26 March, 2023 | Fifth Sunday of Lent

Gospel:  Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, 

“Master, the one you love is ill.”

When Jesus heard this he said,

“This illness is not to end in death, 

but is for the glory of God, 

that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So when he heard that he was ill, 

he remained for two days in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to his disciples, 

"Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus 

had already been in the tomb for four days.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,

she went to meet him; 

but Mary sat at home.

Martha said to Jesus, 

“Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,

God will give you.”

Jesus said to her,

“Your brother will rise.”

Martha said,

“I know he will rise,

in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus told her,

“I am the resurrection and the life; 

whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 

and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord.

I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,

the one who is coming into the world.”

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, 

“Where have you laid him?”

They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”

And Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”

But some of them said, 

“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man 

have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.

It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, 

“Lord, by now there will be a stench; 

he has been dead for four days.”

Jesus said to her,

“Did I not tell you that if you believe 

you will see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone.

And Jesus raised his eyes and said, 

“Father, I thank you for hearing me.

I know that you always hear me; 

but because of the crowd here I have said this, 

that they may believe that you sent me.”

And when he had said this,

He cried out in a loud voice, 

“Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out,

tied hand and foot with burial bands, 

and his face was wrapped in a cloth.

So Jesus said to them,

“Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary

and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Reflections:

The story of raising Lazarus from the dead is an important one for our faith. It makes us ponder on our understanding of what it means to be fully alive. Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life,”. It gives meaning to our sufferings, pains and brokenness. When we center our life in Jesus, when we begin to die to our selfishness and live for others we will be living a life in which Jesus will be glorified. This is what is meant by fully alive in Christ Jesus. Jesus ordered the stone rolled back. Although there is a stench that emanates from the tomb, Jesus does not avoid that stench but walks right to it. Our sinful condition does not prevent the Lord from coming to us. Jesus has said “I have come that you may have life and life to the full.” Yes, he has come to be united with His people, to bring hope, forgiveness, new life, and eventually to get rid of that which causes the stench. 

Activity:

Become aware of all that blocks you and binds you and allow Jesus to enter your life and unbind you  from all that does not permit you to experience life.