5th Sunday in Lent, March 29, 2020

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.

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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

4th Sunday in Lent, March 22, 2020

Themes: God is our light in the darkness; where are we willfully blind?

The Man Born Blind—John 9:1–41

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciple asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” So they said to him, “[So] how were your eyes opened?” He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a Sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” [But] others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see? His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he." He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying ‘We see.’ And so your sin remains”

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Music Meditations for the Week

• Amazing Grace (sung by Susan Boyle)
• Lead Kindly Light (Angelica Garza)
• Precious Lord, Take my Hand (NIU Chamber Choir)

Companions for the Journey

This is a short biography or writing from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition—a person who embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying today:

This story is from Paul O’Reilly, a doctor and a Jesuit from the Mary Hickey Clinic for the Homeless within the Cardinal Hume center in London:

I once had the immense privilege of helping someone to see again. She was a 14-year old girl who had a very serious and very rare infection of the brain called cavernous sinus thrombosis. And she was completely blind for about ten days. And we were all afraid that this would be permanent. According to the books we looked up, once this happens, it usually is permanent. But we put her on all the treatment we could think of and hoped for the best. And for once, the best happened. Almost miraculously, she began to recover and after several weeks her sight was almost back to normal. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so proud of myself. One day, on my ward round, I asked her how it felt to be able to see again. She said she almost felt sorry. Surprised and a little disappointed, I asked her why? She said because she wanted people to go on treating her like they had when she was blind. She explained when she was blind, whenever people came to her, they would touch her to let her know they were there. And they would touch her with great gentleness and love. That hadn’t happened to her before. And she liked that. And now she could see again, she didn’t want them to stop doing that. Seeing is believing. And touching is knowing. Christianity is the ability to see the light of Christ active in the world and to recognize it for what it is—the action and the goodness of God—even when it is present in ordinary people doing ordinary things.

St Paul tells us: ‘You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth.’ He does not say, like a bad preacher would, that we are living in the light; he says we are the light. In calling ourselves Christians we are undertaking the responsibility to be the light of Christ in the World. And this time of Lent is the season in which examine ourselves to discover just how well we have discharged that responsibility in the past year, and in the present moment and in the coming year. It is the time when we ask the three great questions which St Ignatius, the founder of my religious order - asked of himself in prayer every day of his life:
What have I done for Christ?
What am I doing for Christ?
What will I do for Christ?
Once you have seen the light of Christ, your life can never be the same again. Once you have been touched with love, you never want it to stop.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session:

“One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”

Living The Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use these personal reflection questions and meditations:

Reflection Questions

• What is the difference between physical sight and vision?
• John is not telling us that one man was born blind and Jesus cured him, but that we humans are “blind from birth” and we all need healing. What are my limitations, blind spots false notions of God? What leads us to spiritual blindness? (self-absorption, righteousness, unwillingness to change and grow, for example?)
• When have I preferred shadows, darkness and illusion in my life? What have been the enlightening moments in my life?
• Do we see, really see, the needs around us, or are we willfully blind? How do we deal with those who are willfully blind? Can we?
• Why are we born the way we are? Do we believe our bad luck is the result of God’s punishment, or that our good luck is the result of God’s pleasure?
• What kind of courage do we need in this day and age to witness to Jesus?
• How has your perception of Jesus changed in the course of your own spiritual journey?
• Recall some beliefs which were once a part of your life, but which you no longer consider to be true.
• Have difficult times in your life affected your faith? In what way?
• If Jesus were to ask you, “What is it that you want me to do for you?” what would you answer?
• What have been my “blind spots”? Where has God’s grace figured in my enlightenment? How has this enlightenment affected my behavior?
• In short, we must do more than “believe”. We must act on our beliefs. What will my action be this week? Where will my light shine this week?
• Has anyone ever tried to make me conform to beliefs that were popular and accepted as correct, but which contradicted my own? Have I ever been in a position of power or authority where I tried to coerce others into voicing my opinions or beliefs? Have I ever been intimidated by a person who had power to harm me in some way?
• Is there anything in my life right now that keeps me from seeing what God wants me to see?
• Has there ever been someone in my life who shed light on my actions, my goals, my relationships? How did I respond?
• Have I ever made judgments about someone based on how they looked or acted, or based on commonly held beliefs about such a person? Has anyone ever judged me in this way?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the section from John again on the man born blind, and pay special attention to the reactions of the Pharisees. Pharisees have not been well regarded by Christianity as a whole, but the fact is, they were very religious people. God really was the center of their lives, and they saw that the best way to do God’s will was to be very attentive to the laws of Judaism. These were rather strict laws which imposed a considerable burden on those who chose to follow them, and the piety of those who followed the laws was very real. These were, in the main, good people. In fact, when we look at the American Catholic of the 1950’s—rigidly and almost obsessively following “rules” such as abstaining from meat on Fridays, fasting each day of Lent, attending First Friday Masses, Stations of the Cross on Lenten Fridays, being very diligent about frequent confessions and the proper attire for Church—we can see a great resemblance between us and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. The problem occurs when we think we know God better than anybody else does and proceed to judge others by our own religious standards. Spiritual arrogance is the problem for a lot of us, whether we realize it or not. Have I been confidently smug about my relationship with God because I appear to be a good person? I reflect on a time when I have I been judgmental of someone who made a decision which I thought was a bad or wrong one. Have I ever made a judgment about someone only to discover that I didn’t have the story straight? Did I share my judgment with others and injure this person’s reputation? I reflect on Jesus saying: “since you say ‘we see’ your guilt remains.” I end my meditation with a prayer for true humility which allows me to see the good in others and to realize that all my spiritual gifts come only from God.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

We all have some area of blindness in our lives—usually a habit of the heart that we don't want to acknowledge because it might mean changing. Spend some time reflecting on a fault, flaw or attitude that you really are not very proud of. Speak to Jesus about the difficulty of being honest with yourself, and speak to Him of your desire to work on this character trait during the rest of Lent.

A Meditation in the Ignatian style/Imagination:

Read this passage again from John 9:1-41. Imagine that you are the blind man. What, exactly, is your life like? Where do you live? What do you do every day? How do other people treat you? What do you think when you hear that Jesus is in the area? Why do you do what Jesus says? How do you feel to have your sight restored? Does it make you nervous when you are questioned by the Pharisees? How does your perception of who Jesus is gradually change? Do you believe him only because of the fact that he healed you? What is your life going to be like from now on? Would it change anything about your perception of Jesus if your blindness recurred? Returning to the present day and your 21st century life, reflect on where you need healing, where Jesus has enlightened you, and what your mission is to be in this life going forward. Make a realistic plan.

Poetic Reflection:

Read the following poem from Mary Oliver, reflecting on whether you have ever been blind to God’s grace:

The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist
Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine.
They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward
To receive the gift
From the priest’s hand,
Then the chalice.
They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.
I want
To see Jesus,
Maybe in the clouds
Or on the shore,
Just walking,
Beautiful man
And clearly
Someone else
Besides.
On the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.
Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.