Fifth Sunday of Lent (A)

                          Fifth Sunday of Lent (A) [Jn 11:1-45]

26.03.2023

The Raising of Lazarus

Readings: (1) Ez 37:12-14 (2) Rom 8:8-11

1.  Theme in brief:

Rising from our spiritual death

2.  Focus Statement

Jesus is the supernatural Life-Giver to those who are spiritually dead, provided that they believe in him, that is, personally trust in him as the resurrection and the life.

3.  Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text is about the restoration of physical life to Jesus’ “friend” Lazarus after four days of his death. The main message of this text is that Jesus is the source of supernatural life or is the supernatural Life-Giver to those who are spiritually dead. It points out two of the ironies in John’s gospel: (1) The Life-Giver himself is going to give up his life on the cross, in order to give eternal life to all those who believe in him. (2) By raising Lazarus to life, Jesus takes the risk of facing his own death through which he will attain his glory (11:50-53). John states it clearly that from the time of raising Lazarus from death, the chief priests and the Pharisees “planned to put Jesus to death" (11:53). Further, it is Jesus' very claim, "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25) that provokes the Jewish authorities to plan his death.

Secondly, the evangelist presents this episode of raising Lazarus from death as a symbol for freedom from the bonds of spiritual or eternal death for those who put their trust in Jesus and his word. For believers, this trust becomes the gateway to experience full blossoming of eternal life received in rudimentary form at baptism, and the hope of the final resurrection of the body. Lazarus is presented as the "one whom Jesus loves" (11:3, 36) and as his “friend” (11:11), probably to tell us that he represents all those whom Jesus loves, all those who are his friends, including his present disciples.

Another irony is that Jesus purposely delays his visit to Bethany in spite of knowing that Lazarus is seriously ill. In spite of his special love and friendship with Lazarus and his sisters (11:6), he allows him to die “for their sake” (11:15). He wants to use Lazarus’ dying and rising as a sign to tell them that he himself is going to die and rise soon. Now Jesus is going to reveal God’s glory by giving life to the dead person (Lazarus) out of his love for him to symbolize his own plan to give glory to God by his death and glorification (or resurrection, 11:4).  This again symbolizes his power to give life to all those who are counted, like Lazarus, to be his “friends.”

According to this text, who is Jesus for a believer? Raising Lazarus from death is meant to reveal further Jesus’ identity as “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). Already in the beginning of his gospel John has stated that Jesus possesses divine life in its fullness, or he fully shares the life of the Father, because of his oneness or unity with the Father (1:4). That is why he is the Life itself. And that divine life he shares with those who “believe” in him, that is, those who are personally attached or committed to him and put their trust in him.

This self-revelation of Jesus as the resurrection and the life implies that he fully shares the power of God over life and death. The power which death holds over people to separate them from God and his divine or eternal life is defeated by Jesus’ resurrection. For those who believe that Jesus is the Resurrection, their physical death has no power over them, because their future destiny is determined not by their physical death, but by their faith in him and his promise of “raising them up on the last day” (Jn 6:44). For those who believe that Jesus is the Life, their present life is also determined by his power to share with them God’s own life (eternal life). Thus, he claims that he is able to raise people from death to life on his own, now itself, as well as at the general resurrection. But there is a condition – put by Jesus to Martha – to be fulfilled: "Do you believe this (11:26)?" Faith in Jesus creates such a close communion with him that divine life which is in him flows into believers. And physical death cannot cut off that life. Since the believer is in close union or intimacy with Jesus who is the Life, how can this spark of divine life be extinguished with death? One who has faith lives even after death, in fact never dies in spirit.

Jesus brings the gift of divine life to those who believe in him so that those who receive it shall never die spiritually, even if they die physically (11:26). Physical death is not the end of their life, but a gateway to another life (spiritual and eternal). They share not only in divine life here on earth but also, because of his triumph over death, in his resurrection hereafter also. In other words, believers in Jesus will experience resurrection because, death cannot defeat the life of God (1 Cor 15:53-57). Hence, death’s curse and sting is removed by him. At the end we notice that when the dead man (Lazarus) comes out of the tomb, his hands and feet are bound. Jesus orders them to “unbind” him and let him go free (11:44). This symbolizes Jesus’ power to loosen the bonds of death and set the believers free from eternal death.

4.  Application to life

It is interesting to note that the gospel texts prescribed for all the three Sundays of Lent this year deal with three spiritual truths: of the third Sunday that identifies Jesus as living water points to our spiritual thirst for God and his love; of the fourth Sunday that identifies him as the Light of the World points to our spiritual blindness to our sins and to recognize Jesus;  and of today’s  fifth Sunday that identifies him as the Resurrection and the Life points to our spiritual death which separates us from God.

What is spiritual death? St. Paul describes it as “being alienated from the life of God” (Eph 4:18) or lacking his life. From the Bible we come to know that God had told Adam that he will “die”  on the day he will eat the forbidden fruit (Gen 2:17). Adam did eat, but did not die immediately. That God was referring to a spiritual death – a separation or alienation from him – is clear from the fact that both Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God” when they heard his sound (Gen 3:8). We should know that serious sins cause spiritual death – separation or alienation from God’s love, and also death of divine life in us. Lent is the time to put our faith and trust in Jesus’ power over life and death and say like Martha: “Yes, Lord, I do believe that you are the Messiah. I do believe in your power to raise me up from the tomb of spiritual death caused by my sins and unbelief”. In John’s gospel, the greatest sin is the sin of “unbelief.” This sin does not refer to doubting some of the tenets of faith taught to us in catechism, but to a fundamental attitude of rejecting God’s offer of love that results in weakening or sometimes loss of God’s own life in us. This is considered equal to ‘death. in the fourth gospel. Once this happens, all other individual sins will flow.

Lent is the fitting time to come out of the grave of sin, selfishness and fears, and rise to a new life of grace. This realization will reach its climax on Easter when we renew our baptismal experience of ‘dying’ with Christ and ‘rising’ with him. This metaphor means putting to death (or destroying) sin and selfishness and living the resurrected life of holiness and grace. As we move towards the celebration of Easter, we are called to symbolically resurrect from the tomb of sin to a life of grace through repentance and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (‘Confession’). Jesus comes to unbind the forces of sin, evil, death and decay, and sets us free, just as he told them to unbind Lazarus. This is the story of the power of faith over the forces of death, or the victory of life over death. Let us submit ourselves to his power to free us from three negative forces that can chain us – of sin, evil and death.

Jesus does not promise that believers will not die physically. Lazarus himself died after he was raised. What he promises is that physical death is the gateway to a resurrected life. Christ raises us up from our spiritual death to a new life in the spirit. He wants to resurrect us from the state of spiritual death. We are spiritually dead in various ways: (1) when we allow selfishness and sin to rule over us; (2) when we are dead to the needs and feelings of our neighbours; (3) when we are totally unconcerned and insensitive to the sufferings of others; and (4) when we live a life without any hope. When we accept Jesus as our sole Master, we become fully alive. But the condition put by him applies to us also: We need to believe in him and his word, that is, willingly should submit ourselves to him. Jesus is the Resurrection since he gives spiritual life to the physically dead. He is the Life since he prevents the spiritual death of those who put their faith in him.

Lazarus represents all those whom Jesus loves, which includes you and me – those who believe in his name. This event, describes our own life-story – how we can come to life from death in this present moment, not only after death. What happened to Lazarus happens to us in stages: first at baptism, then at each moment of our lives, then when we die and at the final resurrection of our bodies.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life for us at each moment of our lives. Everyday we are living in the face of death; more so due to the insecurity caused by international terrorism, natural calamities triggered by ecological changes and horrible accidents. Life is so fragile that it is always at risk more in modern times than before. Jesus invites us to decide which power determines our existence here on earth – whether God's life-giving power in Jesus or the power of death. If the former is true, then how we live our lives is more important than how we are going to die.

What marvels faith can do to those who really believe that Jesus liberates them from the bondage of death here are hereafter. Each one of us could be a Lazarus who is bound and laid in tomb and wants to be unbound. Unlike the Lazarus of the gospel, it is possible we have been in our ‘tomb’ for more than four days and may not like Jesus to open it for fear of the stench of what is inside – habitual sins, addictions, negativity, bitterness, revenge, jealousies, lust, corruption and all other evils. Or in another sense, we could be like another Lazarus in the tomb, discouraged, frustrated with life, depressed, rejected, finding life meaningless and not worth living. Lent is the time to hand over our lives to the power of Jesus and hear him crying with a loud voice: “Lazarus, (or so-and-so) come out of your tomb” (cf.11:43). Then hear him saying: “Unbind him/her, let him/her go free” (cf. 11:44). Sometimes in healing sessions and in mass media we listen to the powerful testimonies of those who were once lost and are found now. With the power of faith, if those who were once written off by people as “dead” can come out of their deeper and bigger tombs, why not we from our smaller tombs? Of course, if this ‘miracle’ has to happen, we need to come out from another tomb – the tomb of mediocrity of faith and a Christian life lived without vitality or zeal. Sometimes we live as if we have not shared in Christ’s resurrection at baptism and act as if we are already ‘dead’ by our lack of enthusiasm or zest for life. If we really believe that he is our resurrection, we are freed from meaninglessness of life and are led to live a life of purpose. A life without a purpose is not worth living; it is a ‘dead’ life.

At Lazarus’ tomb when Jesus sees Mary and all those are present weeping, he is greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved; then he also begins to weep (11:33, 35). Does he not weep over us today when we allow the spirit in us to die, since we too, like Lazarus, are his “friends,” among those whom he loves? Is he not emotionally moved by our existence in ‘tombs’ of lifelessness, lovelessness, inactivity, unenthusiastic life, alienation from God and neighbour? Once we accept Jesus as resurrection and life we cannot live a loveless and hopeless life. So today’s gospel invites us to march towards the blessed hope of living a resurrected life with total trust in Jesus’ promise that those who believe in him will live for ever.

Today’s gospel has another message for our mission for so many Lazaruses in our society who are physically alive, but in reality in the tomb – those who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, electronic gadgets; those who have lost meaning in life and are disoriented. Can we be a Jesus to them with our love, compassion and life-promoting actions?

5.  Response to God's Word

What are the forces of death that have engulfed us? What are the signs of spiritual death in us? Are we trying to submit ourselves to the life-giving power of Jesus? How would we like to see ourselves? Happy and bubbling with enthusiasm or dull and difficult to please? Do we exhibit a great zeal for life so that others can come to know that we have glimpses of eternal life and resurrection already? Am I a person whose enthusiasm never dies?  Is there any truth in what experts say: “Most people die at twenty and are buried at eighty?” What am I doing to come out of my ‘tomb’ or ‘grave?’

6.  A prayer

Even if I sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, I believe Lord, you are there tolead me to new life and vitality. Yes, Lord, I do believe, you are the Son of God, the one coming into the world; you are the resurrection and the life. I am spiritually dead. Come and set me free from the bondage of sin and death so that I can live with you for ever and ever. Amen.