Fifth
Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 34
Lectionary: 34
Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
R/ (7) With the Lord there is mercy and
fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him,
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.”
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
“Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him,
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.”
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
“Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus,
saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
Scripture Study
FIRST READING: Ezekiel 37:12-14. Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your
graves, and raise you from your graves, 0 my people; and I will bring you home
into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open
your graves, and raise you from your graves, 0 my people. And I will put my
Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land;
then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, says the
Lord.
EXPLANATION:
Ezekiel was a priest of the temple of Jerusalem up to 597 B.C., when he was deported to Babylon with the king Joachim and the first deportees. Among the exiles in Babylon he denounced the sins of the people which brought about the exile, and foretold greater misfortunes still for Judah. Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians, and the remainder of the people taken into captivity. They had deserted Yahweh; he would now desert them for a while. But Ezekiel, like Jeremiah and second-Isaiah his contemporaries, had words of encouragement also. Better days were to come, when Yahweh would take back his people once more and dwell in their midst forever (37 : 25). The verses taken from Ezekiel today are part of this encouragement.
Thus . . . God: The prophet is speakinhg for the Lord.
I will . . . graves: In the eleven verses preceding this passage the prophet has described how God through him, spoke to the dry bones of the Israelites and raised them up and gave them life once more. As is clear from verse 11, there is no question of resurrection of the body here: the dry bones are the exiled Israelites who say "our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, we are clean cut off." Now God tells these despairing Israelites that all is not lost. He will give them a real life, not that of slavery, once more.
O my people: They are still his chosen people in spite of their neglect of him. He will give them a new spirit, a spirit of obedience once more.
and you shall live: Living in slavery in a foreign land was not life.
place . . . land: He will bring them back from exile and establish them in Judah again.
then . . . shall know: They will then realize that nothing short of the power of Yahweh could have done this for them.
APPLICATION: God revealed himself and his true nature to his Chosen People in the Old Testament by his actions more than by his words. They were a stubborn, stiff-necked people---they were so often ungrateful for all the benefits he conferred on them. They forgot him in material prosperity and only turned to him in need. The idolatry and misconduct of their kings ever since Solomon (with a few notable exceptions), and the no-less-pagan outlook of the majority of the people, brought on them the destruction of Jerusalem with its temple, the center of their life and religion, in the year 587. They had been warned by God's prophets but they turned a deaf ear to all remonstrances and warnings. When the foretold calamity fell they turned to Yahweh, but too late.
However, when they had done their penance in Babylon, Yahweh came to their aid once more and brought them back to Judah and Jerusalem, where they eventually rebuilt the city and their temple and where they remained until the promised Messiah came.
In all of this we have the merciful, forgiving God, revealing himself, while using this very ungrateful people to carry out his plan for raising the whole human race to adopted divine sonship through the loving mystery of the Incarnation.
We Christians have seen that plan fulfilled. We know we have been adopted by God and made heirs of heaven because Christ made himself our brother. We know too that we shall rise again from the dead and be brought back not to Judah or Jerusalem, but to the land of eternal happiness---to "the Jerusalem that is above." God revealed much of his divine qualities to the Jews, but how incomparably greater is the revelation we have received from him through the coming of Christ among us!
The Jews of that day had but a very vague idea of life after death; we are certain that our physical death is not the end for us but rather the beginning of our true life. The Jews called God their "father" but because of their infidelity the father-son relationship was a cold one, built more on fear than on love. We call God our Father, but we use the term with sincerity and love for we have become his children through the brotherhood of Christ, his real, divine Son.
God helped the Jews often in their temporal needs, they seldom sought spiritual aid from him. We have in the mystical body of Christ, his Church, all the spiritual helps we need for our journey to heaven, and temporal favors on innumerable occasions, during our stay on earth. God said of his Chosen People: "What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done for it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, what did it yield---wild grapes?"
Unfortunately, he has to make the same complaint of many in his Christian vineyard, and how much more has he done for them than he ever did for the Jews? God forbid that any one of us should be deserving of this complaint. When we meet him on the day of judgment let us hope and pray that we will have the true grapes of a virtuous life to offer him.
EXPLANATION:
Ezekiel was a priest of the temple of Jerusalem up to 597 B.C., when he was deported to Babylon with the king Joachim and the first deportees. Among the exiles in Babylon he denounced the sins of the people which brought about the exile, and foretold greater misfortunes still for Judah. Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians, and the remainder of the people taken into captivity. They had deserted Yahweh; he would now desert them for a while. But Ezekiel, like Jeremiah and second-Isaiah his contemporaries, had words of encouragement also. Better days were to come, when Yahweh would take back his people once more and dwell in their midst forever (37 : 25). The verses taken from Ezekiel today are part of this encouragement.
Thus . . . God: The prophet is speakinhg for the Lord.
I will . . . graves: In the eleven verses preceding this passage the prophet has described how God through him, spoke to the dry bones of the Israelites and raised them up and gave them life once more. As is clear from verse 11, there is no question of resurrection of the body here: the dry bones are the exiled Israelites who say "our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, we are clean cut off." Now God tells these despairing Israelites that all is not lost. He will give them a real life, not that of slavery, once more.
O my people: They are still his chosen people in spite of their neglect of him. He will give them a new spirit, a spirit of obedience once more.
and you shall live: Living in slavery in a foreign land was not life.
place . . . land: He will bring them back from exile and establish them in Judah again.
then . . . shall know: They will then realize that nothing short of the power of Yahweh could have done this for them.
APPLICATION: God revealed himself and his true nature to his Chosen People in the Old Testament by his actions more than by his words. They were a stubborn, stiff-necked people---they were so often ungrateful for all the benefits he conferred on them. They forgot him in material prosperity and only turned to him in need. The idolatry and misconduct of their kings ever since Solomon (with a few notable exceptions), and the no-less-pagan outlook of the majority of the people, brought on them the destruction of Jerusalem with its temple, the center of their life and religion, in the year 587. They had been warned by God's prophets but they turned a deaf ear to all remonstrances and warnings. When the foretold calamity fell they turned to Yahweh, but too late.
However, when they had done their penance in Babylon, Yahweh came to their aid once more and brought them back to Judah and Jerusalem, where they eventually rebuilt the city and their temple and where they remained until the promised Messiah came.
In all of this we have the merciful, forgiving God, revealing himself, while using this very ungrateful people to carry out his plan for raising the whole human race to adopted divine sonship through the loving mystery of the Incarnation.
We Christians have seen that plan fulfilled. We know we have been adopted by God and made heirs of heaven because Christ made himself our brother. We know too that we shall rise again from the dead and be brought back not to Judah or Jerusalem, but to the land of eternal happiness---to "the Jerusalem that is above." God revealed much of his divine qualities to the Jews, but how incomparably greater is the revelation we have received from him through the coming of Christ among us!
The Jews of that day had but a very vague idea of life after death; we are certain that our physical death is not the end for us but rather the beginning of our true life. The Jews called God their "father" but because of their infidelity the father-son relationship was a cold one, built more on fear than on love. We call God our Father, but we use the term with sincerity and love for we have become his children through the brotherhood of Christ, his real, divine Son.
God helped the Jews often in their temporal needs, they seldom sought spiritual aid from him. We have in the mystical body of Christ, his Church, all the spiritual helps we need for our journey to heaven, and temporal favors on innumerable occasions, during our stay on earth. God said of his Chosen People: "What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done for it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, what did it yield---wild grapes?"
Unfortunately, he has to make the same complaint of many in his Christian vineyard, and how much more has he done for them than he ever did for the Jews? God forbid that any one of us should be deserving of this complaint. When we meet him on the day of judgment let us hope and pray that we will have the true grapes of a virtuous life to offer him.
SECOND READING: Romans 8: 8-11. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God
really dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not
belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because
of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from
the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who
dwells in you.
EXPLANATION:
On the Epistle to the Romans, see First Sunday of Advent.
in the flesh . . . God: St. Paul nearly always uses the word "flesh" for those tendencies in man which incline him to sin and to the things of this earth in opposition to things spiritual. The man who follows these inclinations (who lives according to the flesh) cannot please God, but rather offends him.
You are . . . flesh: He is addressing Christians who have died (to all their evil inclinations) with Christ in baptism. "Do you not know," Paul says (in Rom. 6:3-4), "that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death..."
you are . . . Spirit: The Holy Spirit has been given to the baptized. Through their union with Christ the Spirit is within believers, transforming their rational faculties; they live a new life.
Anyone . . . Christ: Paul uses the terms "Spirit of God," the "Spirit," the "Spirit of Christ" and "Christ" as interchange able terms to express the indwelling of God in the baptized. The man who has not this indwelling Spirit does not belong to Christ. He is not a Christian.
bodies . . . sin: Because the Christian has Christ dwelling in him (even though the Christian lives in a body which can be called "dead" because of its inclination to sin), he is alive with a true spiritual life because of the uprightness and divine grace which Christ brings to him.
spirit . . . Jesus: It was God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. The Christian who has the Spirit of God dwelling in him will be raised from the dead by the same Spirit. His body doomed to die will be given a new mode of life---the risen Christian, like the risen Christ, will be given a new mode of existence, an unending life.
APPLICATION: The three readings for today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, have a common theme---resurrection. In Ezekiel the release of the Jews from the captivity and slavery of Babylon is described as a rising from their graves to return to a new life in their own homeland. This is a metaphor, a type of the true resurrection which will come later. In the third reading---the gospel---we have the story of the raising of Lazarus from the tomb, which proves the power Jesus had of raising the dead.
In this second reading, in St. Paul's instruction to the Roman Christians, we have a direct reference to the future resurrection to a life of unending glory for all those who during their time on earth, were loyal to God and Christ. This resurrection in a new body, which will never again be subject to death or pain or suffering, has been won for us by Christ who, having died for our sins, was raised by the Father on Easter morning.
Only the kindness of an infinitely loving God could plan and provide such a marvelous future for us. "What is man that you are mindful of him?", the Psalmist says to God. What are we indeed---mere creatures, finite, limited beings, in comparison with the infinite Godhead! Yet, when creating us he gave us the spiritual faculties which enable us to appreciate the good, the beautiful and the perfect. He knew that in this life these powers could never be satisfied, and so he ordained that after "working our passage" through this valley of tears, a new life would await us, an unending life in which, in company with the Blessed Trinity, our blessed Mother and the millions of fellow-saints, we would have eternal contentment and happiness.
The thought of this glorious future should never be far from our minds. It was this thought that enabled the martyrs to face their executioners with joy in their hearts. It was this thought that made the saints rejoice in their bodily sufferings and mortifications. It was this hope of eternal happiness which spurred on the millions of ordinary men and women like ourselves, whose life on earth was a monotonous sequence of one drudgery after another, one misfortune following on the heels of the previous one.
It is by imitating these people that we too will join them when our call will come. It is by bearing the burdens of each day, by welcoming, and seeing God's will in all the ups and downs of our very ordinary lives, that we can join them. Listen again to these solemn words of St. Paul: "Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him." You have the Spirit of Christ in you, if you are striving to live a Christian life. This means taking each day as it comes, offering to God its joys and its sorrows, its honest pleasures and its pains, its sunshine and its showers. All this means: living in peace with God and with your neighbor. This may sound easy but it is not so; it will mean much self-denial, but then think of what awaits us at the end of our road---a resurrection to a new life, an unending life of happiness. God grant that we may all have this happy ending to our earthly journey.
EXPLANATION:
On the Epistle to the Romans, see First Sunday of Advent.
in the flesh . . . God: St. Paul nearly always uses the word "flesh" for those tendencies in man which incline him to sin and to the things of this earth in opposition to things spiritual. The man who follows these inclinations (who lives according to the flesh) cannot please God, but rather offends him.
You are . . . flesh: He is addressing Christians who have died (to all their evil inclinations) with Christ in baptism. "Do you not know," Paul says (in Rom. 6:3-4), "that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death..."
you are . . . Spirit: The Holy Spirit has been given to the baptized. Through their union with Christ the Spirit is within believers, transforming their rational faculties; they live a new life.
Anyone . . . Christ: Paul uses the terms "Spirit of God," the "Spirit," the "Spirit of Christ" and "Christ" as interchange able terms to express the indwelling of God in the baptized. The man who has not this indwelling Spirit does not belong to Christ. He is not a Christian.
bodies . . . sin: Because the Christian has Christ dwelling in him (even though the Christian lives in a body which can be called "dead" because of its inclination to sin), he is alive with a true spiritual life because of the uprightness and divine grace which Christ brings to him.
spirit . . . Jesus: It was God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. The Christian who has the Spirit of God dwelling in him will be raised from the dead by the same Spirit. His body doomed to die will be given a new mode of life---the risen Christian, like the risen Christ, will be given a new mode of existence, an unending life.
APPLICATION: The three readings for today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, have a common theme---resurrection. In Ezekiel the release of the Jews from the captivity and slavery of Babylon is described as a rising from their graves to return to a new life in their own homeland. This is a metaphor, a type of the true resurrection which will come later. In the third reading---the gospel---we have the story of the raising of Lazarus from the tomb, which proves the power Jesus had of raising the dead.
In this second reading, in St. Paul's instruction to the Roman Christians, we have a direct reference to the future resurrection to a life of unending glory for all those who during their time on earth, were loyal to God and Christ. This resurrection in a new body, which will never again be subject to death or pain or suffering, has been won for us by Christ who, having died for our sins, was raised by the Father on Easter morning.
Only the kindness of an infinitely loving God could plan and provide such a marvelous future for us. "What is man that you are mindful of him?", the Psalmist says to God. What are we indeed---mere creatures, finite, limited beings, in comparison with the infinite Godhead! Yet, when creating us he gave us the spiritual faculties which enable us to appreciate the good, the beautiful and the perfect. He knew that in this life these powers could never be satisfied, and so he ordained that after "working our passage" through this valley of tears, a new life would await us, an unending life in which, in company with the Blessed Trinity, our blessed Mother and the millions of fellow-saints, we would have eternal contentment and happiness.
The thought of this glorious future should never be far from our minds. It was this thought that enabled the martyrs to face their executioners with joy in their hearts. It was this thought that made the saints rejoice in their bodily sufferings and mortifications. It was this hope of eternal happiness which spurred on the millions of ordinary men and women like ourselves, whose life on earth was a monotonous sequence of one drudgery after another, one misfortune following on the heels of the previous one.
It is by imitating these people that we too will join them when our call will come. It is by bearing the burdens of each day, by welcoming, and seeing God's will in all the ups and downs of our very ordinary lives, that we can join them. Listen again to these solemn words of St. Paul: "Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him." You have the Spirit of Christ in you, if you are striving to live a Christian life. This means taking each day as it comes, offering to God its joys and its sorrows, its honest pleasures and its pains, its sunshine and its showers. All this means: living in peace with God and with your neighbor. This may sound easy but it is not so; it will mean much self-denial, but then think of what awaits us at the end of our road---a resurrection to a new life, an unending life of happiness. God grant that we may all have this happy ending to our earthly journey.
GOSPEL: John 11: 3-7; 17; 20-27; 33-45. (Shorter Form) The sisters of
Lazarus sent to Jesus, saying "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But
when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for
the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again."
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled, and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.
EXPLANATION:
St. John gives us here the last and the greatest of the miracles worked by our Lord. It had two purposes: first, to prove that Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God to whom the Father was now testifying publicly by this miracle and secondly, to move the chief priests and Pharisees to carry out the plan they long since contemplated. This miracle took place a few miles from Jerusalem---within a few hours the Pharisees had news of it (11:46); they called a meeting and decided that Christ must be put to death. It was his Father's will that he should die at the Passover feast which was drawing near: he had completed his work; his "hour" had come and so in working this miracle, he gave them the extra motive and excuse for carrying out their wicked designs. Christ's death, like the illness of Lazarus, would be for the glory of God, manifested in him. His raising of Lazarus was but for a short extra period of earthly life; his own resurrection would be the first fruits of the eternal resurrection which he would win for all those who would follow him.
this illness . . . death: Its result was death, but the illness and death were intended in order that Christ's messiahship would be finally and convincingly proved by means of it.
already . . . days: Lazarius is truly dead, but his illness and death were intended in order that Christ's messiahship would be finally and convincingly proved by means of it. Lazarus must have died the day the messengers came from Martha and Mary. Jesus stayed two days more, east of the Jordan; the return journey to Bethany took a full day and as burial took place on the day of death, Lazarus was already four days buried.
if you . . . here: Both sisters believed Christ could have cured their brother had he been present; they did not think he could do so from a distance. Nor did they think he could now raise him from the dead. Yet, Martha still shows her strong faith in Jesus' influence when she says: "Even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you," but this evidently did not include the possibility of his calling Lazarus from the tomb, as her objection to removing the stone later shows.
Your brother . . . again: Martha believed in the future resurrection of the dead as did many, but not all, of her contemporaries, and she understands Jesus' words to refer to this general resurrection.
I am . . . life: Jesus confirms this belief and adds that it is he himself who is the cause of the resurrection and the eternal life which will follow it.
whoever . . . never die: All who believe in Christ and live according to that faith will live forever. While they must pass through the gates of physical death---the lot of all mankind---they only pass into eternal life.
Christ . . . God: Martha answers that she believes he is the Messiah so long expected. "Son of God" in opposition to "the Christ," that is, the Messiah, is not used in its strict sense.
deeply . . . troubled: Christ in his human nature suffered anguish and pain to a greater degree than any mere human being. His agony in the garden as his passion approached is evidence of this (see Heb. 5:7). He knew that this present miracle was to precipitate his passion and death, as the sequel shows.
Take . . . stone: Martha, thinking he wanted to see his dead friend, objected as corruption would already have set in.
You . . . God: Jesus tells her that had she believed, trusted in him she would see a miracle---"the glory of God." God would glorify himself and his Son.
crowd . . . sent one: He had thanked his Father aloud for having heard his request---to raise Lazarus. He was the Son of God and his, and the Father's, power were one, but the people could not grasp the truth of his divinity yet---what he wants is that they will accept him as the promised Messiah.
Lazarus, come out: The miracle takes place, the dead man rose and:
many of the Jews: Not all of them believed his claim that he was the Messiah whom God had sent, notwithstanding this extraordinary miracle.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again."
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled, and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.
EXPLANATION:
St. John gives us here the last and the greatest of the miracles worked by our Lord. It had two purposes: first, to prove that Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God to whom the Father was now testifying publicly by this miracle and secondly, to move the chief priests and Pharisees to carry out the plan they long since contemplated. This miracle took place a few miles from Jerusalem---within a few hours the Pharisees had news of it (11:46); they called a meeting and decided that Christ must be put to death. It was his Father's will that he should die at the Passover feast which was drawing near: he had completed his work; his "hour" had come and so in working this miracle, he gave them the extra motive and excuse for carrying out their wicked designs. Christ's death, like the illness of Lazarus, would be for the glory of God, manifested in him. His raising of Lazarus was but for a short extra period of earthly life; his own resurrection would be the first fruits of the eternal resurrection which he would win for all those who would follow him.
this illness . . . death: Its result was death, but the illness and death were intended in order that Christ's messiahship would be finally and convincingly proved by means of it.
already . . . days: Lazarius is truly dead, but his illness and death were intended in order that Christ's messiahship would be finally and convincingly proved by means of it. Lazarus must have died the day the messengers came from Martha and Mary. Jesus stayed two days more, east of the Jordan; the return journey to Bethany took a full day and as burial took place on the day of death, Lazarus was already four days buried.
if you . . . here: Both sisters believed Christ could have cured their brother had he been present; they did not think he could do so from a distance. Nor did they think he could now raise him from the dead. Yet, Martha still shows her strong faith in Jesus' influence when she says: "Even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you," but this evidently did not include the possibility of his calling Lazarus from the tomb, as her objection to removing the stone later shows.
Your brother . . . again: Martha believed in the future resurrection of the dead as did many, but not all, of her contemporaries, and she understands Jesus' words to refer to this general resurrection.
I am . . . life: Jesus confirms this belief and adds that it is he himself who is the cause of the resurrection and the eternal life which will follow it.
whoever . . . never die: All who believe in Christ and live according to that faith will live forever. While they must pass through the gates of physical death---the lot of all mankind---they only pass into eternal life.
Christ . . . God: Martha answers that she believes he is the Messiah so long expected. "Son of God" in opposition to "the Christ," that is, the Messiah, is not used in its strict sense.
deeply . . . troubled: Christ in his human nature suffered anguish and pain to a greater degree than any mere human being. His agony in the garden as his passion approached is evidence of this (see Heb. 5:7). He knew that this present miracle was to precipitate his passion and death, as the sequel shows.
Take . . . stone: Martha, thinking he wanted to see his dead friend, objected as corruption would already have set in.
You . . . God: Jesus tells her that had she believed, trusted in him she would see a miracle---"the glory of God." God would glorify himself and his Son.
crowd . . . sent one: He had thanked his Father aloud for having heard his request---to raise Lazarus. He was the Son of God and his, and the Father's, power were one, but the people could not grasp the truth of his divinity yet---what he wants is that they will accept him as the promised Messiah.
Lazarus, come out: The miracle takes place, the dead man rose and:
many of the Jews: Not all of them believed his claim that he was the Messiah whom God had sent, notwithstanding this extraordinary miracle.
APPLICATION: On hearing this story of the resurrection of Lazarus, the
question which will arise in the minds of most people is this: why did Jesus
allow his best and most faithful friends to suffer anguish for four days? He
could have cured Lazarus of his illness the moment he heard of it. Yet he
delayed and allowed the sisters to suffer the death of their beloved brother.
We have already given the answer above. He wanted to make this, his last
recorded miracle, a convincing proof of his claim to be what he was---the
Messiah, sent by God to give a new life, an eternal life, to mankind. He also
wanted to give his enemies a great impulse and motive to carry out his
condemnation and crucifixion, which was the debt he "the suffering
servant" of God, was to pay for the sins of mankind.
That his closest friends had to suffer for a while, in order to cooperate with him in his plans was therefore an unavoidable necessity. Is there not here an answer to the questionings of divine providence which we hear so often from otherwise devout followers of Christ? Drowned in their own personal sorrow and grief they cannot see that this very sorrow and grief is part of Christ's plan for the salvation of men. And the fact that they are loyal, true friends of Christ is the very reason they are chosen to carry this particularly heavy cross. Less faithful friends would not help him, so in his mercy he does not put that extra load on their unwilling shoulders.
Martha and Mary had to live through four sad days, while their friend seemed to forget them. But how great was the reward for their sufferings, when their beloved brother returned to the family circle---a brother they thought they had lost forever! We can well imagine the rejoicing that took place in that home in Bethany (not only that night but for years to follow).
We all have our sorrows and separations from our loved ones. But as in the case of the Bethany family, they are temporary separations. Our dear ones who are taken from us are not lost to us---they are perhaps closer to us and more helpful to us than they ever could have been in this life. And our faith convinces us that we will be reunited soon with them. Christ by his death, has conquered death. He has won eternal life for all men. His resurrection was the prelude ("the first-fruits," as St. Paul calls it) to the resurrection of all mankind---a resurrection to an eternal life of happiness where families, friends and neighbors will rejoice together in the presence of God for all eternity. The years of sorrow we have to endure here below will look small and trifling indeed when viewed from eternity.
But---and this is a capital but---though Christ has won a new, eternal life of adopted sonship with God for all men, each man must do his part to earn that sonship, to merit the eternal happiness which Christ came to win for us. "God created us without our consent," says St. Augustine, "but he cannot save us without our cooperation." We must live our lives then as Christ has taught us.
For every thought we give to death, and we are reminded of it hourly and daily, let us think three times on what will follow after it. If we do, we will never die unprepared. We will have made sure of a happy eternity.-a135
That his closest friends had to suffer for a while, in order to cooperate with him in his plans was therefore an unavoidable necessity. Is there not here an answer to the questionings of divine providence which we hear so often from otherwise devout followers of Christ? Drowned in their own personal sorrow and grief they cannot see that this very sorrow and grief is part of Christ's plan for the salvation of men. And the fact that they are loyal, true friends of Christ is the very reason they are chosen to carry this particularly heavy cross. Less faithful friends would not help him, so in his mercy he does not put that extra load on their unwilling shoulders.
Martha and Mary had to live through four sad days, while their friend seemed to forget them. But how great was the reward for their sufferings, when their beloved brother returned to the family circle---a brother they thought they had lost forever! We can well imagine the rejoicing that took place in that home in Bethany (not only that night but for years to follow).
We all have our sorrows and separations from our loved ones. But as in the case of the Bethany family, they are temporary separations. Our dear ones who are taken from us are not lost to us---they are perhaps closer to us and more helpful to us than they ever could have been in this life. And our faith convinces us that we will be reunited soon with them. Christ by his death, has conquered death. He has won eternal life for all men. His resurrection was the prelude ("the first-fruits," as St. Paul calls it) to the resurrection of all mankind---a resurrection to an eternal life of happiness where families, friends and neighbors will rejoice together in the presence of God for all eternity. The years of sorrow we have to endure here below will look small and trifling indeed when viewed from eternity.
But---and this is a capital but---though Christ has won a new, eternal life of adopted sonship with God for all men, each man must do his part to earn that sonship, to merit the eternal happiness which Christ came to win for us. "God created us without our consent," says St. Augustine, "but he cannot save us without our cooperation." We must live our lives then as Christ has taught us.
For every thought we give to death, and we are reminded of it hourly and daily, let us think three times on what will follow after it. If we do, we will never die unprepared. We will have made sure of a happy eternity.-a135
Meditation:
"I am the resurrection and the life"
If a true
"friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17), why did Jesus delay in coming to Lazarus'
home when he knew that his friend was gravely ill? Jesus certainly loved
Lazarus and his two sisters and he often stayed in their home at Bethany. But
to the surprise of his friends and disciples, Jesus did not go right away to
Bethany when he was called. Jesus explained that Lazarus' sickness would bring
glory to God. The glory which Jesus had in mind, however, was connected with
suffering and the cross. He saw the cross as his supreme glory and the
way to glory in the kingdom of God. For Jesus there was no other way to
glory except through the cross.
Jesus also knew that it was dangerous for him to
travel anywhere near Jerusalem at this time, since the religious authorities in
Jerusalem were plotting his destruction. Jesus, however, was willing to pay the
price to help his friend. For Jesus to come to Jerusalem at Passover time was
an act of courage. The explanation which Jesus gave to his disciples was
simple and challenging at the same time. "Are there not twelve
hours in the day?" In so many words he said: "There
are enough hours in the day to do what one must do." A day can
neither be rushed nor extended. Its period is fixed. In God's
economy we each have our "day" whether it be short or long.
While time is limited, there is enough for us to accomplish what God
intends. God gives each of us our allotted portion in life. We can
either waste it or use it to the utmost for God's glory. Jesus did not
let circumstances or pressure dictate what he would do. Nor did he permit
others to dictate his actions or timetable. He took action of his own
initiative and in his good time. Don't we often try to get God to do
things in our way and on our timetable?
Both the Romans and the Jews divided the day
into twelve equal hours from sunrise to sunset. The day's work and
travel, however, ceased when the daylight was gone. If someone wanted to
get their day's work done, he had to do it before it got dark. Jesus made
a spiritual analogy with our relationship with God. While the light of
Christ is with us, we must live and walk in the truth and grace of his
light. There's a right time to make peace with God, and that time is
now. When darkness comes, then judgment follows for those who refuse God
and spurn his love.
When Jesus announced that Lazarus was dead and
that he was going to Jerusalem, Thomas showed both his courage and
pessimism. "Let us go, that we may die with him."
This courage, however, was not tempered with faith and hope in God's promise to
bring victory out of defeat. Even though Thomas was a witness to Lazarus'
resurrection, he betrayed his master when arrest and death stared him in the
face. He doubted his master's resurrection until Jesus showed him the
wounds of his passion. God gives us faith, courage, and the strength we need to
persevere through any trial and suffering we must face in this life. If
we embrace our cross with faith and trust in God, then we, too, will see
victory and glory in the end.
What is the significance of Jesus raising
Lazarus from the dead? It is more than a miraculous event. It is a "sign" of
God's promise to raise up all who have died in Christ to everlasting
life. That is why Jesus asked Martha if she believed in the resurrection
from the dead. The Christian creed, which is the profession of our faith in God
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and in the saving power of God, culminates in
the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life
everlasting. This is our faith and our hope. "If the Spirit
of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus
from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his
Spirit which dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). God gives us the power
of his Holy Spirit that we may be made alive in Christ. Even now we can
experience the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in our personal
lives. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to change and transform us into men
and women of faith, hope, and love. Do you believe that the power of Jesus'
resurrection is at work in your life today? Let the Holy Spirit
strengthen within you the life and joy of God and the hope of heaven.
The name Lazarus means "God is my
help". Jesus' parable of the poor man Lazarus who died and was
carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:19-31), ends with a warning: "If
they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some
one should rise from the dead." Through Lazarus' sickness
and subsequent death, God brought glory through Jesus his only begotten Son,
who raised his friend from the dead in anticipation of his own death and
resurrection. Our participation in the Lord's Supper in the Eucharist
already gives us a foretaste of Jesus' transfiguration of our bodies.
Irenaeus, a second century church father states: "Just as
bread that comes from the earth, after God's blessing has been invoked upon it,
is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one
earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the
Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of
resurrection" (Adv. Haeres. 4,18). Psalm 27 ends with the great
prayer of hope in the resurrection: I believe that I shall see the
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong,
and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord! Do you
find joy and hope in the resurrection of Christ?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you have ransomed us
with your blood and restored us to life with the Father in heaven. May
your resurrection be our hope as we long for the day when we will see you face
to face in glory."
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
SUNDAY, APRIL 6, JOHN 11:1-45
(Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11)
SUNDAY, APRIL 6, JOHN 11:1-45
(Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11)
KEY VERSE: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live" (v 25).
READING: Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus to come immediately to the village of Bethany where they lived as their brother Lazarus was dying. The disciples feared for Jesus' life as the town was near Jerusalem. Knowing his fate awaited him in the Holy City, Jesus declared that God's glory would be revealed so that all might believe. When Jesus was delayed in coming, upon his arrival, Martha told Jesus that he was too late; her brother had already died. Although Martha reproached Jesus for not coming sooner, she was confident that God would grant whatever he asked. Jesus told her that he had power over life and death, and asked her if she believed that his words were true. Like Peter, Martha confessed her faith in Jesus as the "Messiah, the Son of God" (Mt 16:16). With a powerful command, Jesus raised Lazarus to life, a symbol of Christ's own resurrection and our rising to new life with him. Ironically, it was this gift of life that would lead to Jesus' own death.
REFLECTING: Does my parish have a bereavement ministry to assist those grieving over loss of a loved one?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, raise me to new life in you.
THIRD SCRUTINY FOR THE ELECT
On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the Third Scrutiny of the Elect (RCIA, 171). When the elect, catechumens and candidates are present, the story of the Raising of Lazarus is read (Jn 11).In the Scrutiny Rites, those preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil as well as the entire assembly are called to examine the areas in their lives that block God's love and discover where they are entombed in sin and need to experience the life of the Risen Christ. During this week the Presentation of the Lord's Prayer is celebrated with the elect (RCIA, 178).
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Serving the Poor
Jesus continues to thirst in the lives of those hanging on the
crosses of poverty and oppression. What is it that we have done or have failed
to do to serve the least among us?
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption
‘I mean to raise you from your graves.’God’s promise through the prophet is to be realised in us all. We all have our low times when we feel despondent and are lacking hope. Maybe there is more pressure on us than we can manage. Sometimes, when we reflect, we realise that with this extra pressure we have not been keeping our regular prayer times. We have fallen into the grave and haven’t realised that we have the means of coming out of it. I have a young friend whom I visit regularly. Some time back, I asked him to pray for me. When visiting time is over and it is time to part he, thinking of my need, will pray, ‘God is always with you. God will never leave you.’ I reciprocate with my prayer for him. It is a beautiful reminder of God’s love and care for me.
April
6
St. Crescentia Hoess
(1682-1744)
St. Crescentia Hoess
(1682-1744)
Crescentia was born in 1682 in a little town near Augsburg, the
daughter of a poor weaver. She spent play time praying in the parish church,
assisted those even poorer than herself and had so mastered the truths of her
religion that she was permitted to make her holy Communion at the then
unusually early age of seven. In the town she was called "the little
angel."
As she
grew older she desired to enter the convent of the Tertiaries of St. Francis.
But the convent was poor and, because Crescentia had no dowry, the superiors
refused her admission. Her case was then pleaded by the Protestant mayor of the
town to whom the convent owed a favor. The community felt it was forced into
receiving her, and her new life was made miserable. She was considered a burden
and assigned nothing other than menial tasks. Even her cheerful spirit was
misinterpreted as flattery or hypocrisy.
Conditions
improved four years later when a new superior was elected who realized her
virtue. Crescentia herself was appointed mistress of novices. She so won the
love and respect of the sisters that, upon the death of the superior,
Crescentia herself was unanimously elected to that position. Under her the
financial state of the convent improved and her reputation in spiritual matters
spread. She was soon being consulted by princes and princesses as well as by
bishops and cardinals seeking her advice. And yet, a true daughter of Francis,
she remained ever humble.
Bodily
afflictions and pain were always with her. First it was headaches and
toothaches. Then she lost the ability to walk, her hands and feet gradually
becoming so crippled that her body curled up into a fetal position. In the
spirit of Francis she cried out, "Oh, you bodily members, praise God that
he has given you the capacity to suffer." Despite her sufferings she was
filled with peace and joy as she died on Easter Sunday in 1744.
She was
beatified in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Comment:
Although she grew up in poverty and willingly embraced it in her vocation, Crescentia had a good head for business. Under her able administration, her convent regained financial stability. Too often we think of good money management as, at best, a less-than-holy gift. But Crescentia was wise enough to balance her worldly skills with such acumen in spiritual matters that heads of State and Church both sought her advice.
Although she grew up in poverty and willingly embraced it in her vocation, Crescentia had a good head for business. Under her able administration, her convent regained financial stability. Too often we think of good money management as, at best, a less-than-holy gift. But Crescentia was wise enough to balance her worldly skills with such acumen in spiritual matters that heads of State and Church both sought her advice.
LECTIO DIVINA:
5TH SUNDAY OF LENT (A)
Lectio:
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Lent Time
The resurrection of Lazarus
In the "House of the Poor"
Jesus reveals himself as the source of life
John 11, 1-45
In the "House of the Poor"
Jesus reveals himself as the source of life
John 11, 1-45
1.
OPENING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures
with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In
the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the
presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the
cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life
and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in
Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor
and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples
from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to
others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace.
We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent
us your Spirit. Amen.
2.
READING: JOHN 11, 1-45
a) A key to guide the reading:
Let us read the text, which describes the resurrection of
Lazarus. During the reading, try to follow the group, the disciples who follow
Jesus from Galilee to Bethany. You must follow attentively all the events, from
the time that the announcement of the sickness of the Martha and Mary’s brother
was sent to Jesus who was in Galilee, to the time of the resurrection of
Lazarus.
b) A division of the text to assist a careful reading:
John 11, 1-16: Jesus hears the news and sets out for Bethany to
raise Lazarus.
John 11, 17-31: Jesus meets the two sisters and Martha’s
profession of faith.
John 11, 32-45: The great sign of the resurrection of Lazarus.
c) The text:
1-16: There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of
Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister
of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet
with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, 'Lord, the man you love
is ill.' On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in
death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be
glorified.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard
that he was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the
disciples, 'Let us go back to Judaea.' The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not
long since the Jews were trying to stone you; are you going back there again?'
Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day? No one who walks in the
daytime stumbles, having the light of this world to see by; anyone who walks
around at night stumbles, having no light as a guide. He said that and then
added, 'Our friend Lazarus is at rest; I am going to wake him.' The disciples
said to him, 'Lord, if he is at rest he will be saved.' Jesus was speaking of
the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep'; so
Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not
there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas -- known
as the Twin -- said to the other disciples, 'Let us also go to die with him.'
17-31: On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the
tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and
many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When
Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting
in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask
of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, 'I
know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said: I am
the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will
live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?
'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the
one who was to come into this world.' When she had said this, she went and
called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to
see you.' Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet
come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When
the Jews who were in the house comforting Mary saw her get up so quickly and go
out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32-45: Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw
herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not
have died.' At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who had come with
her, Jesus was greatly distressed, and with a profound sigh he said, 'Where
have you put him?' They said, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept; and the Jews
said, 'See how much he loved him!' But there were some who remarked, 'He opened
the eyes of the blind man. Could he not have prevented this man's death?'
Sighing again, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the
opening. Jesus said, 'Take the stone away.' Martha, the dead man's sister, said
to him, 'Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died.'
Jesus replied, 'Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory
of God?' So they took the stone away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:
Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I myself knew that you hear me
always, but I speak for the sake of all these who are standing around me, so
that they may believe it was you who sent me. When he had said this, he cried
in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his feet and hands
bound with strips of material, and a cloth over his face. Jesus said to them,
'Unbind him, let him go free.' Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and
had seen what he did, believed in him,
3.
A MOMENT OF PRAYERFUL SILENCE
so that the Word of God may enter into us and enlighten our
life.
4.
SOME QUESTIONS
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What drew your attention most in this very detailed account?
Why?
b) Which is the central and most important point of the whole
narrative? Why?
c) What was the attitude of the disciples? What did they say and
do?
d) What was the attitude of Martha and Mary? What did they say
and do?
e) What was the attitude of the Jews? What did they say, do and
plan?
f) With whom can you identify yourself most: the disciples, the
sisters, the Jews, or none of these?
g) Have you ever experienced times when despair and hope, life
and death got confused in your thought? In times such as these, what kept up
your faith?
h) How does Lazarus rise to life today? How does resurrection
take place today, giving new life to the poor?
5.
A KEY TO THE READING
for those who wish to go deeper into the text.
The difference between the Gospel of John and that of the other
three Evangelists.
* A
comparison in order to understand the difference. Photo and X-Ray. You are in
wonder at the beauty of nature before a sunrise. You see and contemplate what
your eyes look at. This is the photo! Next to you, a friend says to you,
"Have you noticed how that small cloud changed into a deeper colour? Our
friendship is like this!" She saw more than that which the eyes were
looking at. This is the X-Ray. Love for and faith in one another have expanded
her vision. The Gospel of John is like this; it is the Gospel of the beloved
disciple. He teaches us how to read the other Gospels and to discover in them a
deeper dimension. The other three Gospels take photos of the miracles. John
takes an X-Ray and reveals his deep sense of the divine, that which only faith
can see by the working of the Spirit (John 14,26; 16,19).
* For instance, the synoptics mention twenty-eight different
miracles. John only mentions seven and he calls them "signs". Of the
seven, only three are found in the synoptics. The other four are exclusive to
John: the marriage feast in Cana (Jn 2,1-11), the healing of the paralytic at
the pool of Siloe (Jn 5,1-9), the healing of the man born blind (Jn 9,1-7) and
the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11,1-44). In the way he presents these
"signs", John does much more than simply telling the miracle. He
expands the facts so that they manifest Jesus as the revelation of the Father.
John’s Gospel tries to throw light on Jesus’ saying, "To have seen me is
to have seen the Father" (Jn 14,9). When we hold up to the light the X-Ray
of Jesus in John’s Gospel, we see the face of the Father.
Lazarus’ resurrection in the scheme of John’s Gospel
* The scheme of the seven signs:
1st Sign: the marriage feast of Cana (Jn 2,1-12)
2nd Sign: the healing of the nobleman’s son (Jn
4,46-54)
3rd Sign: the healing of the paralytic (Jn
5,1-18)
4th Sign: the multiplication of the bread (Jn
6,1-15)
5th Sign: Jesus walks on the water (Jn 6,16-21)
6th Sign: the healing of the blind man (Jn
9,1-40)
7th Sign: the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11,1-44)
The great sign is the HOUR of Jesus’ glorification.
* The seven signs are seven prefigurations of the glorification
of Jesus, which will take place at the Hour of his passion, death and
resurrection. Each signsymbolises one aspect of the meaning of the
passion, death and resurrection of Jesus for us. It is in "meditating day
and night" through the Lectio Divina or Prayerful
Reading that we shall discover this meaning, which will enrich our lives.
* The resurrection of Lazarus, the seventh sign, opens the way
for the coming of the Hour, the glorification, which takes place
through death (Jn 12,23; 17,1). One of the reasons why Jesus is condemned will
be the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11,50; 12,10). Thus, the seventh sign will
be in order to manifest the glory of God(Jn 11,4): "This
sickness will end not in death but in God’s glory and through it the Son of God
will be glorified". The disciples cannot understand this (Jn 11,6-8). But
even though they do not understand, they are ready to go and die with Jesus (Jn
11,16). Their understanding is slight, but their faith is right.
The meaning of Lazarus’ resurrection
* In Bethany:
Everything happens in Bethany, a small village at the foot of the Mount of
Olives, near Jerusalem. In the story, Lazarus’ family, where Jesus liked to go,
is the mirror of the community of the Beloved Disciple at the end of the first
century. Mirror also of our communities. Bethany means "House of the
Poor". Martha means "Lady" (coordinator); a lady who coordinates
the community. Lazarus means "God helps" the poor community, which
hoped for everything from God. Mary means "beloved of Yahweh", the
image of the community. The story of the resurrection of Lazarus wants to
communicate this certainty: Jesus brings life to the community of the poor; he
is the source of life for those who believe in him.
* Between life and death: Lazarus is dead. Many Jews are at Martha and Mary’s house to
comfort them for the loss of their brother. Those who represent the Old
Testament do not bring new life. They just console. Jesus is the one who brings
new life! In John’s Gospel, the Jews are also the enemies who wish to kill
Jesus (Jn 10,31). So we have on one side the threat of death against Jesus, and
on the other Jesus who comes to conquer death! It is in this context of
conflict between life and death that the seventh sign of the resurrection of
Lazarus, of victory over death, takes place.
* Two ways of believing in the resurrection: The central point is the contrast between
the old way of believing in the resurrection at the end of times, and the new
brought by Jesus, which until now conquers death. Martha, the Pharisees and the
majority of the people believed in the resurrection (Acts 23,6-10, Mk 12,18).
They believed, but did not reveal it, because their faith was only in the
resurrection at the end of times and not in the present resurrection of the
story, here and now. That resurrection did not renew life. A link was missing.
The new life of the resurrection comes with Jesus.
* Profession of faith in Jesus and profession of faith in life: Jesus challenges Martha to take that step.
It is not enough to believe in the resurrection at the end of times, we must
believe that Resurrection is already here today in the person of Jesus and in
those who believe in him. Death no longer holds power over these, because Jesus
is the "resurrection and the life". And, Martha, even though she has
not yet seen the concrete sign of the resurrection of Lazarus, professes her
faith: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the
one who was to come into this world".
* Human, very human, equal to us in all things: After her profession of faith, Martha calls
Mary, her sister. Mary goes to meet Jesus, who was still where Martha had met
him. She repeats Martha’s expression: "Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died" (Jn 11,21). Mary weeps, everyone weeps. Jesus
is moved. When the poor weep, Jesus is moved and weeps. When they see Jesus
weeping, the others say, "See how much he loved him!" This is the
characteristic of the community of the Beloved Disciple: love between Jesus and
the members of the community. Some do not believe and still doubt: "He
opened the eyes of the blind, could he not have prevented this man’s
death?" For the third time, Jesus is moved (Jn 11,33.35.38). Thus, John
stresses Jesus’ humanity against those who, at the end of the first century,
spiritualised the faith and denied the humanity of Jesus.
* For us, there only remains to remove the stone so that God may
give life back to us: Jesus orders the
stone to be removed. Martha reacts: "Lord, by now he will smell; this is
the fourth day!" Once more, Jesus challenges her recalling her faith in
the resurrection, here and now, as a sign of God’s glory: "Have I not told
you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" They removed the
stone. Before the open tomb and before the incredulity of those standing there,
Jesus turns to the Father. First, he thanks the Father, "Father, I thank
you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me". The
Father of Jesus is the same God who always hears the cry of the poor (Es 2,24;
3,7). Jesus knows the Father and trusts him. But now he asks for a sign for the
sake of those who stand there, so that they may believe that he, Jesus, was
sent by the Father. Then, he shouts aloud, "Lazarus, here. Come out!"
And Lazarus comes out. This is the victory of life over death, of faith over
unbelief! A farmer in the interior of Brazil commented, "It is up to us to
remove the stone! And so God resurrects the community. There are those who do
not want to remove the stone, and so in their community there is no life!"
6.
PSALM 16 (15)
God is our birthright forever
Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say, 'You are my Lord,
my happiness is in none of the sacred spirits of the earth.'
They only take advantage of all who love them.
People flock to their teeming idols.
Never shall I pour libations to them!
Never take their names on my lips.
Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say, 'You are my Lord,
my happiness is in none of the sacred spirits of the earth.'
They only take advantage of all who love them.
People flock to their teeming idols.
Never shall I pour libations to them!
Never take their names on my lips.
My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;
you, you alone, hold my lot secure.
The measuring-line marks out for me a delightful place,
my birthright is all I could wish.
you, you alone, hold my lot secure.
The measuring-line marks out for me a delightful place,
my birthright is all I could wish.
I bless Yahweh who is my counsellor,
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
So my heart rejoices, my soul delights,
my body too will rest secure,
for you will not abandon me to Sheol,
you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.
You will teach me the path of life,
unbounded joy in your presence,
at your right hand delight for ever.
my body too will rest secure,
for you will not abandon me to Sheol,
you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.
You will teach me the path of life,
unbounded joy in your presence,
at your right hand delight for ever.
7.
FINAL PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to
understand better the will of the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions
and grant us the strength to practice that which your Word has revealed to us.
May we, like Mary, your mother, not only listen to but also practise the Word.
You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever
and ever. Amen.
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