Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A
Ezekiel 37:12–14
Ps. 130:1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8
Romans 8:8–11
John 11:1–45
“Lord, if You had been here….” Both Martha and Mary address the cry of their heart to Jesus in these words, expressing their belief in Him. In the face of their grief and the grief of those with them, Jesus Himself weeps. He weeps, not for Lazarus, but for us. He knows our grief. He joins us in our grief. He allows Himself to be touched by our plight and to experience it in the humanity He shares with us.
There are many tragedies that we experience in our lives. Every day brings news of matters that are completely beyond us. Often, we cannot understand what happens. We allow our thoughts to go back in time and imagine what might have been. “Lord, if You had been here.…”
The current situation of the world is a great burden for all of us. Decisions are made that carry our lives in directions that we never expected to go. We have lived an illusion that we are beyond such happenings. But here they are, right in front of us.
No family is without personal tragedies. The unexpected death of loved ones happens, and we can only look back and ask “Why?” and “What if?” We receive news about our own health or the health of those who are close to us, and we must now adjust our priorities, discerning what is most important and what must be set aside, at least for now.
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Jesus’ response is to invite us to believe in Him, to put our trust in Him. We do wish that He would raise Lazarus for us or that He would expel the sickness so that we do not have to follow the usual course of grieving and suffering and submitting to medical procedures. But He calls us to put our Faith in Him to act now. He is with us.
Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus’ illness is “for the glory of God.” He tells Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life….” He speaks to Lazarus, calling him by name, even though he is already dead: “Lazarus, come out!”
The raising of Lazarus is that last straw for those who are plotting against Jesus because they fear Him and His influence over the people. Because Lazarus has been raised, showing Jesus’ power, they decide that Jesus must die. We know that the death of Jesus is for the glory of God. It reveals the truth that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
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God promises “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them…. O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live.…” We cry out to God from the depths of our sorrows. We put our Faith in Him, trusting that in truth, “With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.”
God allows things that are beyond us to happen to us. We are overwhelmed. Relying on His power and His Love, we are stretched, and we grow in Faith that He is with us. We trust that God will continue to be with us and to accomplish all that He has told us: “I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.”
Do you believe this?
