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Homily for Fifth Sunday of Lent

READ: (Ezek 37: 12-14; Rom 8: 8-11; Jn 11: 3-7, 17, 20-27, 33-45)

REFLECT:  Love, Trust and Obey the God of Life for eternal life…

Dear friends, we are in the fifth Sunday of lent. The liturgy of the day invites each one of us to understand and believe that Jesus has power over death and to grant us life eternal. Today, if we are given a choice between the two - life or death, we would certainly choose life than death. Because, life is a beginning and death is an end of life. it is a plain fact and we all of us know it.  But as Christians we are promised by God and are given the privilege to enjoy both life and death. Death is the most notable event in the history of humankind. But for us Christians it is a mere incident and part of daily events that occur in human life, it is not an end. Death takes us to another realm that’s grander and transcendent to participate in the glory of God. Such an outlook about death can only be appealing and pleasing to people who believe in Jesus who has power over life and death.

We hear in the synoptic Gospels, Jesus declaring that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mk 12:27; Mt 22:32; Lk 20:38). But we do not find similar verses in the gospel of John as God of the living; we could see the similar idea in the Gospel of John portrayed through the episode of raising Lazarus from death, that God is the God of life. Yes, God gives life, promotes and fosters life, provided we believe in him. So based on the readings of the day I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.     Love God:

Loving God is the prime act and concern of each one of us on earth. God manifests his love for us down through the ages in different person, places and times. That’s what we hear, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” (Jn 3:16). This is the greatest of all love that God could show to the humanity and the one who loves and believes in God obtains life eternal. Jesus himself teaches us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22: 36-40). So loving God is the greatest and significant command to all of us, it is the primary act and the very substance of life.

Pope Francis concerning the raising of Lazarus from death shares that “Jesus’ act of raising Lazarus shows the extent to which the power of God’s grace can go, and, thus, to the extent of our conversion and transformation. There is no limit to the divine mercy offered to everyone.”

Yes the limitless divine mercy of God arises for love of us. God raises on high those who love him more than all. The priority and primacy of our love need to be manifested to God in every word we utter and every act that we do. The gospel reading presents to us the love of Martha, Mary and Lazarus for Jesus and Jesus’ love for three of them. The following are the expressions of love we see:  “Lord the one whom you love is ill,” “Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus” and as Jesus weeps at the loss of Lazarus and in response to Jesus’ gesture, some of the Jews say “see how he loved him.”

Yes Jesus’ love is a tender love, constant love and a love that surpasses everything and surprises all. We see here the purity of love between Jesus and Lazarus and his sisters. It is the spirit of God that enables them to love Jesus. Perhaps, God loves us even if we don’t love him, because the nature of God is to love. But God loves the one who loves him in return. In the Second reading from St. Paul’s to Romans we hear that those who are in the flesh cannot please God but only those in spirit of God can please God. God raised Jesus from death because Jesus pleased God and the spirit of God enabled him to rise from death.

Similarly, we need to please God, so as to be raised from failures to victory, death to new life in Christ. One of the ways that we can please God is to love him with all that we have and all that we are. It is for the love of Jesus that God gives Jesus the power to raise Lazarus from death, when Jesus prays to God for the people to believe in Jesus as one sent by God. It is for the love of God’s glory and for the love of Lazarus, Jesus raises Lazarus from death. So we need to please God and love God all the more, leaving behind all the petty issues that makes us crave for love and recognition from one another. The moment we begin to love God, we obtain the power and grace to love others and oneself, because God’s love has such impact, effect and power to associate with others in love. So let us love God for God always loves us. Our love for God will definitely take us to the path of eternal life.

2.     Trust in God

We all know that trust is an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. We usually don’t trust all. We take time to choose and discern whether persons can be trusted. Trust is the expression that we show to the one whom we love the most. Our trust in the other manifests that we rely on another, feel safe and secure in their presence, have confidence that he or she will not hurt or hate. Therefore, trust becomes the foundation of any relationships and makes it solid and strong although one may be weak and feeble.

That’s what we see in the Gospel reading. Martha believed in Jesus that’s why she says, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Further her strong expression of faith we find in her own words, “Lord I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Yes, God would raise to great heights of life the one who trusts him more than all. If we could trust in one another, who could give us what we need or what we ask in terms of human relationships, what about God, who could give us everything, hundred or thousand times better than anyone in the world. Most of the times, there is a tendency in us to forget God or God’s presence, when the path of life that we walk is smooth, easy and happy. We recognize God or become aware of God’s presence when the path of life becomes rugged, hard and leads to misery. Let us remember when we trust God, he always does unimaginable and brings in lots of surprises.

That’s what we see in the Gospel reading. It is only for the trust that Martha placed in Jesus, much more than this, it is for the glory of God that Jesus raises Lazarus from death. That’s what we hear from Jesus, “this illness will not end in death, rather it is for God’s glory and the Son of God will be glorified through it.” Yes, the rising of Lazarus is done for the glory of God. So that people would believe in Jesus that he has the power over death and can give new life; so that people would believe when Jesus rises from death on Easter Sunday; so that people would believe as well in their own resurrection from death that God would offer to the one who believes. Therefore, the episode of Lazarus being raised from the dead could be considered as the pre-Easter experience that manifests Jesus’ resurrection on Easter day, leading to preparation of ourselves to the post-Easter experience that we all would obtain after our death from this earth to new life in heaven with God, participating in his glory as children.

Further, we also note in the Gospel that the disciple did not understand the Lazarus’ sleep that Jesus was talking about. That’s why they tell Jesus if he’s just sleeping, he will get up. We see the disciples slow to understanding and belief in Jesus. Perhaps they were in fear and not so happy that Jesus goes to Judea, where Jews wanted to stone at Jesus, where Jesus would breath his last. Although Thomas courageously invites them to join Jesus even if death they may have to experience, it becomes an opportunity for the disciple to believe in Jesus’ power over death. This becomes disciples’ grounding grip of faith to understand and believe in the resurrection of Jesus later.

Yes, the experience of resurrection can become a reality for the one who believes in God, Jesus and in his spirit. The first reading from prophet Ezekiel manifests the power of God over death. God assures the people of Israel that He has the power to raise them from the graves they were buried in.  Certainly, God would raise us from our graves where we are doomed or dumped. Apart from the grave of death which is later, our immediate or present grave could be our weaknesses, repeated falls and failures, addictions to various things, disbelief, waywardness and wavering mind from where we are not able to rise. Let us believe in the spirit of God in us for the spirit of God would raise us high, make us live and be alive in the world. For our life is an expression of belief and trust that we manifest in God and in his power.

3.     Obey God’s Word

Today’s Gospel passage is the seventh and the last miracle of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John. At the very start of the passage itself we are made aware that Lazarus is presented as a sick man, symbolically sickened in sin and in the process of dying. The sick man and the dead Lazarus would come out of sickness of sin and death by Jesus’ command raising Lazarus death to new life. We all know that the power of God’s word is experienced and seen in every word that Jesus spoke. It is to bring glory and honor to God that Jesus uses God’s word. The following three phrases in the Gospel in particular that show how powerful are God’s words.

Firstly, “Take away the stone.” we all know that stone that closed or covered the tomb of a dead man Lazarus. Just as Jesus commanded them to remove the stone that covered the tomb, so also Jesus calls us to remove the cover that we have been closed with.  This can be taken as something a pretentious mask that we all of us wear or are covered with duplicity of life or it could be a dark spot where we have been dumped or hidden ourselves. We need to come out of these pretentious masks, dark and hidden spots to see the light of Christ to obtain life. So for such a removal of pretentious masks, dark spots and hidden lives, we need to allow God take away the stone that we are covered, so that it becomes a way out for us to come to the light of life that God offers.

Secondly, “Come out Lazarus.” We all know that Jesus calls the dead Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Jesus’ voice or words were so powerful that even the lifeless spirit trembles or obeys God’s word and comes out. There have been many occasions where Jesus by his powerful words has calmed the stormy sea, cast out demons, healed people from various illness and sickness. Similarly, Jesus calls out the dead man Lazarus to come out, he comes out. It is essentially a call to listen to the voice of Jesus and be courageous enough to move out of the tomb. Today we all of us are attached or attracted to many things. It could be our worldly attitude, approaches, pleasures or pressures. The Lord commands us to just come out of it, so that we could obtain life from God. For such disposition, we need to listen to Jesus’ words and be courageous enough to walk away from things, persons, places we are tied to.

Thirdly, “Unbind him, let him go.” As dead man Lazarus was covered with grave clothes. Jesus commands them to untie, so that he can go freely. So it is a call to set free from all that binds or chains us. Today many of us are bound by various forces of evil that hold us back, make us struck without movement for dynamism of life. The binding forces could be our past prejudices about oneself and others, associations and habits that entangle us. We need to let go of these binding forces to enjoy the freedom that God gives us in life.

That’s what Pope Francis tells us that Jesus invites us, almost orders us, to come out of the tomb in which our sins have buried us. He calls us insistently to come out of the darkness of that prison in which we are enclosed, content with a false, selfish and mediocre life. “Come out” is an invitation to true freedom, to allow ourselves to be seized by these words of Jesus who repeats them to each one of us today. It is an invitation to let ourselves be freed from the “bandages”, from the bandages of pride. For pride makes of us slaves, slaves to ourselves, slaves to so many idols, so many things. Our resurrection begins here: when we decide to obey Jesus’ command by coming out into the light, into life; when the mask falls from our face; we are frequently masked by sin, the mask must fall off. We find again the courage of our original face, created in the image and likeness of God.”

Yes, we need to remove the stone of pretentious masks we are covered with; we need to come out of the dark or hidden spots that sickens and saddens life by listening to God’s voice; we need to unbind ourselves and be free from the binding forces that chain us in the stain of sin and death. So let us listen to the words and voice of God, obey God’s command to obtain eternal life.

RESPOND:

Do we love God above everything or do we stick on to the love manifested by the world?

Do we trust in God that he would take us to great heights of life more than anyone in the world?

Do we hear the voice of God, listen to him carefully and obey his orders for life eternal?

Let us love God in the limitless mercy he shows, trust God in goodness and greatness of life he offers and obey God in listening and following his orders to obtain life eternal. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus! 

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968