Neither husbands nor marriage, however, are the main themes of today's readings. The first reading is taken from the Book of Tobit which, according to the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, is written "to edify and entertain" its readers. From it we learn that suffering is not a punishment from God. It is a test. If we trust in Him and do what is right we will be rewarded and learn that He is just and merciful. In the Gospel Jesus takes the slick question of the Sadducees and turns it to our advantage. He tells His mocking questioners that the possibility that seven brothers could marry one woman does not make life after death an impossibility because of the danger of a bloody feud between the seven!

For Jesus marriage is a loving gift from God, designed to perpetuate the human race and bring men and women a deeply satisfying experience. It is a symbol of heavenly life. Great as it is, it will be surpassed, without being emptied of its value, by the even more intimate relationship with God which constitutes heaven. In, and because of, that union with Him we will love all without the necessity of having to show that love physically.