In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds the Sadducees that God is “not God of the dead, but of the living.” His words challenge every attempt to limit God’s power to transform lives and renew the world.

The witness of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions brings this message to life. Faced with pressure, injustice, and the threat of death, they remained faithful to their convictions and upheld the dignity of every human person. They trusted that earthly power was not the final authority—God was.

As we face the social justice challenges of 2026, their example calls us to reject cynicism and despair. Whether confronting poverty, discrimination, violence, environmental harm, or the exclusion of vulnerable people, we are invited to believe that God’s vision of justice and human dignity is stronger than the forces that diminish life.

Resurrection faith is more than believing in life after death. It is believing that God can bring hope where others see dead ends, healing where there is division, and new possibilities where injustice seems entrenched.

May we have the courage of Charles Lwanga and his companions: to stand for what is right, to protect human dignity, and to live as people who truly believe that our God is the God of the living.

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