Lection: Luke 20

November 9, 2025

Luke 20:27-38

“What Happens When You Die?”

The American late night show host, Stephen Colbert, likes to interview some of his celebrity guests using what he calls the “Colbert Questionnaire.” It’s a series of 15 questions that Colbert claims have been carefully designed to reveal the soul of the person. Just before the first question, he usually warns them “Prepare to be known.” And then he launches in with the first question which is “What is the best sandwich?”

Among the other questions, they’ll be asked “Dogs or cats?” “Apples or oranges?” “Window or aisle?” and “What’s your favourite action movie?” At the end, they’ll be asked to describe the rest of their life in 5 words, and that one is usually pretty revealing about their hopes, dreams, and values. But the question I’m always waiting for it this one: “What happens when you die?”

Stephen Colbert is a Christian, and he has his own convictions about the question, but I get the sense that he’s truly interested in hearing his guests’ perspectives on the question. And they’ve had answers ranging from “Your body decomposes in the ground,” to detailed metaphysical descriptions of spirits that live on in the universe.

But most people say things … Read more »

November 10, 2019

Job 19:23-27a
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38

“Trusting God with our Questions”

Whenever I think of the Sadducees, I think of a silly kids’ song that I learned at camp many years ago. (We did it for the kids’ song at church once too.) The refrain goes, “I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba… I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba.”

And then each verse mentions a biblical character that I don’t so much want to be like. “I don’t want to be a goat…. nope. I don’t want to be a Pharisee… ‘cause they’re not fair, you see. And… I don’t want to be a Sadducee… ‘cause they’re so sad, you see.”

We don’t know very much about the Sadducees. They were a group of religious leaders in the time of Jesus – a different group from the Pharisees that we hear about so often in the Gospels. What we do know is that the Sadducees were part of the priestly aristocracy. They had status and power. The historian Josephus, describes them as harsh judges who … Read more »

November 10, 2013

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38

“Eternal Comfort and Good Hope”

Whenever I think of the Sadducees, I think of that silly kids’ song that I learned at camp many years ago. You’ve probably heard the kids here at St. Andrew’s singing it… “I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba… I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba.”

And then each verse mentions a biblical character that I don’t so much want to be like. I don’t want to be a goat…. nope. I don’t want to be a Pharisee… ‘cause they’re not fair, you see. And… I don’t want to be a Sadducee… ‘cause they’re so sad, you see.

We don’t know very much about the Sadducees. They were a group of religious leaders in the time of Jesus – a different group from the Pharisees that we hear about so often in the Gospels. What we do know is that the Sadducees were part of the priestly aristocracy. They had status and power. The historian Josephus, describes them as harsh judges who were known to be most … Read more »

November 7, 2010

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38

Whenever I think of the Sadducees, I think of a silly kids’ song that I learned at camp many years ago. The refrain goes, “I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba… I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, I only want to be a sheep, ba ba ba ba.” And then each verse mentions a biblical character that I don’t so much want to be like. I don’t want to be a goat…. nope. I don’t want to be a Pharisee… ‘cause they’re not fair, you see. And… I don’t want to be a Sadducee… ‘cause they’re so sad, you see.

We don’t know very much about the Sadducees. They were a group of religious leaders in the time of Jesus – a different group from the Pharisees that we hear about so often in the Gospels. What we do know is that the Sadducees were part of the priestly aristocracy. They had status and power. The historian Josephus, describes them as harsh judges who were known to be most cruel among the Jews.

And several times in the Gospels and in … Read more »