Lent 5th Sunday
Eze 37:12-14; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45
Hope to Unbind
Often in life, we give up hope too easily. We fail an exam and think, “It’s the end for me.” We apply for jobs, get rejected, and conclude, “I am no good! I will never make it!” We hope and pray for good things to happen, but nothing seems to change. The liturgical readings of today challenge us never to give up hope and to always remember that God can unbind even death, transforming it into new life—eternal life—if we but trust in Him.
In His Own Time: In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel speaks to the people and tells them that their exile in Babylon will soon be over. He assures them that though their lives are like dried bones, God’s life-giving Spirit will restore them, and they will once more enjoy peace and prosperity in their own country. There are times when we, too, feel lifeless. In those moments, we are called to believe that God has not abandoned us but will renew us with His Spirit in His own time.
The Gospel speaks of how the dead Lazarus was unbound and raised back to life. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were friends of Jesus, and naturally, when Lazarus fell gravely ill, they immediately sent for Him. They perhaps expected Jesus to rush to the house of His friend. Yet, upon receiving the message, He remained where He was. Only later, after Lazarus had died, did He approach their house.
We often want God to act when we feel it is right, but God’s time is not our time. Faith in Jesus invites us to go beyond what we want and when we want it, and to believe that He is the Lord of life and that everything happens in His time.
Profound Statement: On seeing Jesus, both Martha and Mary make the same profound statement: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” They know that Jesus can transform death into life. They speak in this way because of their close relationship with Him—and we can do the same.
When we ask something of someone who knows us well, we usually do so with confidence that our request will be granted if it is reasonably possible. We present our request boldly, expecting a positive response. In the same way, Martha and Mary ask Jesus confidently, believing that their plea will be heard. Martha takes her sadness to the Lord, and it is transformed through faith into the realization that her brother is not dead but alive with God. The firm faith of these two women serves as an example of how we should act when facing challenging situations in which God seems absent or uncaring.
To a Life of Faith: Jesus affirms His gift of eternal life to those who believe in Him. Martha makes a firm profession that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Lord of life. All His disciples who have faith will live again, even though they die physically. Those who believe and live the new life here and now will never die a spiritual death; they will never experience everlasting separation from Jesus. The raising of Lazarus is not meant only to console his sisters but also to serve as a symbol of the presence of eternal life in the person who believes in Jesus Christ.
At the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, his wife stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Just before the soldiers lowered the lid, she surprised everyone with an act regarded as civil disobedience in Communist Russia. The brave widow of the man who led a powerful atheistic nation made the Sign of the Cross on her husband’s chest. This act surprised everyone and suggested that her husband had been wrong. She gave evidence of her hope that there was another, better way of life—a life represented by Jesus, who died on the Cross—and that this same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband and raise him up on the Day of Judgment.
To Unbind: At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus says to those around Him, “Take away the stone,” and “Unbind him.” In our own lives, we encounter stones that block our faith, and we often need to untie what binds us to one another—to remove the barriers preventing us from achieving the goal of eternal life.
We bind ourselves with chains of addiction to alcohol, drugs, sexual deviations, slander, gossip, envy, prejudice, hatred, and uncontrollable anger, thus burying ourselves in tombs of despair. Sometimes we find ourselves in the tomb of selfishness, filled with negative feelings such as worry, fear, resentment, hatred, and guilt. Jesus asks us today to seek His help to loosen those chains and come out of the tombs of our own creation. Why not invite Jesus to visit the areas of our lives where hope is gone?
Our contemporary world cries out for a confident voice that will invite us out of our “whitewashed tombs” and into true freedom—freedom from the culture of violence, death, racism, discrimination, debt, revenge, and blindness; freedom to respond to the needs of others and to let go of everything that keeps us from being fully alive. Let us ask Jesus to bring the light and power of His Holy Spirit into our lives and to liberate us from our tombs. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus commands us to come out of our graves. The Lord of life is constantly calling us to lives of faith. Are we ready to unbind ourselves and come out of our self-made tombs into a new life? ————————–
