Fifth Sunday of Lent - Year A Scrutinies
At every funeral mass, before I begin the official prayers, I always address the family gathered around the casket. I remind them the death of a loved one is one of those moments when the best thing we can do is to come before God. Death is one of those moments where our best option is to place life in God’s hands. Up until death, we could do everything in our power for those we love. But once someone dies, we are helpless. Our only help from this moment on is, God.
Passages such as the one that we have in today’s gospel reading assume great significance when we confront death. This passage, once again, can be approached from many perspectives. For example, if we take this along with the stories of the Samaritan woman and the healing of the blind man, then today’s story is about Martha and Mary gradually coming to their faith confession in Christ. However, today, my focus is not on Lazarus or Mary of Martha, but rather Jesus – the Jesus that Mary and Martha confessed as the messiah. I am going to focus on three verbs that describe Jesus but also what God accomplished in Jesus.
1. Jesus Loved. Twice at the beginning of the passage we hear about Jesus’ love for Lazarus’. First, the message came to Jesus in the words, “Master, the one you love is ill.” And then we are told, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” Is this detail essential to the story? Was it important for John to let us know that Jesus loved this family? Perhaps other scripture passages can help us answer the question. In Jn 3:16, John had already explained Christ mission as an act of love. “For God, so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (Jn 3:16) Paul too understood Christ’s mission as an act of God’s love. Rom 5:32 says, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” In today’s gospel, Jesus stands before the last frontier to be conquered in his saving work – death. Only love will conquer death. Not any love… only God’s love can conquer death. In the same way that the death of Lazarus was symbolic of death’s hold on the human race, Jesus’ love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus was symbolic of God’s universal love that would overpower death. If you and I have any hope for our deceased loved ones, if we have any hope of eternal life, it because Jesus dared to love the world and each person in it.
2. Jesus Wept. I have shared on numerous occasions, my greatest fear – that I may be alone when I die. I am not afraid of dying. I just do not want to be alone. After all, we are social being. All the important events of our life are social events. Birth, birthdays, weddings, graduations and other events are things we do as a community. So too, death. As I go about caring for the dying in hospices around the city, nothing makes me more sad than to see people facing death alone. Perhaps there was a reason why they were alone in their dying moments, but I sure feel sad when that happens. My sadness helps me understand Jesus’ sadness. Why did Jesus weep? On a very human level, I think he wept for his friend Lazarus. He also wept feeling the grief of Martha and Mary. He wept because he loved them. On the divine level, though, I think Jesus wept in solidarity with the entire human race. I think Jesus was telling the world that God understands our grief. Just as Jesus stood by Martha and Mary, God stands by us in our grief. But most importantly, I believe that even when people die alone, they are not alone. Jesus is beside every dying person leading them into eternity. Now I know that even if no one is beside me – I will not face death alone.
3. Jesus Cried Out. John tells us that Jesus was perturbed at Lazarus’ tomb and that he cried out in a loud voice. Earlier, Jesus love had led him to weep. Why does John include these details? I think John is making a statement more that giving composing a good story. Jesus is perturbed because this was an expression of divine anguish. Jesus was anguished at the destruction and grief that death causes. Only HE can do something about death. Martha confessed, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” In other words, standing in front of the tomb was God’s own Son. The removal of the tombstone was symbolic of Jesus removing the curse of death. His crying out was indicative of his power over death. Just as he cried out in front of the tomb, he will once more cry out from the cross. “It is finished,” he would say to his Father. And then he would give up the spirit. At that moment, today’s first reading prophecy was fulfilled: “I will put my spirit in you that you may live…” (Ez 32:14) At that moment not just Lazarus but the entire human race was set free. Death would finally be destroyed.
Every Eucharist is a celebration of the saving love of Christ. As we participate in this Eucharist, let us be present here like Mary and Martha. Let us make the same confession they did. Let us entrust our lives and the lives of our loved ones into God’s hands. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May the soul and souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph