First Reading – Ezekiel 37: 12 – 14;
Second Reading – Romans 8: 8 – 11;
Gospel – John 11: 1 – 45
The theme of today’s liturgy is resurrection and the life. The three readings of today fit beautifully together as they tell us of death yielding to a new way of life.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus is the Resurrection and life. Those who believe in him will never die but will live with him forever. Today we have story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead to bring him back to life symbolising that Jesus himself is the resurrection and life. This miracle leads us to believe in resurrection and new life which exists in Jesus through the Holy Spirit. With this miracle the church invites us to reflect on the significance of our Baptism which leads us into the life of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit we received at Baptism is a transforming gift. The spirit of Christ will strengthen us to bring those baptised together to share in the resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus from death has the underlying theme is life and death and new life. The story opens with the announcement that Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, is ill. Jesus’ immediate response is to say that this illness will not result in the death of Lazarus but that it will be an occasion for God’s glory to reveal to all and for glory to come to his Son also. And, though we are told he had a deep love for Lazarus and his sisters, he remained in the same place for another two days. Eventually he announced to his disciples that they were going to Judea, the province where Jerusalem and Bethany, the home of Lazarus, were situated. The disciples immediately show their concern towards Jesus as the place was dangerous for him and people already tried to stone him. Jesus’ response is that of courage saying that the daytime is the time for getting things done; when the night comes nothing can be done. By the time Jesus arrived outside Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. In those days, the common Jewish belief was that when a person died, his soul remained near the body for three days before moving on to the spiritual world or the world of the dead. The mourning rites usually lasted seven days from the time of death. When the news reached the house that Jesus was entering the village, Martha rushed out to meet him while Mary remained in the house. Fully aware of the healing powers Jesus she tells him that if he was there her brother would not have died yet she tells him that she has her trust in God and in Jesus. This meeting gives us the beautiful dialogue between the two persons where Jesus asserts with those unforgettable words: “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”. This is the core statement of the whole story and is one of the seven great ‘I AM’ statements in John’s gospel. Next we have the encounter of Jesus with Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. She rushes out of the house to Jesus the moment she hears of his arrival from Martha and when she sees him, her response is like that of her sister: “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” We now see the very human side of Jesus. Perhaps he is Messiah and Lord of life but he is surrounded by his two friends, Martha and Mary, and all their friends plunged into grief at the death of Lazarus, probably a relatively young person. We know already that Jesus was very attached to this family. It is likely that this family provided a place of refuge when things really got too ‘hot’ for Jesus in nearby Jerusalem. When he sees them all weeping he himself was touched and was deeply moved and he too weeps with them. The language implies that Jesus, like the others, was sobbing deeply. This brings a reaction from people to say how much he loved Lazarus. There were the inevitable cynics who easily remark as to why he did not work a miracle to keep him alive. Soon after this Jesus moved to the tomb and asked that the stone be taken away from the entrance of the cave. Normally the entrance of the graves was covered with a large stone. That certainly got Martha’s attention. She must have suspected that Jesus wanted to look at the features of His departed friend. She warns him that the body has been there for four days and must have decayed. But Jesus tells her that she would indeed see the glory of God. In the entire episode, Jesus is the central figure, who challenged each participant by clarifying the central issue: the real meaning of death and life. In Bethany Jesus works this miracle and reunites Lazarus with his family. In fact the dead man now alive hobbles out and come before them whom they have to free. Paradoxically this miracle of Jesus hastens his own death since it becomes an additional reason for Jewish leaders to
destroy Jesus. Ironically therefore, the death of Jesus gave true life to the world. Thus the whole story can be read as a parable of the meaning of Jesus as Christ and Lord. The raising of Lazarus is not just the resuscitation of a dead man but is a powerful symbol of the new life that all of us can undergo when we submit to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Through our Baptism we all die to sin to receive a new life of Today’s Gospel reading presents to us two messages. First it tells us that through our living faith in Jesus, all our physical bodies will be raised in the final resurrection. Secondly, especially now with the approaching of Easter Sunday, we are called symbolically to resurrect ourselves from sin to grace by partaking in the Sacrament of reconciliation. It is an invitation for us to march forward faithfully in hope, knowing that those who believe in Jesus, will live forever. In raising Lazarus, Jesus manifested both his authority as the Son and his divine power. By his raising him on the fourth day, Jesus was indicating that he is master over life and death and he is able to bring back to life all of those who have died, all those holy patriarchs, Jews, and even righteous gentiles even centuries before. He is the master over life and death. Further Jesus shows us what resurrection and life really is. He wants us to recognise that resurrection and life are, more specifically a relationship with a person and that person is Christ Himself who tells us that he is the resurrection and the life. To be raised from the dead, to be fully alive, means to be in a living, loving relationship with Jesus, who teaches us that resurrection and life are a call to be united with him. The resurrection and life truly gives us the right relationship with Christ and the Spirit.