Fifth Sunday of Lent – The Raising of Lazarus
We all know how death can destroy plans and dreams. Today’s Gospel shows Jesus engaging with a group of people who are in crisis because of a death.
The Christian message is not merely about the belief in an after-life. It is part of a way of looking at who we are as human beings. We are made in the divine image and likeness. In the Sacrament of Baptism, our bodies became Temples of the Holy Spirit. In the Eucharist, we receive Christ’s Body into ours. And our bodies will be raised up in glory on the Last Day.
The Gospel story of the Raising of Lazarus is set against the backdrop of Jesus’ own imminent death, the many elements of it foreshadowing the Good News of His own Resurrection. Jesus shows His power over death so that, when He Himself dies, those who believe in Him might remember and take hope.
- Our Lenten journey this year has surely been one that calls for faith and hope. Things have been happening – or not happening – that none of us could have predicted or imagined.
- With Martha and Mary, we are called to profess our belief that Jesus is indeed the Resurrection and the Life. As part of our Baptismal responsibilities, we are called to open ourselves to His life-giving Spirit and make Him known and loved to others.
- Our Lenten journey draws us closer to the holiest of weeks in the Church calendar, when we celebrate the timeless and central mystery of our faith − Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. The celebration will be very different for all of us this year – for priests and parishioners. We can share the pain and sense of abandonment which Jesus showed. And yet, as people of hope and belief, we trust that the God who is love is in charge.