Fifth Sunday of Lent: Year A: Death Of Lazarus: I Will Put My Spirit Within You

Fifth Sunday of Lent: Year A:

Death Of Lazarus: I Will Put My Spirit Within You

FIRST READING

♥ In the first reading we find that the Israelites are discouraged. They are oppressed by their enemies in exile at Babylon. God reassures them and says: “Behold I will open your graves [Lazarus’ grave is opened  by Jesus today], and raise you from your graves [Lazarus is raised by Jesus], O my people, and I will bring you home into the land of Israel.”

♥ “and you shall know that I AM THE LORD.” God wants to tell them that he has power to do whatever he wants in heaven or on earth. He has power over life and death. Jesus by raising Lazarus to life shows that He has power over life and death. “He says: “I am the Resurrection and the Life” it is also because Martha is not sure about the identity of Jesus who says: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day”

♥ Even the Pharisees in the Gospel reading find it difficult to accept that Jesus is “I AM THE LORD”. Who is JESUS for you?

♥ “I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU, AND YOU SHALL LIVE” In the Gospel reading, Jesus give life to Lazarus who was dead. At this moment we recall the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel (Eze 37). Bones were dry, dead and they became alive because of God.

♥ It means reconstituting the nation of Israel but in the deeper level he is talking about reconstituting our life from sin, death, brokenness, discouragement, from the life of the flesh [immoral life]. In the Gospel he does this with Lazarus.

♥ The Spirit of the Lord is in each one of us. It has been given to us at our baptism. But some of us might have made the HOLY SPIRIT sad. He might have gone away from us. If HE is gone then we are dry and dead people.

♥ And in the SECOND READING St. Paul says that if the Spirit of God really dwells in you; you are in the Spirit and you belong to him. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, HE who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will GIVE LIFE to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.

GOSPEL

♥ We all have different fears and one of the fears is of death. Today we are afraid of Corona Viruse which is claiming so many deaths.

♥ WE NEED TO BE READY TO WELCOME DEATH AT ANY TIME.  We live in a world that is filled with death.  We kill each other in acts of murder, abortion, euthanasia, execution, war and terrorist activities.  We kill ourselves through suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, overwork, stress, bad eating habits, and physical neglect.  The most important question is:  am I ready to face my death? 

♥ It is the last of the signs that Jesus shows: sign to tell who Jesus is. That HE IS THE LORD.

♥ Today’s Gospel is not about Lazarus, the Gospel is about Jesus. We always think about Lazarus whenever this passage comes to us.

♥ Last Sunday we heard about the blind man and Jesus said that he was blind so that GOD’S GLORY MAY BE DISPLAYED IN HIM. Today also He says the same thing.

♥ Do we glorify God in our moments of blessings and in our problems ? Often we take the glory that belongs to God. Priests, religious and other specially chosen lay faithful, if they are not careful can do this more than others because God does lot of things through the priests, religious and other specially gifted lay faithful who spend lot of time and energy for God and his kingdom. 

♥ Your hard life/your problems can be meant to show God’s glory to the people around you.

♥ We pray and the problems sometimes get worse. Then we think  that God has abandoned us.

♥ God answers our prayers in his own time and in his own ways as He did today in the case of Lazarus. Humanly speaking, Jesus was late for four days. 

♥ One of the most powerful prayers we can offer is “Thy will be done”. Mary did that. ".... let it be done to me according to your WORD"

♥ We don’t know what is best for us. We want to do our will, our way. If we know what is best for us then why are we not living an authentic Christian life?

♥ Jesus has come to give life and life to the full–eternal life. So allow him to do as he wishes in your life.

Jesus goes to see Lazarus after four days

♥ Jesus loved this family dearly. He goes there personally. This shows how Jesus Christ loves us. We are part of God's family – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And Jesus purposely delayed. CHRYSOSTOM says that Jesus gives more problems to people whom he loves.  He draws him near to the mystery of the Cross. This is how God treats his special friends. If you have no problem in your life, you can question yourself whether God loves you or not. When mother Teresa came to know about this fact, she would welcome the suffering even before it really came into her life (Book: Come be my Light).

♥ We sing a song: “God is good ALL THE TIME” If God is Good all the time, why is the delay of four days. Why is this Corona Viruse? We may ask, we may question.

♥ The ‘four days’ indicate that Lazarus was really dead. Jesus was not washing the eye of the people. He was really dead; he raised him to life; it manifested his glory. He showed that he has power over life and death. He has power over sicknesses like Corona Viruse.

♥ JESUS HAS POWER: to forgive sins, to heal, to cure us from our sicknesses, to unbind, to forgive sins which is the cause of our spiritual death.

♥ PETER CHRYSOLOGUS says that for Jesus it was more important to saw that he had power over death than to heal his sickness. That is why he delayed. Death is a bigger problem than sickness. Jesus is much more powerful than what we think of HIM.

♥ Lazarus was raised to life after 4 days while Jesus was raised to life on the 3rd day. If the Pharisees had remembered this 4 days [one day extra than Jesus] they could have believed on the 3 days which Jesus took. But they would not believe.

♥ It was a real miracle and the Pharisees should have believed him but they wanted to kill him. We can have the same hardness of heart like the Pharisees.

♥ Interestingly this story is given on the last Sunday of Lent. Just near to the passion and death of Jesus. So that they may know for sure that Jesus has power over death and life.

♥ It should also remind us about our own resurrection on the last day.

♥ In the story of Lazarus and the rich man we heard Abraham said to the rich man: “They will not believe even if someone were to rise from the dead” This is exactly what happened with the Pharisees.

♥ The Lord respects our freedom. He did not force the Pharisees to believe in him.

♥ All the humble people like Mary, Martha and others recognized and gave praise to God

♥ PEOPLE WERE WEEPING: we want to hold on to our dear ones, but Jesus says untie him let him go free. We let them go to God and we discover that they are not lost. They are in heaven with God 

♥  JESUS WEPT

♥ Jesus was one with the people and their pain and suffering. We see here the humanity of Jesus. Following the example of Jesus, so many people are helping the people who are affected by corona Viruse.

Jesus weeps also for the lack of faith of the people. "The bread of life, the resurrection and the life… the way the truth and the life" is there in their midst and they are weeping.

♥ what are the things in our life that BIND US; Which do not allow us to live our Christian life, our priestly and religious life in the way it should be lived. It could be addiction to alcohol, drugs, sexual deviations, slander, gossip, envy, prejudices, hatred and uncontrollable anger and bury ourselves in the tombs of despair.

♥ If there is still something that binds you; go for confession and free yourself and live your Christian life, your priestly and religious life well. The Lord has given the priests the power to bind and loose.

REMOVE THE STONES

♥ Remove the large stone in your life –negative mindset, our comfort zone, sins, failures etc. which do not allow Jesus to give life in you.

 COME OUT We can command in the name of Jesus all the evil power, bondages and evil habits to COME OUT from us and be thrown under the feet of Jesus.

♥ CONCLUSION: Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.” We are taking part in the Eucharistic banquet that gives life. Jesus says: I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way the truth and the life.