Sunday Gospel Reflection
"Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God!"
Introduction:
"Don't miss that call!" seems to be the prevailing sentiment of U.S. society these days. Who of us hasn't had a telephone conversation, even a long distance call, interrupted by someone needing to answer a "call waiting" signal. The assumption being that the incoming call may be more important than the current call. We use all kind of devises for people to get through to us and often walk around with a cell phone in our hands so that we don't miss that all important call.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a spiritual cell phone so that God could reach us at anytime day or night by simply calling our spiritual cell phone number? I wonder how many of us would walk around with the cell phone off, or even worse allow God's call to be interrupted by a seemingly more important "call waiting" signal from our world.
In this week's Gospel reading, we see Martha and Mary being
linked by faith to Jesus and His message of resurrection and life. "When Martha heard
that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him." Mary heard Jesus' call through Martha,
"The Master is here and calls for you." And as soon as she heard that Jesus
called for her, "she rose quickly and went to him." In this fifth week of Lent,
do we hear Jesus' call, and are we rising in faith to respond to His call? Imagine what
would have happened, or should we say what would not have happened, if Martha and Mary had
not responded in faith to Jesus. What a glorious experience and message they would
have missed.
Jesus chose to punctuate the message of resurrection and
life by raising Lazarus bodily from death. This is the third time Jesus raised someone
from the dead, demonstrating each time that He holds the keys to life. But it was in this
instance, a precursor of His own death and resurrection, that He chose to clearly
articulate the promise of resurrection and life for those who believe. "Thus the
human being linked in faith to Christ possesses a life that will outlive death and that
already here on earth
reaches into eternity. It is as Christ himself once expressed
it: 'Amen, amen, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has
life everlasting, and does not come to judgement, but has passed from death to life' (John
5:24)... After Golgotha death was never the same. To believe in Jesus Christ means to
share in his
deathlessness, as he himself said we should: He who believes
shall have life everlasting, even in death" (from The Lord, by Romano Guardini).
How different must have been the lives of Lazarus, Martha,
and Mary after this experience. Not simply because Lazarus lived again after being dead
for four days, but because they came to experience a life "that already here on earth
reaches into eternity." Martha's words to Mary echo in our ears, "The Master is
here
and calls for you."
Jesus still calls to us, offering this resurrection life to us as well. How will you respond?
First Reading
Ezekiel 37:12-14
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord
GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I
will bring you home into the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your
graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live,
and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken,
and I have done it, says the LORD
Second Reading
Romans 8:8-11
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in
fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does
not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead
because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also
through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Gospel Reading
John 11:1-45
1 Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the
village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with
perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
3 So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master,
the one you love is ill."
4 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."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two
days in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us
go back to Judea."
8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were
just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a
day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this
world.
10 But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light
is not in him."
11 He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus
is asleep, but I am going to awaken him."
12 So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is
asleep, he will be saved."
13 But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought
that he meant ordinary sleep.
14 So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died.
15 And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may
believe. Let us go to him."
16 So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
"Let us also go to die with him."
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been
in the tomb for four days.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
19 And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort
them about their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet
him; but Mary sat at home.
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died.
22 (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God
will give you."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."
24 Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the
resurrection on the last day."
25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe
that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary
secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you."
29 As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to
him.
30 For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still
where Martha had met him.
31 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting
her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to
the tomb to weep there.
32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at
his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have
died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with
her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled,
34 and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to
him, "Sir, come and see."
35 And Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
37 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?"
38 So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave,
and a stone lay across it.
39 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."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you
believe you will see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and
said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.
42 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."
43 And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
44 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
himgo."
45 Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he
had done began to believe in him.
Bible Study
1 Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the
village of Mary and her sister Martha.
----Means "God has helped." Hebrew:
Eleazar. By the way the sacred writer introduces the village, he expects us to know who
Martha and Mary are (Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus is a guest and teaches in their house) .
The name today is El-Azariyeh (an Arabic corruption of the name Lazarus). It is less than
two miles southeast of Jerusalem, separated from it by the Mount of Olives.
2 Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed
oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
----There are a number of women in the Gospels who are
called Mary. The Mary here is Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus, the woman who later
anointed our Lord, again in Bethany, at the house of Simon the Leper. "She was the
one who anointed" expresses an action which occurred prior to the time of writing,
but the anointing took place after the resurrection of Lazarus. Were Mary of Bethany, Mary
Magdalene, and the "sinful" woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Galilee (Luke
7:36) one, two, or three women? It seems most likely that they are all different people.
Due to the times, locations and details reported the anointings at Bethany and Galilee are
believed to be two separate anointings. Nothing given about Mary Magdalene links her to
the other two Marys.
3 So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master,
the one you love is ill."
----The sisters' message simply states the facts. The
sisters' request, like the Blessed Virgin's at Cana, is implicit in their words.
4 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."
----Like Cana, Jesus' first reply appears to be a
rejection of the request.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
----John is careful to point out that it was not lack
of love for Lazarus and his sisters that caused Him to delay going to him. The reason for
the delay will become apparent later in this narrative.
6 So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two
days in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go
back to Judea."
8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just
trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?"
----The disciples are reminding Him that His life is in
danger there (John 10:31, 39).
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in
a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this
world.
10 But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light
is not in him."
----Jesus' answer uses the image of His coming
(and impending departure) as light of the world (John 9:4-5). The phrase "the light
is not in him" may reflect the ancient Jewish belief that there was a light within
the eye which allowed a person to see (see also Luke 11:34; Matthew 6:23).
11 He said this, and then told them, "Our friend
Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him."
12 So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is
asleep, he will be saved."
13 But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought
that he meant ordinary sleep.
----The pattern of dialog often depicted in John
is followed: Jesus makes a statement regarding a profound religious truth which is
misunderstood in a surface and material sense. This misunderstanding permits the Lord (or
John at times) to develop further the truly spiritual meaning of His pronouncement.
14 So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has
died.
15 And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may
believe. Let us go to him."
16 So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
"Let us also go to die with him."
-----Didymus is the Greek word for twin; Thomas
is derived from the Aramaic word for twin. In the ancient Syriac version and in the
apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (80:11-12) his given name, Judas, is provided. Thomas' words
remind us of the Apostles saying at the Last Supper that they would be ready to die for
their master (Matthew 26:31-35). We have already seen how the apostles stayed loyal when
many disciples left our Lord after His bread of life discourse (John 6:67-71).
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb for four days.
----This underlies the reality of Lazarus' death.
Contemporary Jewish belief was that the soul of the dead remained in the vicinity of the
body for three days and then departed. Some commentators take the day Jesus was notified
(v4), the two days more that He stayed (v6) and this four days; add them and show that the
resurrection occurred on the 7th day.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles
away.
19 And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort
them about their brother.
----Mourning rites usually extended seven days
from the time of death.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to
meet him; but Mary sat at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
----One who is well known for His miracles should
have been able to heal Lazarus. Martha confesses a faith in Jesus that recognizes that God
is the source of Jesus' powers. This separates her from those crowds that are amazed by
Jesus' deeds and divided over His identity.
22 (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God
will give you."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."
24 Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the
resurrection on the last day."
----Jesus' words to Martha have elicited an
expression of her belief in the resurrection of the dead in the end times; a doctrine held
by the Pharisees.
25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the
life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
----Jesus affirms Martha' belief in a
resurrection to come, with the significant addition that its power is to be found in
Himself. Physical death is the common lot of mankind, Christians included, but faith in
Christ will bring the believer to life again in the resurrection. Since the believer
already possesses true or eternal life, physical death can never really affect him.
27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe
that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."
----Martha confesses her faith in these Christian
truths, using the formulas with which she was familiar from Old Testament expectation. She
still has not been told that Lazarus will rise here and now as a sign.
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister
Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you."
29 As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to
him.
30 For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still
where Martha had met him.
31 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting
her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to
the tomb to weep there.
32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at
his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have
died."
----Mary's greeting is almost the same as
Martha's. She too confesses a faith in Jesus that recognizes that God is the source of His
powers.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come
with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled,
----Literally, "He snorted in spirit and was
deeply troubled". Perhaps in anger at the presence of evil (death). With these
actions even the crowd is able to recognize that Jesus "loved" Lazarus.
34 and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said
to him, "Sir, come and see."
35 And Jesus wept.
----Verse 35 is the shortest verse in Holy
Scripture. In many translations it is only the two words "Jesus wept".
36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
37 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?"
38 So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave,
and a stone lay across it. 39 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' command to remove the stone provides
one last occasion to remind the readers of how long Lazarus has been buried.
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you
believe you will see the glory of God?"
----Only the disciples (in v4) had been
explicitly told that the death of Lazarus is for the "glory of God".
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes
and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.
42 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."
----Jesus is not play-acting. His visible
thanksgiving to the Father however, is necessary to bring out the truth that in His works
He is not simply a man endowed with wonder-working power but the emissary of the Father of
life.
43 And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
----A dramatization of John 5:28 "the hour
is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice." (See also Daniel 12:2).
44 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
himgo."
----Jesus is not play-acting. His visible
thanksgiving to the Father however, is necessary to bring out the truth that in His works
He is not simply a man endowed with wonder-working power but the emissary of the Father of
life.
45 Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
Meditation
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17). Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters as dear friends and he often stayed in their home at Bethany. Why did Jesus delay in coming to Lazarus' side when he knew that his friend was gravely ill? Sickness can befall us for a variety of reasons. Jesus attributed Lazarus' sickness to the glory of God. The glory which Jesus had in mind, however, was connected with the cross. He saw the cross as his supreme glory and the way to glory in the kingdom of God. For Jesus there was no other way to glory except through the cross. Jesus knew that if he went to help Lazarus he would expose himself to grave danger from those in Jerusalem who were plotting his destruction. Jesus was willing to pay the price to help his friend.
Jesus' two day delay must have puzzled his disciples. But
they were clearly startled and upset when Jesus did announce that he was going to Bethany,
which is very close to Jerusalem. This looked like suicide since they knew the religious
authorities were out to get rid of Jesus. For Jesus to come to Jerusalem at Passover time
was an act of courage. The explanation which Jesus gave to his disciples was simple
and challenging at the same time. "Are there not twelve hours in the day?"
In so many words he said: "There are enough hours in the day to do what one
must do." A day can neither be rushed nor extended. Its period is fixed.
In God's economy we each have our "day" whether it be short or long.
While time is limited, there is enough for us to accomplish what God intends.
God gives each of us our allotted portion
in life. We can either waste it or use it to the utmost
for God's glory. Jesus did not let circumstances or pressure dictate what he would
do. Nor did he permit others to dictate his actions or timetable. He took action of his
own initiative and in his good time. Don't we often try to get God to do things in
our way and on our timetable?
Both the Romans and the Jews divided the day into twelve
equal hours from sunrise to sunset. The day's work and travel, however, ceased when
the daylight was gone. If someone wanted to get their day's work done, he had to do
it before it got dark. Jesus made a spiritual analogy with our relationship with
God. While the light of Christ
is with us, we must live and walk in the truth and grace of
his light. There's a right time to make peace with God, and that time is now.
When darkness comes, then judgment follows for those who refuse God and spurn his love.
When Jesus announced that Lazarus was dead and that he was
going to Jerusalem, Thomas showed remarkable courage. "Let us go, that we may
die with him." This courage, however, was not tempered with faith and hope in
God's promise to bring victory out of defeat. Even though Thomas was a witness to Lazarus'
resurrection, he
betrayed his master when arrest and death stared him in the
face. He doubted his master's resurrection until Jesus showed him the wounds of his
passion. God gives us faith, courage, and the strength we need to persevere through any
trial and suffering we must face in this life. If we embrace our cross with faith
and trust in God, then we, too, will see victory and glory.
What is the significance of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead? It is more than a miraculous event. It is a "sign" of God's promise to raise up all who have died in Christ to everlasting life. That is why Jesus asked Martha if she believed in the resurrection from the dead. The Christian creed, which is the profession of our faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and in the saving power of God, culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life everlasting. This is our faith and our hope. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit that we may be made alive in Christ. Even now we can experience the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in our personal lives. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to change and transform us into men and women of faith, hope, and love. Do you believe that the power of Jesus' resurrection is at work in your life today? Let the Holy Spirit strengthen within you the life and joy of God and the hope of heaven.
The name Lazarus means "God is my help".
Jesus' parable of the poor man Lazarus who died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's
bosom (Luke 16:19-31), ends with a warning: "If they do not hear Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead."
Through Lazarus' sickness and subsequent death, God brought glory through Jesus his
only begotten Son, who raised his friend from the dead in anticipation of his own death
and resurrection. Our participation in the Lord's Supper in the Eucharist already
gives us a foretaste of Jesus' transfiguration of our bodies. Irenaeus, a second
century church father states: "Just as bread that comes from the earth, after
God's blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist,
formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which
partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of
resurrection" (Adv. Haeres. 4,18). Psalm 27
ends with the great prayer of hope in the resurrection: I
believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait
for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord!
Reflections:
· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you.
· 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?" (John 11:25,26)
----How would you answer Jesus' question in these two
verses?
----Do you find joy and hope in the resurrection of
Christ?
· 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." (John 11:38-42)
----What is the stone that needs to be rolled away so
that you can experience new life? Who would help you rolling that stone? Have you ever ask for help?
----How can you help roll away the stone for others?
· Sometimes God delays actions while suffering and death happen. Have you experienced that delay? Do you then have faith in God? Is your suffering connected to Jesus' cross and thus to the glory of God?
. Jesus gives life but receives death in return. The
disciples know this, so they oppose the idea of Jesus going to Judea.
----As Jesus did, are you ready to give help when it
costs dearly?
Making connections
Jesus is the one we can always trust. We can trust him to love us, because he does, no matter what we do. We can trust him to comfort us when we turn to him. We can trust him to guide us when we listen to him. He wants only the best for us. In return, we can try to give only our best to him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you have ransomed us with your blood and
restored us to life with the Father in heaven. May your resurrection be our hope as
we long for the day when
we will see you face to face in glory.