April 6^th 2014. FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Gospel: John 11:1-45

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL John 11:1-45

There was a man named Lazarus who lived in the village of Bethany with the two sisters, Mary and Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. 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'. The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews wanted to stone you; are you going back again?' Jesus replied:

‘Are there not twelve hours in the day?
A man can walk in the daytime without stumbling
because he has the light of this world to see by;
but if he walks at night he stumbles,
because there is no light to guide him.'

He said that and then added, 'Our friend Lazarus is resting, I am going to wake him'. The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he is able to rest he is sure to get better'. The phrase Jesus used referred to the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep', so Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas - known as the Twin - said to the other disciples, 'Let us go too, and die with him'.

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, '1 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.' When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to see you'. Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house sympathising with Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'. At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who followed her, 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.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Jesus waits until Lazarus is in a state of decomposition before he goes to him. Everyone in the Gospel passage complains about the slowness of Jesus in coming to Lazarus’ aid. Why did Jesus delay so long? He tells us himself in the passage. The glory of God is fully revealed when the dead are raised to life. We often think that we can solve our own problems by applying our talents diligently enough. But when it comes to death we have no doubt how helpless we really are! Jesus shows us in this passage that he is ready and willing to enter into the decayed and dead areas of our existence in order to bring us back to life. Jesus is the only one who loves us right to the end, no matter how distorted or unpleasant we are. There is much in all of our lives that is decaying and gives off the scent of death. And what do we do? We put on a mask and show a presentable face to God and the world. We think that God will only accept us if we prove ourselves to be “worthy”. What we really need to do is acknowledge our unworthiness and allow Jesus to enter into the most sinful areas of our lives to bring them back to life. Until we allow Jesus to enter into the tombs of our lives, we cannot be transformed by his grace. The slab that covered the tomb of Lazarus is like the mask that covers my state of internal decay. Do I really think that I can tackle this decay on my own? This Lent, as we prepare for Easter, let us listen to the words of Jesus who said to Lazarus “Come out!” Let us allow him to call us back to life.

The greatest manifestation of the power of God is in the opening of tombs
The first reading tells us that the power of God will become manifest when the Lord opens the graves of his people and raises them up. Opening a tomb, however, is not usually considered a pleasant experience. In the passage from John’s Gospel, in fact, Martha reacts to the notion of Jesus opening her brother’s tomb. Lazarus has been dead for four days and Jesus’ behaviour since he heard of Lazarus’ illness has been a little strange. He knew of the illness but didn’t decide to come until he received news of the death. As a result Jesus is reprimanded for his delay a number of times, above all by each of the sisters. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” The Jews, too, grumble about Jesus. “He opened the eyes of a blind man. Could he not have prevented this man’s death?”

We sometimes think that we can solve our own problems. But we know that only the power of the Lord can transform death to life
Why did Jesus decide to stay away until after Lazarus’ death? The first reading from Ezekiel tells us that the power of the Lord is revealed when God acts at this impossible level – the level of bringing life from death. Where do we recognize more clearly the power of God? In silly things or in great things? Do we see the hand of God in things that are difficult or in things that we could have resolved by ourselves without his help? Jesus waited until the situation reached a point of such crisis that its resolution could only be achieved by the power of God, thus manifesting his glory.

God loves us not because of our wonderful qualities. He wishes to be with us even when we are repulsive and have the scent of decay
Jesus arrives at Lazarus’ house amid grumbling and complaints. “Why couldn’t he have come sooner,” everyone wants to know. When Jesus begins to weep, there is a feeling that these are just crocodile tears. If he really cared, surely he would have done something before now? Then Jesus asks to open the tomb. This is a difficult request to grant because Lazarus should already be in a state of decomposition. Even Mary comments that her brother will now smell. But this is exactly the point that Jesus wants to arrive at. In response to Mary’s comment about her brother’s state of decomposition, Jesus addresses a blessing to his heavenly father. Jesus has waited to raise Lazarus up at this late stage because he wants to show us that his salvific actions are not reserved for those who are worthy or pleasant-smelling. God comes to us when we give off the scent of death, the scent of mortality, the scent of our own limitations.

We seek to cultivate our own worthiness in the sight of the Lord, but what we really need to do is acknowledge our unworthiness and allow the Lord to enter into the decaying and unacceptable areas of our lives
In each one of us there is much that is decaying and unresolved. But we persist in thinking that we can only approach God when we have something to offer, when we are presentable. We strive to be worthy of God’s love, but none of us can merit the favour of God! The only sort of relationship with God that can save us fully is to allow ourselves to be washed and touched by the Lord when we are undeserving and unclean. God loves us most of all when he opens our tombs and touches the parts of us that are dead and decaying. The human being has areas within that are distorted, unpleasant, sick and ugly. When Jesus loves us in these area, our lives are transformed. We no longer seek to live life on the basis of our own dubious capacities but on the power of God. How few Christians allow themselves to be truly loved by God! How many people continue to cultivate their own worthiness, as if God did now know what we are really like! How often we are fixated with trying to make a good impression in the eyes of others. Instead we are a church that owes its existence to mercy. We are a people whose scent of decomposition has not dissuaded the Lord from approaching us. Our state of decay has not deterred Jesus by one jot from loving us.

We will not be transformed by the grace of God until we allow him to love us in the most undeserving and pitiful areas of our lives

Jesus cries out to Lazarus to come out. How many of us lie buried in our bunkers! We create systems of security around us that become prisons. The rock that enclosed Lazarus is like the masks that we put on to hide the ugliness and decay that is underneath. Jesus is the only one who loves us to the end, who loves us right into the tomb. Until we allow Jesus to love us in the most miserable areas of ourselves, we cannot be transformed by his grace. If we continue to think that, by our own efforts, we can raise ourselves from this misery and be worthy of his grace, we are greatly mistaken. The grace of God is free gift, pure and entire. This Sunday let us prepare for the celebration of Easter in humility and openness, accepting that the Lord must love us in those areas that are dead and decaying. It is here that the glory of God is revealed, in loving us in a way that is scandalously unconditional.