In our gospel for today, the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in life after death, tried to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection. Regardless of their motivation, they brought up an issue that continues to bumfuzzle us : “What comes next?” The Christians in Thessalonica had a similar concern regarding Christ Jesus’ second coming. They too wanted to know what comes next.

We wonder; we ponder; we conjecture. What will the resurrection be like? Will we just stand around the throne of God singing praises? Will we meet our loved ones in the life hereafter? Will our precious pets be there? Will the streets be paved with gold? Will God answer all our questions at last? Will we meet St. Peter at the golden gate? Is there a place serving the purpose of purgatory on the way? Will we see God face to face; does God have a face? Since we believe in the resurrection of the body, what happens if we are cremated? How is it decided which of those many mansions has our name on it? Is eternal life going to be structured hierarchically, or will we all sit around the banquet table like one big happy family? The silly questions, the profound questions go on and on, swirling through our minds as we consider the mystery of what comes next.

Trusting that we are, as our collect puts it, “children of God and heirs of eternal life,” we need have no fear of what comes next. Whatever it may be, we can take comfort in the words of the old gospel hymn by C.D. Martin: “God will take care of you, thro’ every day, o’er all the way, . . . God will take care of you,” knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God, here or hereafter.