Fifth Sunday of Lent March 26, 2023
Readings: Ezekiel
37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45
When somebody who we love dies it feels like our own heart
has been truly broken, leaving us feeling as if life no longer has any kind of
meaning. It’s like life itself has come to an end for us too. At this point
when we are consumed by sadness and sorrow no words can bring us any sense of
consolation simply because we feel so broken inside.
However, when John describes the resurrection of Lazarus he
also intends to awaken our own faith, so that the resurrection is not something
that takes place at some time in the distant future, but is a living reality in
the here and now! God gives life now to those we commend to him, for in Him all
are truly alive, ‘For He is the God of the living not of the dead.’
Of all the miracles Jesus did, the raising of Lazarus ranks
as the most astonishing to the people of his time. Traditional Jewish belief
had it that the soul of a dead person somehow remains with the body for three
days. After three days the soul departs finally from the body never to return,
and that is when corruption sets in. When Martha objects to the opening of the
tomb and says, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four
days” (John 11:39), she is expressing the common view that this is now a
hopeless situation. Is that why Jesus delayed coming to the funeral, to let the
situation become “impossible” before acting on it?
In the entire episode, Jesus is the central figure, who
challenged each participant by clarifying the central issue: the real meaning
of death and life. In Bethany Jesus
works this miracle and reunites Lazarus with his family. In fact, the dead man
now alive hobbles out and come before them whom they have to free.
Paradoxically this miracle of Jesus hastens his own death since it becomes an
additional reason for Jewish leaders to destroy Jesus. Ironically therefore, the death of Jesus gave
true life to the world. Thus the whole story can be read as a parable of the
meaning of Jesus as Christ and Lord. The
raising of Lazarus is not just the resuscitation of a dead man but is a
powerful symbol of the new life that all of us can undergo when we submit to
Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Through our
Baptism we all die to sin to receive a new life of Christ.
Thoughts in two points: Firstly, it tells us that through
our living faith in Jesus, all our physical bodies will be raised in the final
resurrection. Secondly, especially now with the approaching of Easter Sunday,
we are called symbolically to resurrect ourselves from sin to grace by
partaking in the Sacrament of reconciliation. It is an invitation for us to march
forward faithfully in hope, knowing that those who believe in Jesus, will live
forever.
Can we see ourselves here in Lazarus? Lazarus, whose name, a
shortened form of Eleazar, means "God helps." He is from a town whose
name, Bethany, means "House of Affliction." So God helps one who
suffers from affliction. John takes a friendship between Jesus and this family
and an event that has the quality of reminiscence and shapes it to his
theological purpose (Brown, 431). Lazarus is the "one Jesus loves";
he represents all those whom Jesus loves, which includes you and me and all
humankind. This story, then, is the story of our coming to life from death in
this present moment, not just in a future event.
Do you see death around you? At the moment the political situation and the height of division among the haves and have nots. Our society is wounded and caught in the web of violence and communalism, politicization of religion, electoral authoritarianism, crony capitalism, a majoritarian State that systematically denigrates and demonizes the minorities with a divisive and violent agenda, omnipresent corruption, rural under-development, and injustice perpetrated against Dalits, tribals, and minorities. We discover our Christian calling in response to these turbulent surroundings. Death is everywhere. Can we hear the voice of Jesus filling us with hope? “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.”
Happy Sunday
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