Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Optional Memorial of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, bishop
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo
 
Biographical information for St. Toribio de Mogrovejo
 
During the Fifth Week of Lent (especially in cycles B and C when the Gospel of Lazarus is not read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent) optional Mass Texts are offered.

“Susanna and the Elders” (detail)
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647

 
Readings for Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,
who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,
the daughter of Hilkiah;
her pious parents had trained their daughter
according to the law of Moses.
Joakim was very rich;
he had a garden near his house,
and the Jews had recourse to him often
because he was the most respected of them all.
 
That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,
of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon:
from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."
These men, to whom all brought their cases,
frequented the house of Joakim.
When the people left at noon,
Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk.
When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk,
they began to lust for her.
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.
 
One day, while they were waiting for the right moment,
she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only.
She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.
Nobody else was there except the two elders,
who had hidden themselves and were watching her.
"Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids,
"and shut the garden doors while I bathe."
 
As soon as the maids had left,
the two old men got up and hurried to her.
"Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us;
give in to our desire, and lie with us.
If you refuse, we will testify against you
that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."
 
"I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned.
"If I yield, it will be my death;
if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.
Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt
than to sin before the Lord."
Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,
as one of them ran to open the garden doors.
When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden,
they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.
At the accusations by the old men,
the servants felt very much ashamed,
for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.
 
When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day,
the two wicked elders also came,
fully determined to put Susanna to death.
Before all the people they ordered:
"Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
the wife of Joakim."
When she was sent for,
she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.
All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.
 
In the midst of the people the two elders rose up
and laid their hands on her head.
Through tears she looked up to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.
The elders made this accusation:
"As we were walking in the garden alone,
this woman entered with two girls
and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.
A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.
When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime,
we ran toward them.
We saw them lying together,
but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we;
he opened the doors and ran off.
Then we seized her and asked who the young man was,
but she refused to tell us.
We testify to this."
The assembly believed them,
since they were elders and judges of the people,
and they condemned her to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him,
"Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you,
lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
The story of Susanna and the Elders is one of three stories that now exist only in Greek. Neither this story nor the stories of "Bel and the Dragon" (Daniel 14) and "The prayer of Azariah" (Daniel 3:24ff) are included in the Hebrew canon but have always been included by the Church.
 
This story is one of justice and the application of Mosaic Law.  Mosaic Law states in Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:5 that two witnesses must corroborate testimony against one charged. The innocent Susanna is rescued by the hero of the book, Daniel. In demanding the law be followed scrupulously, he rescues Susanna and expunges wickedness.
 
Within the story we find Susanna and her family likely intended to represent Israel. The two elders may have some link with the two false prophets who committed adultery and who are denounced in Jeremiah 29:21-23. The point is clearly made that what leads them astray is lust. A work attributed to St John Chrysostom comments on this passage: "If no passion undermines and corrupts it, the soul will remain clean and unstained. But if he does not guard his eyes and looks at whatever he wants around him in the world, […] the poison of desire will enter through a man's sight and strike to the bottom of his heart; and he who was once a sober and modest man will be overwhelmed by a whirlwind of passions" (De Susanna, col. 591).[4]
 
-------------------------------------------
OR
Shorter Form: Daniel 13:41c-62
 
The assembly condemned Susanna to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him,
"What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah,
beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,"
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 13:41c-62
 
The shorter version omits all that led up to the trial and conviction of Susanna. In doing so, this shorter form requires the reader to infer, based upon the final verdict, the injustice being plotted by the wicked elders. Daniel, now a judge raised up by God to protect the innocent, not a seer or interpreter of dreams, intervenes to rescue Susanna and demonstrate the justice of Mosaic Law.
 
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar songs in the entire psalter. “God's loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Psalm 23:1-4) and a host's generosity toward a guest (Psalm 23:5-6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; Jeremiah 31:10).”[5] While the theme of shepherd is mentioned in the first strophe, the psalm really speaks to the peace given to those who follow the Lord and place their trust in him, even into the “dark valley.”
 
The reference in the third strophe above: “'You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes' occurs in an exodus context in Psalm 78:19. As my enemies watch: my enemies see that I am God's friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Psalm 104:15; Matthew 26:7; Luke 7:37, 46; John 12:2).” [6]
 
CCC: Ps 23:5 1293
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 8:1-11
 
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 8:1-11
 
John’s Gospel places Jesus once more in the temple precincts. The story of Jesus and the adulterous woman constitutes another example of how the Jewish leadership attempts to trap Jesus with a difficult legal problem.  They have no doubt heard the Lord’s teaching about loving one another and believe that he will not condemn the adulterous woman and thereby give them reason to call him “blasphemer.” As a side note, most Scripture scholars believe this passage was not originally in St. John’s Gospel but was borrowed from St. Luke.  Regardless, from a very early period it has been considered sacred in the current context.
 
It is not completely clear what Jesus is being asked to judge.  The law concerning adultery by a betrothed virgin was stoning (see Deuteronomy 22:23-24).  However, the law concerning married women was simply death (see Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) and was generally carried out by strangulation.
 
In response, rather than debating the law, he simply begins writing in the dust. Tradition tells us that what he wrote with his finger was a list of the sins of those gathered to stone the woman caught in adultery. He then asked that the one without sin should cast the first stone. (The first stones were to be thrown by the witnesses.)
 
In either case, Jesus should not have been able to commute her sentence without going against the law so he uses his knowledge of people’s hearts to have the charges withdrawn.  As we saw in the first reading, two accusers are required to condemn a person under the law.
 
The story continues that after his second set of writings in the dust, the group gathered to stone the woman; “went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” Even, or more importantly, first the elders left. No one was without sin. In the closing statement Jesus does something unexpected. He does not judge the woman either; rather he tells her to go and sin no more, emphasizing that Jesus came into the world not to judge it but through his presence to save it.
 
CCC: Jn 8:2 583
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
With less than two weeks until we celebrate the great high feast of the Lord’s resurrection, now deep within our desert journey, we are reminded of our responsibility to testify truthfully to the light and to turn from darkness.  The story from Daniel of the evil elders, men of authority, who allowed their base instincts to rule them, should be example enough.  The warning was clear, when we give in to the beast that howls in the night our only reward will be death, if not of body – of spirit.
 
Our testimony – our words, our actions and our thoughts – must testify to the light of the world.  It is a constant struggle because just as the elders were seduced by the spirit of the evil one first to lust and then to dishonor themselves further in lies, so that same spirit of evil exists today begging us to give in to invitations to abandon Our Lord’s path.  Many have been lured away with promises of pleasure and gain at the expense of the poor and the weak.  They call out to the righteous, “Come, enjoy, it is your right to have all that you can take.”  The seduction is smooth and cunning.  Its logic twists and turns, it makes sense of the senseless acts of greed and overindulgence.
 
We are called by the Gospel to be children of the light.  That means that all our actions and our thoughts should be able to be submitted to the light of the world without blemish or shame.  And when those times occur as they do in the best of us, we must take those stains and offer them to the one whose blood cleansed the world in the sacrament of the confessional.
 
Our Lenten journey flows toward Easter quickly. Let us pledge that when we stand in the new light of Easter, we will be children of the light, indeed.
 
Pax

---

[1] The picture is “Susanna and the Elders” (detail) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible, Major Prophets (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002), 873.
[5] NAB footnote on Psalm 23.
[6] Ibid.

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Catechism Links[1]
CCC 992-996: the progressive revelation of resurrection
CCC 549, 640, 646: raising a messianic sign prefiguring Christ’s Resurrection
CCC 2603-2604: the prayer of Jesus before the raising of Lazarus
CCC 1002-1004: our present experience of resurrection
CCC 1402-1405, 1524: the Eucharist and the Resurrection
CCC 989-990: the resurrection of the body

“The Raising of Lazarus”
by Caravaggio 1608-09

Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading I: Ezekiel 37:12-14
 
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.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ez 37:12-14
 
The prophet Ezekiel, in this part of his oracle, was speaking metaphorically of the Hebrew people in exile being returned to the land God had promised. In this mystic vision he sees this event as a type of resurrection, the gift of new life. Within the context of Christ’s revelation the fuller truth is revealed as Christ comes in the new resurrection.
 
"The image of the resurrection would not have been used to describe the restoration of the people of Israel if the future resurrection of the dead had not been foreseen, because no one can be led to draw a conclusion from an idea that has no basis in reality." (St. Jerome, Commentarii in Ezechielem, 27, 1ff.)
 
CCC: Ez 37:1-14 715; Ez 37:10 703
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
 
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.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
 
Psalm 130 is a song of lament. The psalmist cries out to God to hear the voice of the one who calls, and to forgive the sins they have committed. The third verse, which is also the refrain, sums up the lament saying that if there is no forgiveness all will fall because all have sinned.
 
CCC: Ps 130:3 370
-------------------------------------------
Reading 2: Romans 8:8-11
 
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.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 8:8-11
 
St. Paul focuses on what disciples of Christ must do to please God, which must come through the spirit, not the flesh. Paul makes it clear that the Spirit is "of God," for the new principle of Christian vitality is derived from the same source as all the other divine manifestations of salvation. The baptized Christian is not only "in the Spirit," but the Spirit is now said to dwell in him. Still, even with baptismal grace, the Christian must chose which path to follow – spirit or flesh.
 
"St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Christian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him. If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the wrath of God, rejection of his laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our Guest. And he adds: ‘But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking? With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses Him, one vies for honor with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death’" ("Hom. On Rom.", 13)." [5]
 
CCC: Rom 8:2 782; Rom 8:3 602; Rom 8:9 693; Rom 8:11 632, 658, 693, 695, 989, 990
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 11:1-45
 
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.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 11:1-45
 
We join Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem recounted in St. John’s Gospel. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection is part of what is known as the "seventh sign.” The Jerome Biblical Commentary does a nice job of summarizing the purpose: “In the narration of this miracle Jn gives at one and the same time a supreme proof of the Lord's life-giving power and a visualization of the doctrine contained in the conversation of vv. 23-27. The miracle literally fulfills the words of Jesus in 5:28; it is a sign, therefore, both of the final resurrection and of the rising from sin to grace that takes place in the soul of the believer.” [6]
 
Within the story we see the very human emotions of Jesus. They range from the all too human grief and fear as he expresses his concern at what this revelatory event has cost his close friends, Martha and Mary, as they see their brother die, to confidence in his relationship with the Father at the end of the story. This exchange of fear for faith, seen in the witnesses, is the same conversion the Gospel attempts to initiate in the Christian faithful in response to these events.
 
CCC: Jn 11 994; Jn 11:24 993, 1001; Jn 11:25 994; Jn 11:27 439; Jn 11:28 581; Jn 11:34 472; Jn 11:39 627; Jn 11:41-42 2604; Jn 11:44 640
-------------------------------------------
OR
Shorter Form: John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
 
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.
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Commentary on Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
 
Perhaps the most significant omission from the Lazarus story in this shortened form is the subtext around the situation in Bethany, and the danger Jesus walked into. Also left out was the disciples' reluctance to take that path, knowing that the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem was plotting against him. We see that clearly when St. Thomas says, as they are departing “Let us also go to die with him.”    The shorter form removes the story from the context of the journey toward the cross and establishes it as a proof of the identity of Jesus.
 
CCC: Jn 11 994; Jn 11:24 993, 1001; Jn 11:25 994; Jn 11:27 439; Jn 11:34 472; Jn 11:39 627; Jn 11:41-42 2604; Jn 11:44 640
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Reflection:
 
Resurrection is the theme of Sacred Scripture for this our Fifth Sunday of Lent.  It is a term we Christians use without much pause especially when speaking of Jesus, the one who leads us from death to life. He is the one who calls us to follow him, returning to life when our mortal bodies fail as they all must.  The simple definition from the dictionary says that “Resurrection is the act of rising from the dead or returning to life.”  This is something miraculous, yet we followers of Jesus proclaim it in our creed and speak of it as calmly as if we were expecting to cross a street when our lives end.
 
Ezekiel speaks about resurrection in the first reading.  To his original audience he was speaking in metaphor about the people of Israel who had been scattered in the Babylonian exile, returning to the land God had promised.  In a sense, the prophet spoke about the resurrection of hope as a people: a people who had died in the spirit and were brought back to faith in God as the Lord restored their homes, their culture, and their faith.
 
This same understanding of a spiritual as well as a physical resurrection is alluded to in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, our second reading.  Here he speaks of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, that gives life to our mortal bodies, and will allow them to live again as a consequence of Christ’s resurrection.
 
As if to renew our own wonder at the miracle promised by the Lord when he invited us to share in his own resurrection from the dead, we are presented with the wonderful story of the resurrection of Lazarus from St. John’s Gospel.
 
In this story we find ourselves most easily standing in the place of Martha and Mary.  We have met these sisters before in St. Luke’s Gospel.  Martha is the outspoken one.  The practical tasks of life fall to her.  She must concern herself with daily chores and keeping the home, a home she shares with her sister and brother.  She is the one responsible for running it smoothly.  She is fearless and completely un-intimidated by the holiness of Jesus.  Mary, her sister, is the less intense but more spiritual of the two.  We remember her sitting at the feet of Jesus, and we are reminded by St. John that it was Mary who anointed him with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair.  We can all empathize with the sisters as their brother Lazarus falls ill. 
 
They send for Jesus, having faith that the great healer will be able to save their brother.  We are surprised at Jesus' response when he receives this message.  He does not rush back to save Lazarus, rather he tells his disciples (who must have been relieved because of the danger they would face if they went back to that area) that Lazarus will not die, but that this whole incident is so that God’s Son might be revealed more clearly. What a curious response.
 
Then, he delayed two full days before starting off for Bethany.  The disciples even tried to talk him out of going, fearing the danger they faced.  Our patron, St. Thomas, even said to the other disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”
 
While he was still some way off, Martha heard that he was coming and went to meet him.  We are given a glorious exchange between the outspoken Martha and our Savior.  Martha takes him to task. “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.”  Knowing Martha, we can almost hear the accusation in her words. She is not calm in her grief for her brother, but she still has faith in Jesus.
 
The Lord tries to tell Martha what he is about to do. But she does not understand, instead thinking he is speaking about the resurrection on the last day. (Martha’s understanding of resurrection is likely the same as the Pharisaic definition, that the righteous dead would be raised at the end of time.  The Lord, after all, had not demonstrated the truth by his own resurrection at this point.) 
 
Finally, he corrects Martha and puts the question directly to 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?”  We can see the light of understanding come into her eyes as she responds: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
 
As the totality of the truth is revealed, she sends for her sister. The emotional Mary comes to the Lord in inconsolable grief, weeping.  The Lord sees the great sorrow this miraculous proof of his identity will have caused his friends, and he becomes very upset.  The famous, shortest verse in Scripture is uttered: “Jesus wept.”  He did not weep for Lazarus.  He was going to bring Lazarus back.  He wept for those who were weeping, those he loved, Martha and Mary.  They did not have enough faith to know what was possible in Christ.  In that one moment he wept for all who grieve their own loss, forgetting the joy of those who return to the Father in death.  He wept for all of us, for we must all endure the suffering of loss before we see what is promised by the Lord.
 
Immediately he asks to be taken to the tomb where they have laid Lazarus.  Martha still does not understand what he is about to do.  She tries to prevent him from opening the tomb, thinking he simply wants to see his friend’s body once more.  She warns him that it will smell.  He’s been dead for four days (also symbolic – Hebrew tradition stated that the spirit remained in the vicinity of the body for three days and then departed).
 
We are told that at this point Jesus prayed aloud, for our sake.  He did this so we might understand the power of prayer and know that it was not Jesus who did this thing, but God the Father.  Then he called to Lazarus: “Lazarus, come out.”  And the one who was dead (the words from Scripture are “the dead man”) came back to Jesus who commanded that the bonds of death be untied: “Untie him and let him go.”
 
It is said in Scripture that after this event, many of those who saw this event came to believe.  We must ask ourselves if we believe.  We, who assume the roles of Martha and Mary, are asked, as Martha was: “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?”  What is our response?  When we talk about the resurrection do we speak with the awe and wonder that should accompany the greatest gift ever offered?
 
We are entering into the final days of our Lenten journey.  The high Holy Days are rushing upon us and we are challenged again. “Do you believe this?”  Our actions must reflect our words, and the love of Christ must flow from us as it flowed to Lazarus, whom Jesus called back to himself as he calls us.
 
Pax
 
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “The Raising of Lazarus” by Caravaggio 1608-09.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible, Letters of St. Paul (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003), 100.
[6] Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968), 63:123, p.446.

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

During the Fourth Week of Lent (especially in cycles B and C when the Gospel of the man born blind is not read on the Fourth Sunday of Lent) optional Mass Texts are offered.

“The Institution of the Eucharist”
by Federico Fiori Barocci, 1608

Readings for Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 11:18-20
 
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.
Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
"Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more."
But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!
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Commentary on Jer 11:18-20
 
In this selection we hear the prophet Jeremiah reflecting on a plot against his life. This first reflection, called a “confession,” borrowing from St. Augustine’s titled work, it is the first of seven such passages. This plot, according to later Scripture passages (Jeremiah 12;6ff), may have been initiated by his own family. Other scholars contend that it was earlier in his career when the priests of Anathoth opposed him because his preaching provided backing for Josiah's religious reform. He speaks prophetically of the event using language similar to Job 21:7-13 and Psalms 37, 49, 73 and provides images that will later associate this passage with the plots against Jesus in his last days.
 
CCC: Jer 11:19 608
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12
 
R. (2a) O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
 
O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion's prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
 
Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
 
A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
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Commentary on Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12
 
Psalm 7 is a lament. In the verses used here, we find the psalmist being persecuted. He is calling on the Lord for protection and salvation. As in many cases, the singer sees the Lord as armor, a shield against those who would do him harm, the wicked.
 
--------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 7:40-53
 
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
"This is truly the Prophet."
Others said, "This is the Christ."
But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man."
So the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed."
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
"Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?"
They answered and said to him,
"You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."
Then each went to his own house.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 7:40-53
 
The irony of St. John’s Gospel shows in the first part of this passage. The crowd is pointing out facts about the Davidic Messiah, specifically where he was prophesied to be born. They recite the prophecy: the Messiah will be from the line of King David (cf 2 Samuel 7:12-14; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5; and Ezekiel 34:23-24), and Jesus is. He will be born in Bethlehem (cf Micah 5:2), as Jesus was. Not knowing the truth about these facts the crowd is not wholly convinced.
 
In the second part St. John describes the deliberations in the Sanhedrin. Why had the guards not arrested Jesus? Based upon the description, we can infer that those present actually prevented the guards from taking that step. The religious leaders cynically say that “this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” After more discussion, they are still not ready to act, and return to their homes; action for the moment is delayed.
 
CCC: Jn 7:48-49 575; Jn 7:49 588; Jn 7:50 595; Jn 7:52 574
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
In the Gospel from John on Friday we heard the first echoes of the coming passion of Christ.  Today we hear it again in a resounding way.  First, we find Jeremiah speaking of the plot against himself, letting us know that this is not the first time God’s people have rejected what God needed them to hear.  The author also speaks of God’s faithfulness to Jeremiah and how the prophet trusts him to take care of these obstacles. 
 
The psalmist translates the prophet’s call into a song, full of hope and trust in God.  As is usual this common call puts us in the place of Jeremiah.  In our lives there are always pitfalls along the way.  Sometimes they are of our own making, sometimes placed there by others.  In some cases, in spite of our constant prayer, “deliver us from temptation,” we fall into those snares and need the psalmist’s assurances: “O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me” (Psalm 7:2).
 
The Gospel describes how the plot against Jesus thickens.  The scribes and the Pharisees are very upset because the genuine voice of God is hard to disguise, and that voice was not saying what they needed it to say.
 
It is clear they do not know the particulars of his background, or the Lord’s identity would have been immediately seen.  They did not know he was of the line of David, the ancestry predicted for the Messiah.  They did not know he had been born in Bethlehem, the prophesied place of birth for the Messiah.  They had not heard his claim that he had come to fulfill all that had been written in the Law and Prophets, redefining key terms (expanding the love of God from just the house of Israel to encompass all peoples and nations).  Had they understood the prophet Isaiah, they would have seen that not only did he meet the prophetic standard for the physical arrival of the Messiah, but he also fulfilled the path to be followed. They would see this too late.
 
If this were an adventure novel, right now we readers would be saying to Jesus: “Look out, it’s a trap!  Don’t go there (to Jerusalem) where they can get you.  Run – go back to Galilee where it’s safe for you.”  But as we know, he sees this trap and knows the fate that awaits him, and because of his great love for us – he walks knowingly in.
 
This is our great example of what the Lord tells us about love for one another.  Never does he express hate or even anger about the people who plot his arrest and death.  How can he? They are his creation as well.  But we must see his face in those who plot against us. We, like Jesus must trust in our Heavenly Father to give us strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril, and peace in all we do. 
 
Pax
 
Stations of the Cross

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[1] The picture is “The Institution of the Eucharist” by Federico Fiori Barocci, 1608.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.