REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

5^th Sunday Lent A (10 April 2011)

Fr James McTavish, FMVD

“Come out from the tomb!”

We continue our Lenten journey. On our way we have encountered the thirsty Samaritan woman, the blind man and today we will meet Lazarus who has been dead for four days. Jesus is the living water who can quench thirst, the Light who illuminates the blindness we have and today Jesus announces himself as the resurrection and the Life: “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?" (See John 11, 1-45).

Lazarus has been lying in the tomb for 4 days and his sisters are concerned that by now he will be smelling badly. Sometimes when something in us is dead it can smell bad such as when we have a bad attitude towards someone – “the one who does not love remains in death” said St John in one of his letters. It reminds me of the world’s most famous perfume; the seven dwarves. A man wanted to impress his wife on their anniversary. He bought the most famous perfume in the world for $1000. When his wife put it on her eyes started to water from the overpowering stench. The husband ran back to the market ready to throttle the perfume seller. The perfume seller took the perfume and smelled it. “Yes,” he said “there is a problem with the seven dwarves...one of them died.” In our spiritual life sometimes relationships can die, we can cut a person off from the land of the living. Jesus comes to save us from spiritual death. Why do I say spiritual death? Because for sure we will all die physically one day, even if a miracle can extend life for a while, or for up to 70 years (80 for those who are strong says the psalmist).

To really believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life can be shown in the way we live. Oftentimes we encounter men and women with a lively faith in God’s power and it shows in the way they live. Two examples come to mind – one is Oscar Romero and the other is Sophie Scholl. Oscar Romero was an Archbishop in El Salvador. He spoke out strongly against human rights abuses of his people. He received death threats but he stated “If I am killed I will rise up in the Salvadorean people.” He was assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist but his memory and courage lived on in the people. He believed in the words of Jesus “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

Another example is a young German girl called Sophie Scholl. During World War II she was a college student in Nazi Germany. She opposed the regime, and detested the killing of mentally challenged children who were being euthanased by the Nazis. She also condemned the killing of Jews and the horrors of war. With her brother they were distributing anti-Nazi propaganda and were caught. She was interrogated but held firm to her convictions. Her life has been made into an excellent film called “The last days of Sophie Scholl.” She held on to her faith in God and put all her trust in him. It made me think about my own life – do I have courage to stand up for what I believe in? Even when I will be misunderstood, criticised and may have to die to my image in front of others. This type of death, although not physical, is actually very “painful”. To die to wanting to react back when someone criticises you, to die to the temptation to seek revenge, to die to the desire to cut that person off from my existence. Why am I so afraid of death if in fact I believe in the resurrection?

St Paul in the second reading of today (Romans 8, 8-11) reminds us that w are not to live in the flesh (which is to live in death) but instead we are to live in the Spirit, which is to be fully alive. As St Irenaeus said “the glory of God is many fully alive.” God will indeed bring us back to life. What hope do we have for those parts in our heart that are not fully alive like the dead dwarves, bad attitudes or the sinful habits? We are reassured “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8, 11) We must not be afraid to suffer as often it is here that God is working powerfully in us, changing our darkness into light and our death into life.

Jesus walks by our lives once again today and commands to each one of us “Lazarus, come out!” It can be to come out of our laziness, our self pity, our complaints – whatever causes death in us, whatever kills off our joy. It is healthy to ask “What is my tomb?” Where do we take refuge and close ourselves from life? It can be the tomb of the past, of previous failures, of harsh comments that we have put more trust in rather than seeking refuge in the love of God. We can be buried alive in a tomb of excuses, wrapped up in bandages of fear and anxiety. Jesus stands in front of our tomb today and announces “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Believe in me. Come out of your tomb.” Jesus in his love for us calls us back to life. We are called today to continue and persevere on this journey towards the fullness of life. We must not be afraid of our sin which kills us but place our trust in Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life. Amen.