Fifth Sunday of Lent
Don Giuseppe Berardelli is a 72-year-old Italian priest. He has been a priest for 47 years. He had been serving as a priest in the diocese of Bergamo, Northern Italy, hit hardest by the coronavirus. Berardelli had been suffering from a respiratory condition for some time, so his parish had previously purchased the breathing apparatus to help him cope. On March 15, in living out his priestly calling, he made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave up his ventilator to save the life of a younger person. It cost him his life. As we head to the climactic events of Holy Week, the sacrifice of this selfless priest mirrors the sacrifice of Jesus. But there is more. It is also a reminder to us that life is bigger than life. Our life on earth is a prelude to something even more stunning, more awesome, and more glorious – our life with God in eternity. Jesus is the one who gets us there!
Here are my three points for today:
- Life Leads to Life. I consider the life-giving story of the resurrection of Lazarus to be story that puts life in perspective. Although we might be inclined to think of the resurrection of Lazarus as the climax of the story, in fact the climax lies elsewhere. At the risk of underemphasizing Lazarus’ resurrection, let me say that Lazarus is a little more than a prop in the story. The real point of the story is that God, though Jesus, has invited Mary, Martha, and indeed the whole world to share in God’s eternal life. The resurrection of Lazarus was meant to demonstrate in real and tangible way that life leads to life. There is only one thing that is needed for this – total, unconditional, uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ. This is the kind of faith that gave Fr. Berardelli his perspective for life. In these days of isolation, I believe that worshiping from home in isolation is giving us a new perspective. What does believing mean now? How is the coronavirus putting our faith in perspective? Can we still believe like Martha and Mary? May our faith and our confession in Jesus give us perspective!
- Eternity Life is NOW! As we read Mary, Martha, and Lazarus’ story two thousand years later, we realize that we take somethings for granted. Maratha and Mary did not grow up knowing what we know today about eternal life. Jesus had to almost coax belief in the afterlife from both of them. In today’s gospel reading we hear about their gradual coming to that belief, before finally making their faith confession in Jesus. We, on the other hand, are in an envious position. We already believe that Jesus is eternal life. We are so sure about it that we baptize our children into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why, I often tell myself – don’t waste your time trying to gain eternal life. Live your eternity NOW! Our eternity began at our baptism. Eternal life is not something we await. We are already there! There is a danger though. How may things we take for granted! Mary and Martha did not know what we know! When we could come to Church, and we could receive communion, when we could go for confession, when we could dip our hands in the holy water font and bless ourselves... did we take those things for granted? Those things that we are missing now, how easy it is to take the for granted! I miss all of you and now I realize I have taken you for granted. Please let us not take our faith for granted!
- The Resurrection that Lead to a Death. Finally, I must end this homily with the One who is our resurrection and life – Jesus Christ. Even as Jesus faced severe opposition, intense suffering, and a brutal death, he never gave up the cause for which God sent him. It cost him his life, but he led our way into eternity. A scripture scholar has titled this section of his study, “A Resurrection that led to death!” Of course, he is referring to Jesus life-giving ministry among us that led to his death. We live because He died! Our faith in resurrection and eternal life comes from the death of Jesus Christ, just like Fr. Berardelli’s death gave life to another human being. Today, let us express our deepest gratitude to God for dying for us so that we might live. Today, let us not only confess our faith like Martha and Mary did, but go on our knees and worship him.
As we participate in this Eucharist in our homes, let us be aware that God has not abandoned us. This Eucharist is a tangible expression of our faith that life is bigger than life. As people living our eternity, let us give that hope and life to each other. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph