to
claim just one or two or ten souls as our family; – all do not have
the feeling of fear or caution and we will have all the knowledge
needed to understand perfectly; all the emotions that we have
here, that guide us, right or wrong, will give way to only love.
Think about how that might play out, if we were to take Jesus at
his word on this? How differently would we live. not in fear of
death, but knowing that in God, ALL are alive? Would it not
increase our joy of living here? Would it not take away any need
to be angry, or aggressive, or negative toward one another? What
if we read scripture, not as an obstacle to our lives, or something
that would keep us on the straight and narrow, but as an
opportunity to live the life God has desired for us? To have life,
and have it more abundantly? What if we read it through the lens
of love, like Jesus did?
And what if, all along, Jesus has been seeing God very
differently than we do and trying to get us to see the God he
sees? Jesus’ God, his Abba, as he calls him, is incredibly
effervescent, to use one of James Alison’s favorite descriptors for
God. God is effervescent, irrepressible, vivacious and full of light.
The God Jesus sees is full of life, and it is a life so contagious that
it cannot be contained. It flows over into everything and knowing
this, changes the way we think and act, and approaches the
earthly end of our lives. Resurrection is not a miracle that
sometimes happens but rather the normal state of things on
account of being full of life because that is who God is. The power
and deathlessness of God is almost unimaginable to us. would
understand and not be aggressive or negative and, since God is
the God of the living, we don’t have to worry about dying- we don’t
have to build our lives based on fear of death- we can live fully
every day – Yes- and- we see and hear that promise though the teachings/life
of Jesus- who puts all other scripture in a different light or, look at
things through the lens of love is love is love- and in
God there is no darkness -Jesus is the key to knowing the world and each other
and death is a doorway to enlightenment and the greatest gift is yet to come
Jesus reveals the true nature of God- love the idea of faith is that one day
we will shed the negative and the brutal and, yes the shedding our false self
The resurrection is not a one-time miracle that proved Jesus was
God. Jesus’ death and resurrection name and reveal what is
happening everywhere and all the time in God and in everything
God creates. – Richard Rohr
Link to YouTube Video – “In God, ALL Are alive”
We have friends who sleep in the streets, abandoned buildings and automobiles. Yes,
these include children and women. Our facilities offer lunches five days a week to anyone hungry from the broader community, hot showers, birth certificates, mail service, emergency clothing and groceries.
For many who die alone and unclaimed, we help provide cremation and a final resting place. All services are free and without any strings attached. Many churches, caring citizens and civic organizations make this all happen.
Our Mission Statement is “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for transformation of the world.” Many thanks to all who join hands and hearts in unity as together the work of the “Church” is carried out.
We are zero tolerance when safety issues arise. Our goal is to make every worshiper, guests, and volunteers experience an atmosphere of security at all times. We are serving a unique sector of the city’s residents. East Sullivan Street is a safer place and the United Methodist Church is a positive permanent presence there.
Yes, we pay for extra security service, as all other similar organizations are required to do. We are doing our part of building healthy relationships and faithfully follow God’s call to reach the last, least, lost and lonely of our works.
NEWS AT SHADES OF GRACE – RESUMES IN SPRING 2026:
Pastor Regina and/or Dr. Smiddy holds Bible Study, Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m.
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PAL – A group that is being formed for support parents of children with addiction.
Sunday is my true time of Sabbath, and I am grateful to be scattering gospel seeds along my path.
One of the vital services performed by Shades is the purchase of birth certificates for anyone who needs it. These documents are necessary for housing, jobs and many other reasons. Many of those who come to us are homeless and alienated from any family connection. So they don’t have access to this information, Jimmy secures the document and keeps a duplicate on file.
On July 1, 2014, I was appointed by the United Methodist Bishop to serve the streets of Kingsport, Tennessee.
As we prepare to begin our 10th year of ministry, we offer thanks and praise to God for more miracles than we could ever imagine. We are equally grateful for all our partners and friends who helped the ministry be where we are today. I look forward to sharing many more stories with you and experiencing many more virtual worship services. God be with you all.
Shades of Grace: A United Methodist Congregation is living proof of our living God who loves each one unconditionally and gives us all a reason to keep pushing forward in faith.
Join us online Sunday and revisit this very unique and enlightening worship event. And invite a friend to tune in too! I believe you will be inspired.
Ministry at God’s Living Room is a most life changing and rewarding experience. It is at times the most difficult and heart wrenching experiences. Only the Lord knows the true impact on lives of the least of these. There aren’t enough words to describe this storefront house of worship.
The one thing that has never changed in our ever evolving congregation is the acceptance of ALL people. I have said many times if everyone is not welcome, then no one is welcome. It’s all or nothing. I firmly believe this commitment of caring for the least of these is the reason for our miraculous success and growth in the city. I’m thankful to represent Jesus in the United Methodist Church.
We formerly live-streamed at 4:00 p.m. Sundays in real time. We continue streaming at that same time by edit\redaction and upload of previous Saturday service. Through it all, no aspect of our outreach and ministry ceased. We remain strong and vibrant as we seek to live into the vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ for transformation of our world. We are a safe sanctuary that welcomes and embraces ALL persons in the name of Jesus!
People come to the doors of Shades of Grace at all hours. People come in every size, shape, color, condition, circumstance, and unimaginable lifestyles. They come unhappy, high, hungover, ill, angry, rejected, dissatisfied, lonely, confused, unloved and feeling unworthy.
When they come, we do not ask them to answer questions or try to determine whether or not they are worthy.They simply come because the word ‘Church’ is on our windows. And Jesus says “Come.” We feed them, clothe them, give hot showers, medicines, and pray with those who are open to it. But all is done in Jesus’ Name. They know we will meet them where they are and not necessarily where we want them to be. A song we sing simply says, “People need the Lord. At the end of broken dreams, Christ is the open door.”
God loves all people. We are called to love all people. God is love. We’re simply scattering seeds and the Holy Spirit helps them grow. The end result belongs to God. We will continue to welcome, accept and embrace all people in the Name of Jesus Christ. We are the Church. We are the people of God. This is the Kingdom of God. It’s where I desire to be. Grateful for a storefront house of worship called Shades of Grace: A United Methodist Congregation. It is called God’s Living Room.
“Shades” began in October, 2014 as a new Church start of Holston Conference. Due to the nature of ministry with the least of these, there is no membership available. Anyone who claims a place here is accepted and given opportunities to be fully included in ministry. We offer sacrament of holy communion and baptism upon profession of faith. Worship is non traditional in many ways, but solidly grounded in Wesleyan Theology. We offer some of the very best music and worship to be found anywhere.
The ministry is active Monday through Saturdays every week, and closed on Sundays. We feed hundreds of meals to our community friends who are homeless and in need each week and provide hot showers for men and women. We furnish a clothing closet. We provide many funerals for homeless unclaimed in partnership with a local funeral home and Immanuel Lutheran Church.
Please share this ministry. It doesn’t matter where you live, who you love, car you drive (or not), live in a house or cardboard box, attire, piercings or tattoos. God loves ALL. As Oscar often says, “Pray for all who deal with addiction and depression. The world needs a lot more love. So, let it go; let it go.”
Challenging all to exercise and walk. Keeping up my steps. Staying healthy as possible to serve and witness for the Lord…Let’s get it done! Keep moving.
May eternal flames of the CHRIST candle continue to light our path as we “walk each other home”. My prayer is that not one of God’s little ones will ever be made to stumble because of my sincere efforts to fully follow the LORD. Thy will be done, LORD!
You can now listen to Shades of Grace on the Radio – FM 92.1
Everyone continue to pray for all who are feeling hopeless and helpless.
Luke 10:27 “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
It’s amazing how so many wandering souls make their way to our doors every day. Lord, May we be faithful to your call.
Serving the Last, Lost, Least and Lonely:
Hebrews 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
FYI – Coming Events
Wednesday at 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Bible Study with Pastor Regina Shelton, Will Shewey and Dr. Joe Smiddy
Recovery at Shades: Recovery meeting for ALL on Monday at 5:00 p.m. at 313 E. Sullivan St. Meetings will continue each Monday. Led by our Shades of Grace folk.
Would you like to share cards of encouragement with local persons in Recovery? Please write a note inside and drop them off at Shades of Grace at 313 E Sullivan Street anytime this week. Thank you friends!
“Link to YouTube Video – Watch Pastor Michele Beck’s Words of Inspiration
You Can Also Watch the Video of Sunday’s Service on the Shades of Grace UMC Facebook Page
We Have Provided a Donate Button for an Opportunity to Give. You will also be able to add prayer requests
