Today's Message: 5th Sunday of Lent A
Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45
Facing death! This is a reality that few people want to think about. Today we are overcome with the coronavirus pandemic. We see it on TV, the internet, newspapers, periodicals. People are confused, worried, scared even for loved ones, especially the elderly; many are mourning deaths all over the globe. We have seen processions of many, many caskets in different countries. Are we worried about our own death? Are we praying for the victims as well as their families, friends and loved ones? Are we praying for the caregivers and medical professionals throughout the world? Are we praying for researchers trying to come up with an effective antidote? Are we praying for those who are deprived of medical care and the necessary means to safeguard life? Are we praying for those throughout the world who are deprived of the Eucharist or are unable to attend their own religious services?
In 1918 there was a worldwide flu pandemic, the H1N1 virus. About 50 million people died, 650,000 in the U.S. David Brooks talked about this on Meet the Press and said some unusual things: "Old people died if they were not checked up on," and, "People forgot about each other." How could that have been? Also, people at the time did not talk about this virus. Why? I just don’t know. Today there is a lot of talk about the coronavirus, ranging from disbelief and denial to fearful dread and all points in-between. Again: Are we helping people we love and are we praying, asking the Lord for guidance and grace to reach out and help those in need and those we love?
The readings today put DEATH right at center stage. Homily Helps summarizes them this way: “God has promised to be faithful to His people, restoring them when they are broken, forgiving them when they sin, and ultimately rising them up from death itself.” Living the Word describes the readings this way: “Today’s Focus: Sweet Mystery of Life — and Death. Facing death — of those we love or our own — is a profoundly human moment in every life, a moment into which we know Jesus will step.” So we go to the readings to find God’s message for each of us today.
In the very short, two-verse passage from the prophet Ezekiel, we see God’s continuous determined love for a people that have been unfaithful and continued in this pattern. Ezekiel confronts the people who have abandoned the Lord and given their attention to fabrications and delusions. God just does not give up on them. They have listened to Ezekiel’s warnings for so long that they have become witnesses to the consequences: Jerusalem collapses and now they have been forced into exile far from home. Years of sin and ignorance have led them to their present state of spiritual death; God describes them as "living lifeless in their graves." God continues with His promises: He will return them to life and bring them back to their homeland. Twice God tells them in this short reading, “then … thus you shall know that I am the Lord.” This is the constant theme and reminder in Ezekiel’s book, recurring more than 25 times. They put their faith in idols; now God is calling them back to Himself and calling them His people. Their spiritual rebirth is characterized as resurrection from the grave. God has promised and God will deliver them: “I have promised, and I will do it.” Where have I been in my lack of faithfulness and trust in God? What idols have I placed before me instead of God? What superstitions have I substituted for my relationship with God?
We hear from Paul’s eighth chapter to the Romans, which many scholars say is the prime text illustrating how we are to live as Christians. Paul is telling the Romans that physical and spiritual death are essentially related. Bodily death is ultimately the result of sin. God replaces this with our spiritual life — righteousness as Paul calls it — just as the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit of God dwells within each of us: the Spirit of love, mercy and forgiveness, raising us above the desires of the flesh. Paul uses "flesh" as a metaphor for all that is opposed to the will of God. We now have the strength to resist the influences of a sinful world. What am I doing? Do I keep one foot in this world of sin and another in God’s world of love? Am I lackadaisical in my loving, mercy and forgiveness? Am I dismissive of my need for deeper prayer and time with God? Is my Lent going down the drain? What can I do today to live and love and forgive?
The Gospel of the raising of Lazarus is only found in John. Its length is only surpassed by the Passion narrative and is loaded with the people's misunderstanding of what Jesus is saying and what His actions mean. We seem to believe that the point of the story is that Jesus is the giver of life. Bit in doing this we fail to see the cost of Jesus’s action: His own crucifixion and death for each of us. We are introduced to the characters in the first 16 verses, where we learn that Lazarus is a close friend of Jesus. Well, why doesn’t Jesus go to see him while he is at death’s door? Many of us have faced the decision of not going to see a dying relative or friend, which is a very uncomfortable decision. The belief at the time is that sleep will help the person who is very sick, but Jesus is talking about a person dying. And death does not have the final say here. Also, Lazarus’ sisters are upset because of Jesus’ absence and clearly are confused as to who Jesus is. What did Jesus’ weeping mean? Was it because of the death of a close friend? Or was it because they think Jesus is going to raise a dead man, Lazarus, and they don’t believe He can do that?
We know Lazarus has really died, because he has begun to decompose. (Smell was a older translation of what four days in the tomb meant.) Jesus has promised repeatedly that death is not the end. Jesus has come to restore our relationship with God and save all people of all time. People will "see the glory of God" in His resurrection. We have been called; we have been chosen. What are we doing with this? Sunday Homily Helps writer Father Clifford Hennings, OFM, writes: “In the most holy mystery of the Eucharist, we witness this promise manifested before our very eyes. Through His passion and death, Christ is raised from the dead. Sin is destroyed by love, and death is conquered for those who allow His Spirit to live within them. We glory in this great gift and offer our own lives as a worthy sacrifice. By accepting His Body and Blood, we choose a death like Christ’s so that we may live like Him in His Spirit.”
So I reflect on:
“I hear You asking me the same question, Lord: ‘Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life?’ In the long run, nothing is more important than my answer to this. I cannot grasp Your words in my imaginations, Lord, but I believe. Help my unbelief.
“‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ Even a man resurrected from the dead needed the help of community. Show me, Lord, how I can participate in others’ unbinding and freedom.”
Facing death! This is a reality that few people want to think about. Today we are overcome with the coronavirus pandemic. We see it on TV, the internet, newspapers, periodicals. People are confused, worried, scared even for loved ones, especially the elderly; many are mourning deaths all over the globe. We have seen processions of many, many caskets in different countries. Are we worried about our own death? Are we praying for the victims as well as their families, friends and loved ones? Are we praying for the caregivers and medical professionals throughout the world? Are we praying for researchers trying to come up with an effective antidote? Are we praying for those who are deprived of medical care and the necessary means to safeguard life? Are we praying for those throughout the world who are deprived of the Eucharist or are unable to attend their own religious services?
In 1918 there was a worldwide flu pandemic, the H1N1 virus. About 50 million people died, 650,000 in the U.S. David Brooks talked about this on Meet the Press and said some unusual things: "Old people died if they were not checked up on," and, "People forgot about each other." How could that have been? Also, people at the time did not talk about this virus. Why? I just don’t know. Today there is a lot of talk about the coronavirus, ranging from disbelief and denial to fearful dread and all points in-between. Again: Are we helping people we love and are we praying, asking the Lord for guidance and grace to reach out and help those in need and those we love?
The readings today put DEATH right at center stage. Homily Helps summarizes them this way: “God has promised to be faithful to His people, restoring them when they are broken, forgiving them when they sin, and ultimately rising them up from death itself.” Living the Word describes the readings this way: “Today’s Focus: Sweet Mystery of Life — and Death. Facing death — of those we love or our own — is a profoundly human moment in every life, a moment into which we know Jesus will step.” So we go to the readings to find God’s message for each of us today.
In the very short, two-verse passage from the prophet Ezekiel, we see God’s continuous determined love for a people that have been unfaithful and continued in this pattern. Ezekiel confronts the people who have abandoned the Lord and given their attention to fabrications and delusions. God just does not give up on them. They have listened to Ezekiel’s warnings for so long that they have become witnesses to the consequences: Jerusalem collapses and now they have been forced into exile far from home. Years of sin and ignorance have led them to their present state of spiritual death; God describes them as "living lifeless in their graves." God continues with His promises: He will return them to life and bring them back to their homeland. Twice God tells them in this short reading, “then … thus you shall know that I am the Lord.” This is the constant theme and reminder in Ezekiel’s book, recurring more than 25 times. They put their faith in idols; now God is calling them back to Himself and calling them His people. Their spiritual rebirth is characterized as resurrection from the grave. God has promised and God will deliver them: “I have promised, and I will do it.” Where have I been in my lack of faithfulness and trust in God? What idols have I placed before me instead of God? What superstitions have I substituted for my relationship with God?
We hear from Paul’s eighth chapter to the Romans, which many scholars say is the prime text illustrating how we are to live as Christians. Paul is telling the Romans that physical and spiritual death are essentially related. Bodily death is ultimately the result of sin. God replaces this with our spiritual life — righteousness as Paul calls it — just as the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit of God dwells within each of us: the Spirit of love, mercy and forgiveness, raising us above the desires of the flesh. Paul uses "flesh" as a metaphor for all that is opposed to the will of God. We now have the strength to resist the influences of a sinful world. What am I doing? Do I keep one foot in this world of sin and another in God’s world of love? Am I lackadaisical in my loving, mercy and forgiveness? Am I dismissive of my need for deeper prayer and time with God? Is my Lent going down the drain? What can I do today to live and love and forgive?
The Gospel of the raising of Lazarus is only found in John. Its length is only surpassed by the Passion narrative and is loaded with the people's misunderstanding of what Jesus is saying and what His actions mean. We seem to believe that the point of the story is that Jesus is the giver of life. Bit in doing this we fail to see the cost of Jesus’s action: His own crucifixion and death for each of us. We are introduced to the characters in the first 16 verses, where we learn that Lazarus is a close friend of Jesus. Well, why doesn’t Jesus go to see him while he is at death’s door? Many of us have faced the decision of not going to see a dying relative or friend, which is a very uncomfortable decision. The belief at the time is that sleep will help the person who is very sick, but Jesus is talking about a person dying. And death does not have the final say here. Also, Lazarus’ sisters are upset because of Jesus’ absence and clearly are confused as to who Jesus is. What did Jesus’ weeping mean? Was it because of the death of a close friend? Or was it because they think Jesus is going to raise a dead man, Lazarus, and they don’t believe He can do that?
We know Lazarus has really died, because he has begun to decompose. (Smell was a older translation of what four days in the tomb meant.) Jesus has promised repeatedly that death is not the end. Jesus has come to restore our relationship with God and save all people of all time. People will "see the glory of God" in His resurrection. We have been called; we have been chosen. What are we doing with this? Sunday Homily Helps writer Father Clifford Hennings, OFM, writes: “In the most holy mystery of the Eucharist, we witness this promise manifested before our very eyes. Through His passion and death, Christ is raised from the dead. Sin is destroyed by love, and death is conquered for those who allow His Spirit to live within them. We glory in this great gift and offer our own lives as a worthy sacrifice. By accepting His Body and Blood, we choose a death like Christ’s so that we may live like Him in His Spirit.”
So I reflect on:
- How do I face my upcoming death?
- By His resurrection, Jesus raises me from the tomb in which sin has buried me. Do I comprehend the reality of what Jesus did for me?
- God welcomes me back all the time from my sinning; do I try to stop all my sins or only certain ones?
- Does my pride or shame ever get in the way of my relationship with Jesus?
- Do I ever think that I am so sinful that Jesus could not possibly want me in heaven? Where does this come from? Can God really be totally in love with me every moment of my life?
“I hear You asking me the same question, Lord: ‘Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life?’ In the long run, nothing is more important than my answer to this. I cannot grasp Your words in my imaginations, Lord, but I believe. Help my unbelief.
“‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ Even a man resurrected from the dead needed the help of community. Show me, Lord, how I can participate in others’ unbinding and freedom.”
Love these messages and blogs......especially the 'reflections' and especially during these troubled times...... Thnx for sharing.....Mark V
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