Themes: Hope and Consolation, a chance for a new life in Christ

The Raising of Lazarus—John 11:1–45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 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. So the sisters sent word to him, 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.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” 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. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles* away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 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 to him, “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 Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you. As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. 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. 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.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, 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.

Music Meditations

Possible songs to use for meditation/prayer:

Christ in Me Arise--Trevor Thomson
On Eagle’s Wings--Jules Antenor
I Will Arise and Go to Jesus--Rutt Sallinan
You Raise Me Up--Josh Groban

Companions for the Journey

This is a short biography or quote from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition—a person who or commentary which embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying.

from “America”, the national Jesuit weekly magazine:

The Bible’s greatest and most powerful image of hope is that of resurrection. Resurrection hope is the theme of the Scripture readings for the fifth Sunday of Lent. The reading from John 11 tells how Jesus restored his friend Lazarus to life. It is the last and greatest of the seven “signs” or miracles that the Johannine Jesus performs during his public ministry. It is more than a resuscitation (since Lazarus has been dead for three days) and less than a resurrection (since we assume that Lazarus will die again). It is a sign pointing to the resurrection of Jesus. What Jesus does for Lazarus, his heavenly Father will do for Jesus—and more. Jesus will not die again. Indeed, in his resurrection Jesus will conquer death. Thus Jesus’ restoration of Lazarus to life is a preview of Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead. The raising of Lazarus is first and foremost a sign about Jesus. The narrative emphasizes Jesus’ personal affection for Lazarus and his sisters. He loves these people and shows compassion toward them. It also emphasizes Jesus’ great power in his ability to restore Lazarus to life again. And it helps to explain what led to Jesus’ arrest and execution, since this last public action by Jesus in John’s Gospel arouses the jealousy and fears of his opponents and sets in motion the plot against him that leads to his execution. The last great sign points us toward the Johannine passion narrative. It signifies that the death Jesus undergoes on Good Friday is not ultimately a defeat, since Jesus has power over death. The purpose of the raising of Lazarus was that God’s glory might be made manifest in this event. It is a sign that Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and exaltation constitute one glorious event in the history of our salvation. Jesus’ being lifted up on the cross is part of his being lifted up to eternal glory with his heavenly Father.

The Lazarus story has import for us. In the middle of the account, Jesus declares, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He goes on to affirm that “whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Most of us are accustomed to regard “eternal life” as something that begins only when we die. But Jesus asserts that for those who believe in him, eternal life has already begun. Who we are now is what we shall be forever. For us, as for Jesus, physical death is not a defeat. Rather, it is another step on the way to fullness of life with God. For us eternal life has already begun, and the best is yet to come. The great corollary of belief in Jesus’ resurrection is the possibility of our resurrection. Because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we too can hope to share in his resurrection. If the Holy Spirit dwells in us (as the beginning of our eternal life), that same Spirit can give us a full share in the resurrected life of Jesus…Christian spirituality is based on Jesus’ death and resurrection; it is guided by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and that we must respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We can do so by prayer, the sacraments, good deeds, compassion for those in need, meeting the challenges of everyday life and cultivating the great Christian virtues of faith, hope and love.

by Daniel J Harrington, S.J.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session:

“Lazarus, come out!”
“Take away the stone!”

Reflection Questions

Which of the characters in the story do you most identify with? Why?
What are some of the “stones” that keep us entombed in a sort of death? (Fear, shame, envy, anger and sadness are examples)
Walter Burghardt, in his homily on the fifth Sunday of Lent many years ago, said: “Eternal life does not begin with death. It begins now, because through Jesus, God and I are already one.” How do we live out or fail to live out that understanding?
Do we believe that those who have died are linked to us through the communion of saints? Do we have an examples to relate?
Have you ever done something for a friend that caused you severe discomfort or pain? Was it worth it?
If I were to die tomorrow, what have I left undone, unsaid? For whom have I withheld forgiveness? From whom have I not sought forgiveness?
What parts of my life need healing, mercy, resurrection?
Where is my interior necrosis? Where is the dead part of my soul?
Do I reflect the joy of Christ, or am I like a mourner at a funeral?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read John 11:1-45 again. Imagine the various scenes in this story. Try to picture Mary and Martha coping with the desperate illness of their brother. Imagine the scene on the far side of the Jordan where Jesus is hiding out to avoid arrest. What is Jesus actually doing when he receives the message about Lazarus? Try to put yourself in Mary and Martha’s shoes as they see Jesus after Lazarus has died. Would you react the same way? How does Jesus react? What does that tell you about his feelings for Lazarus and for Mary and Martha? Have you ever felt that God was a little too slow in reacting to a crisis in your life? Reflect on the final outcome and see if you can detect the presence of God in good times and in bad times. Imagine a dialogue with the risen Lazarus. What do you think he would say to you?

A Meditation in the the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

A homily of Pope Francis on April 6, 2014 (from A Year of Mercy with Pope Francis):

Today I invite you to think for a moment, in silence here: where is my interior necrosis? Where is the dead part of my soul? Where is my tomb? Think, for a short moment…What part of the heart can be corrupted because of my attachment to sin, one sin or another? And to remove the stone, to take away the stone of shame and allow the Lord to say to us as he said to Lazarus: “Come out!” that all our sould might be healed, might be raised by the love of Jesus. He is capable of forgiving us. We all need it! All of us. We are all sinners, but we must be careful not to become corrupt. Sinners we may be, but He forgives us. Reflection:

Consider Pope Francis’s questions above. What parts of your life need healing, mercy, resurrection? Trust in the power of Jesus to transform you.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Is it hard to know what to say to someone who is in the throes of grief? Can one simply acknowledge that we do not know how to help, but that we are concerned about them and are available if needed? Do you know of anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one, or a job, or health? What one gesture of sympathy and solidarity can you make this week to comfort this person?

Literary reflection:

Sit with this poem for a while and see of it says anything to you about hope. Birago Diop, A Muslim poet from Senegal, sums up our convictions about those who have gone before us:

Those who are dead have never gone away,
They are in the shadows darkening around,
They are in the shadows fading into day,
The dead are not under the ground.
They are in the trees that quiver,
They are in the woods that weep,
They are in the waters of the rivers,
They are in the waters that sleep.
They are in the crowds, they are in the homestead.
The dead are never dead

Literary Reflection:

Take a look at a poem by Mary Oliver that looks at death from the point of view of each of us. Do you agree with her or do you have another sort of wish?

“When Death Comes”

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world

Weekly Reflections

5th Sunday in Lent, March 29, 2020