First reading Ezekiel 37:12-14
The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 129:1-8
Second reading Romans 8:8-11
People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
Gospel John 11:3-7,17,20-27,33-45
The sisters sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man you love is ill.’ On receiving the message, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will end not in death but in God’s glory, and through it the Son of God will be glorified.’
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judaea.’
On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’ ‘Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said:
‘I am the resurrection.
If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live,
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?’
‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’
Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, ‘Where have you put him?’ They said, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept; and the Jews said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But there were some who remarked, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’ Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:
‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer.
I knew indeed that you always hear me,
but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me,
so that they may believe it was you who sent me.’
When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, here! Come out!’ The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, let him go free.’
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed in him.
Reflection
By Jeanne Therese Hilario-Andres
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we see a fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel: Jesus opened up the grave of Lazarus, put His own spirit in him, and raised him from death, as a clear sign that He indeed is the Lord.
Why did Jesus let death come to a family He dearly loved? He could have easily healed Lazarus before he died, if He had wished. Why did He choose to wait two days before setting off for Bethany? Why did He allow what seemed to be a tragedy to befall these believers, these good people who did not deserve it? Why do bad things happen even to those Jesus loves?
Imagine you are Martha. Your brother has been dead four days, and you are probably tired from the burial and from tending to the many mourners who have come to your house. Have you even had time to cry yet?
Suddenly you hear word that Jesus is approaching Bethany. You rush out past the crowd, running to meet Jesus. As you draw close to Him, you want to ask Him where He’s been, why He couldn’t come sooner. But you find, as you gaze into Jesus’ sad, loving eyes, that now is not the time for reproach. You greet Jesus and say that Lazarus would not have died had He come sooner. But your voice is gentle, for you know how much Jesus loved Lazarus, and you know that your brother’s death causes Jesus pain, too. You decide to trust Jesus, and leave it at that.
Even now, you think, it is not too late, for whatever Jesus asks from the Father, the Father will give. You struggle between wild hope and grim acceptance, as your calm, logical mind tells you there is no hope left for Lazarus now. Yet, in the face of death, you are surprised at how easy it is for you to still have faith, here, now, as long as Jesus is near. Even in mourning, your instinct was to RUN to meet Jesus, to stay near Him, because you knew that whatever might happen, He would give you strength to believe. He is your resurrection, He is your Life.
Imagine you are Mary. You have been inconsolable. You heard that Jesus was coming, yet you chose to stay home and weep. You are upset and hurt, and the void left by Lazarus’ death is unbearable. When Martha says Jesus is asking for you, you run quickly to His side. Showing none of Martha’s restraint, you fall at Jesus’ feet and weep bitterly, saying that Lazarus need not have died, if He had come sooner. Your sobs choke you as you sit at His feet, and no other words come out. But words are not necessary, for you see Jesus looking at you, seeing your thoughts, feeling your agony. He knows you deeply and you open your heart to Him, not hiding your pain. A dark, troubled expression is clouding His tender eyes. This God, He does not like seeing His loved ones cry.
Now imagine you are one of the mourners who had followed Mary to meet Jesus. Jesus asks where Lazarus has been buried, and you show Him the way. He stands in front of the tomb. What happens next is recounted in the shortest but most powerful, poignant sentence in Scripture:
Jesus wept.
You leave the story for a moment and ask, why would He weep, despite knowing Lazarus would be brought back to life again in just a few moments? He shed tears because He is one of us, human. He, too, feels the emptiness that death brings, the pain, the loss, the grief. At that precise moment, Jesus keenly felt the anguish that Lazarus’ death brought to all who knew him. He understood the pain. He experienced the agony.
As you imagine Jesus’ tears falling freely, you think to yourself, “See how He loved him.” And then you realize, wait, that’s how He loves me, too.
Jesus has asked that the stone be rolled away. But Lazarus has been dead for four days, someone mutters. Won’t there be a stench when the stone is removed? The ever-practical Martha whispers something in Jesus’ ear, but He eases her fears and reminds her to have faith. Jesus is praying aloud, and finally roars a command: “Lazarus, come out!”
Finally, imagine you are Lazarus. The illness brought you suffering, but you remained steadfast till the end as your body wasted away. What probably caused you the most anguish was seeing the burden your family carried, and being powerless to help them. Surrounded by your weeping sisters, you entrusted your soul to God and gave thanks that your sisters would no longer need to tend to you or see you suffer.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, you hear a voice calling you. Something about the voice sounds familiar. Angels whisper and encourage you not to be afraid. You realize it is Jesus’ voice! He’s calling you! You wake up on a cold floor with bandages around your head and cloths wrapped around your body. You struggle to reach the door and eventually, you feel the cloths being unwrapped.
Jesus’ face is the first thing you see. Everybody seems to be laughing and crying at the same time. Your sisters are hugging you and wailing with joy. What has happened? You look at the cloths, and behind you, the tomb. Suddenly, you realize that you had died, and that somehow, you are no longer dead. Jesus is smiling at you. What will you do? What do you say to Him? What will you do with the new life you have been given? How will you spend your life, knowing that Jesus had saved you from death?
Like Lazarus, Jesus brings back to life the dead, the decaying corners of our hearts. He is our life, literally, figuratively, our all-encompassing life. Let us ask Him now to put His Spirit within us, that we may believe and truly live this new life for Him.
Jesus, bring the dead parts of my heart back to life. Like Martha, let me run to You and stay near You in times of doubt. Give me grace to have faith in what my mind may think impossible. Like Mary, let me be transparent and vulnerable to You, never hiding myself from Your love. Like Lazarus, let Your Spirit dwell in me and bring me back to life. Thank You for loving me, for weeping with me, for understanding me. Let me love You and live my life for You. Amen.
From Jericho to Jerusalem
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