Fifth Sunday of Lent

Note: Alternate readings used for Year A Scrutinies are found below in a second section below.
 
Catechism Links [1]
 
CCC 606-607: Christ’s life an offering to the Father
CCC 542, 607: Christ’s desire to give his life for our salvation
CCC 690, 729: the Spirit glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father
CCC 662, 2853: Christ ascended in glory as our victory
CCC 56-64, 220, 715, 762, 1965: the history of the covenants

“Salvator Mundi”
by Leonardo da Vinci, c.1500

 
(Year B Readings)
 
Readings for Fifth Sunday of Lent [2] 

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3] 

Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 31:31-34
 
The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they broke my covenant,
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.
I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
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Commentary on Jer 31:31-34
 
This passage is called by Scripture scholars “Jeremiah’s Spiritual Testament." [5] In his announcement of the “new covenant,” he condenses his entire message into these few words. While in his day, he is speaking to the returning exiles about the re-establishment of the relationship with God, it can also be seen as predictive of the messianic covenant. This is especially clear given the language in the final verse regarding forgiveness: “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.”
 
CCC: Jer 31 1611; Jer 31:31-34 64, 715, 762, 1965; Jer 31:33 368, 580, 2713
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15
 
R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
 
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
 
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
 
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
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Commentary on Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15
 
Psalm 51 provides a call to repentance. It is a lament and the most famous of the seven penitential psalms. “The Psalmist’s plea extends beyond a desire for a physical cure (that cure is a sign that his sin has been forgiven). He begs God to renew his inner being by an act of creation (v. 10), which will allow him to dwell in the presence of God and share in the life that he possesses and bestows (‘thy holy Spirit’, thy deliverance’; v. 11-12). The psalmist speaks of the fidelity to God which the prophets have said will appear in the New Covenant that God will make with his people (cf. Jeremiah 24:7, 31:33; Ezekiel 36: 25-27).” [6]
 
CCC: Ps 51:12 298, 431
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Reading II: Hebrews 5:7-9  
 
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
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Commentary on Heb 5:7-9  
 
This is an important passage from the standpoint of understanding the call to ministry, especially the priesthood. In an extended form, it is frequently used at ordinations and provides an understanding of what it means to be called to a vocation. This selection continues with Christ’s own call. The author does an excellent job of capturing Christ’s humanity in this description.

"To emphasize the force of Christ's prayer, the writer adds, 'with loud cries and tears'. According to rabbinical teaching, there were three degrees of prayer, each stronger than the last--supplications, cries and tears. Christian tradition has always been touched by the humanity of the Redeemer as revealed in the way he prays. 'Everything that is being said here may be summed up in one word--humility: that stops the mouths of those who blaspheme against Christ's divinity saying that it is completely inappropriate for a God to act like this. For, on the contrary, the Godhead laid it down that [Christ's] human nature should suffer all this, in order to show us the extreme to which he truly became incarnate and assumed a human nature, and to show us that the mystery of salvation was accomplished in a real and not an apparent or fictitious manner' (Theodoret of Cyrus, 'lnterpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad loc.')." [7]
 
CCC: Heb 5:1-10 1564; Heb 5:7-9 609, 2606; Heb 5:7-8 612, 1009; Heb 5:7 2741; Heb 5:8 2825; Heb 5:9 617
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Gospel: John 12:20-33
 
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.
"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour'?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it and will glorify it again."
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered and said,
"This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself."
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
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Commentary on Jn 12:20-33
 
St. John leads us to understand how Jesus’ mission expands from one directed to Israel to include all peoples of all nations. It begins with the Greeks asking for Jesus (in this case “Greeks” likely means Greek speaking Gentiles). It is significant that this request is made of Philip (and of Andrew) the only two of the Twelve bearing Greek names.

Jesus' response to this request “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” implies that only after his crucifixion could the Gospel encompass everyone. He then goes on to educate his disciples about the mystery of his atoning death. He uses the metaphor of the grain of wheat found in the other Gospel traditions (see Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24; Matthew 10:39; Luke 17:33). When the evangelist follows this with the statement that “Who ever loves his life loses it…” it is understood that the reference is to body and spirit since the Hebrews at this point did not recognize the separation of the two. The statement leads into and exhortation that those who follow Jesus (“whoever serves me”) must accept the same defamatory treatment.

The Lord’s lament (“I am troubled…”) seems to interrupt this discourse; however, the narrative comes closest to the agony in the garden found in the other Gospels. Jesus, faced with a cruel and imminent death feels the anguish of his human fear. His petition (“Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?”), followed by acceptance (in this instance “But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour”) echoes the sentiment of complete acceptance of the Father’s will and justifies the Lord’s request that he be glorified by Him.
The discourse concludes with God’s answer to Jesus’ plea, understood only by Jesus. Those who heard and did not understand are informed by Jesus that the events that will unfold will open the gates to the judgment seat of God. Again the use of the term “lifted up” conveys the dual meaning of lifted up upon the cross in the crucifixion and raised to glory in the resurrection.
 
CCC: Jn 12:24 2731; Jn 12:27 363, 607; Jn 12:28 434; Jn 12:31 550, 2853; Jn 12:32 542, 662, 786, 1428, 2795
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Reflection:
 
We enter the fifth week of Lent and the culmination of our fast is nearly in sight.  Ironically the events taking place in the Gospel story from St. John happen during the middle of next week – Holy Week.  The passage takes us through a flurry of concepts and emotions.  He speaks first of the universal mission of the Messiah.  When the gentiles approach Philip and he and Andrew in turn approach Jesus (without the Gentiles present – symbolically indicating that it will only be after Jesus’ death that the mission is expanded to include all humankind) the Lord launches into his beautiful discourse about the necessity for his passion and death, equating it to the grain of wheat which falls to earth and springs up to new life.
 
He strengthens this metaphor which is shared in all of the Gospel accounts, telling his disciples that “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.  The Father will honor whoever serves me.”  He lets them know that the road will not be an easy one.  But the effort they employ will be rewarded by the Father.
 
We are then provided with Jesus’ passionate plea to His Father.  He clearly sees the road ahead and knows what is coming.  He would be less than human if the prospect of his passion and death did not cause him to ask that it be taken from him (although in St. John’s account this request is couched in terms indicating the Lord has already accepted the necessity of the events that follow).  Jesus’ acceptance does not reduce the emotion we feel in the Lord.
 
Finally, his acceptance and prayer complete, the Father answers his Son – He, the Lord God, is pleased with his Son’s fidelity and bravery in the face of the passion to come.  He has loved him and now will glorify him further; giving to him all the praise and glory that heaven can offer.
 
The passage concludes with Jesus saying it is time.  All that he came to do, all the seeds he had come to plant, have been planted.  The earth has been plowed; now must he become wheat and die so that all his creation might have access to God’s saving power.
 
For us this story is almost premature.  We still have a week to go before we plunge into the events of Holy Week and see that dreadful story once more unfold before the Messiah.  This foretaste of what is to come drives us to accelerate our own preparations, inwardly readying our selves to accept the great sacrifice and rejoice in its offer of eternal life.
 
We pray for our own resolve this week.  May we for whom such a wondrous sacrifice was made, do as the Lord asked his friends, and follow his example, and bring God’s peace to all those we meet.
 
Pax
 
Stations of the Cross
In other years on March 17^th: Optional Memorial for St. Patrick, Bishop
 
________________________________________
Fifth Sunday of Lent (For use with RCIA)
 
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
 
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (A)
 
Readings and Commentary:
 
Reading 1: 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.
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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
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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.
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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 second 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
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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.
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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)." [8]
 
CCC: Rom 8:2 782; Rom 8:3 602; Rom 8:9 693; Rom 8:11 632, 658, 693, 695, 989, 990
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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.
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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.” [9]
 
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
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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:
 
The theme of Sacred Scripture for this our Fifth Sunday of Lent is resurrection.  It is a term Christians use without much pause especially when speaking of Jesus who was the one who leads us from death to life and 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 ended.
 
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 who had died in the spirit were brought back to faith in God as he restored their homes, their culture, and their faith.
 
This same understanding of a spiritual as well as a physical revival 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.  To her falls the practical tasks of life.  She must concern herself with daily chores and keeping the home she shares with her sister and brother running smoothly.  She is fearless and completely unintimidated 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 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 there) that Lazarus will not die but that this whole incident is so that God’s Son might be revealed more clearly.
 
We are told he delayed two full days before starting off for Bethany.  The disciples even tried to talk him out of it fearing the danger they faced.  Our patron, St. Thomas, even said “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 still has faith in Jesus.
 
The Lord tries to explain what he is about to do but she does not understand thinking he is speaking about the resurrection on the last day.  Finally, he corrects her 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.”
 
Finally understanding, she sends for her sister, the emotional one who comes to the Lord in inconsolable grief, weeping.  The Lord sees the great sorrow this great proof of his identity has 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 that we have to 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 him.  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, that 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 are: “the dead man came out.”) 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 used is “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci, c.1500.
[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] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, p.327, 89.
[6] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp. 186-87.
[7] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 182.
[8] The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 100.
[9] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 63:123, p. 446.