The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to follow the prompting of the Spirit to accept audacious action that brings life to those who we encounter on our journey.
The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel follows the vision of the Dry Bones.
* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37, n.d.)
Psalm 130 is a prayer waiting for Divine Redemption.
* [Psalm 130] This lament, a Penitential Psalm, is the De profundis used in liturgical prayers for the faithful departed. In deep sorrow the psalmist cries to God (Ps 130:1–2), asking for mercy (Ps 130:3–4). The psalmist’s trust (Ps 130:5–6) becomes a model for the people (Ps 130:7–8). (Psalms, PSALM 130, n.d.)
In the reading from Romans, Paul contrasts the Flesh and the Spirit.
* [8:1–13] After his warning in Rom 7 against the wrong route to fulfillment of the objective of holiness expressed in Rom 6:22, Paul points his addressees to the correct way. Through the redemptive work of Christ, Christians have been liberated from the terrible forces of sin and death. Holiness was impossible so long as the flesh (or our “old self”), that is, self-interested hostility toward God (Rom 8:7), frustrated the divine objectives expressed in the law. What is worse, sin used the law to break forth into all manner of lawlessness (Rom 8:8). All this is now changed. At the cross God broke the power of sin and pronounced sentence on it (Rom 8:3). Christians still retain the flesh, but it is alien to their new being, which is life in the spirit, namely the new self, governed by the holy Spirit. Under the direction of the holy Spirit Christians are able to fulfill the divine will that formerly found expression in the law (Rom 8:4). The same Spirit who enlivens Christians for holiness will also resurrect their bodies at the last day (Rom 8:11). Christian life is therefore the experience of a constant challenge to put to death the evil deeds of the body through life of the spirit (Rom 8:13). (Romans, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)
The Gospel of John relates the death of Lazarus to Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life who raises Lazarus to Life.
* [11:1–44] The raising of Lazarus, the longest continuous narrative in John outside of the passion account, is the climax of the signs. It leads directly to the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus. The theme of life predominates. Lazarus is a token of the real life that Jesus dead and raised will give to all who believe in him. Johannine irony is found in the fact that Jesus’ gift of life leads to his own death. The story is not found in the synoptics, but cf. Mk 5:21 and parallels; Lk 7:11–17. There are also parallels between this story and Luke’s parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31). In both a man named Lazarus dies; in Luke, there is a request that he return to convince his contemporaries of the need for faith and repentance, while in John, Lazarus does return and some believe but others do not. (John, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
Mirielle Mason comments that we have a lot to gain from suffering. Strength, perseverance, faith, and perspective are a few that come to mind.
What was at the root of all of this? Suffering. Lazarus suffered an illness and death. The sisters suffered grief at the loss of their brother. They had frustration, sadness, hopelessness and so many other emotions. But what did this anguish allow for? A community came together to love and support them! Jesus performed a miracle that instilled faith in many bystanders.
What is my point here? Suffering is what brings us together - it unites us. We all have it. The pain of others is what gives us the opportunity to be Christ to others. A life free of suffering is not possible, but we do have the unique ability to lessen the difficulties of others. And remember, the greatest suffering of all was Jesus died on the cross to save us… (Mason, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Cross and Resurrection,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Jesus' cross is an example of painful toil. His resurrection is the reward of painful toil. In the cross He showed us how we are to bear suffering. In His resurrection He showed us what we are to hope for." (excerpt from On the Creed 3,9) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 11:1-45 comments that the reality of death was painful for Jesus even though he was planning to raise Lazarus. We might believe that a loved one is with God, and perhaps feel guilty about grieving because of the joy that they are now experiencing in heaven. But Jesus’ example shows us that it’s human to be sad, and that our faith isn’t somehow deficient if we grieve.
If you are experiencing grief, know that Jesus is with you in your sorrow, not as a dispassionate bystander, but as a fellow mourner. He understands your pain, and in your darkest hour, he is with you to comfort and console you.
“Jesus, thank you for never abandoning me, in good times and in bad.” (Meditation on John 11:1-45, n.d.)
Rob Marsh SJ, a tutor in spirituality at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, begins to imagine the events in the gospel reading for the fifth Sunday of Lent from the point of view of Lazarus, raised from the dead.
He knew that raising the dead was the last straw. My God! Even coming here, near Passover, when he did, was a risk, let alone such a dramatic gesture! He knew what he was doing when he gave me back my life. He was buying his own death. I understood that look in his eyes when they took him, bound, and the smile on his lips.
Oh, they’ll kill him, there’s no doubt of that. They’ll have to have their way. ‘Better that one man should die than the rest suffer’ – that’s what our people’ll say, making it a Passover bargain, a lamb for a life.
What more can you do for someone you love than trade your life for theirs? But what a gift to have to receive! Where does it leave me, to have been loved that much and to know the cost and, while he dies, to go on living? (Marsh, 2020)
Friar Jude Winkler shares the practice of Zoroaster in the treatment of dead bodies that resonates with the passage from Ezekiel. The Life of the Spirit proclaimed by Paul is so profound that it helps us to participate in rising from the dead. Friar Jude identifies the realized eschatology in communion with Christ even as we need normal mourning at the loss of those close to us.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, has long admired what he considers the “spiritual genius” of Bill Wilson (1895–1971), one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. In his book on the spirituality of the Twelve Steps, Richard describes why the first step is essential—for alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike.
It is the imperial ego that has to go, and only powerlessness can do the job correctly. Otherwise, we try to engineer our own transformation by our own rules and with our own power—which is therefore, by definition, not transformation! It seems we can in no way engineer or steer our own conversion. If we try to change our ego with the help of our ego, we only have a better-disguised ego! To borrow a quote often associated with Albert Einstein, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” [1] (Rohr, 2023)
We seek the strength to respond to the call to accept being unbound in the service of those we can help unbind.
References
Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?12
John, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/11?1
Marsh, R. (2020, March 26). Lazarus alive. Thinking Faith. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/lazarus-alive
Mason, M. (2023, March 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032623.html
Meditation on John 11:1-45. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/03/26/638603/
Psalms, PSALM 130. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/130?1
Rohr, R. (2023, March 26). Admitting Our Powerlessness — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/admitting-our-powerlessness-2023-03-26/
Romans, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?8
Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Am the Resurrection and the Life. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar26
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