Fifth Sunday of Lent – A
The 3rd Scrutiny of the RCIA process is about letting go of sin in the life of the person who is about to enter the church through baptism or into full communion through the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. It is about letting go of that which binds us and holds us down, not freeing to live as children of God. But for all of us the gospel reading is a stark reminder that there is a little bit of Lazarus in all of us. What do I mean?
As our Holy Father, Pope Francis once said in a homily: “We all have within us some areas, some parts of our heart that are not alive, that are a little dead. . . But if we become overly attached to these tombs and guard them within us and do not will that our whole heart rise again to life, we become corrupted and our soul begins to give off, as Martha says, an “odor” the stench of a person who is attached to sin.”
So, like the RCIA process, and the 3rd Scrutiny, Lent is designed to be a wake-up call. Lent beckons us to hear what Jesus said to Lazarus: “He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Today, let us spend some time alone in our reflections and ask ourselves: “Where is the dead part of my soul? Where is my tomb?”
“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
There is a connection between the story of Lazarus and us. The important thing to remember is what Jesus intended this miracle to mean, what he intended it to point to, what he intended it to teach. Jesus intended the miracle of raising Lazarus to say in a visual way what he said earlier to Martha in a verbal way:
“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
This leads to each one of us. What message does the story of Lazarus contain for us? I believe it is what Pope Francis said in his homily: Once we remove the stone of shame and
allow the Lord to say to us, as he said to Lazarus: “Come out!” That all our soul might be healed, might be raised by the love of Jesus. He can forgive us. We all need it! All of us.
What Jesus did for Lazarus, he wants to do for us – Raise us to new life!
He wants to give us Hope just as he did to Martha.
He wants to share with us his own risen life
He wants to remove the fear and anxiety from our lives so that we can live in freedom to trust Him – our Savior.
In this broken world, fear and anxiety is holding the world bound, this story about Lazarus is about opening our hearts to our loving God, and trust that He is going to lead us through this dark period in our history. He is going to give us hope to sustain us each time we gather at the Table of the Word and the Sacrament. He is going to raise us to a new life in Him, hopefully with a newfound desire to grow closer to God through our faith. This story is about opening ourselves up to the possibility that Jesus promises a new life in Him now, so that we can enjoy life with Him eternally later!
Like our Elect brothers and sisters, with the help of God’s abundant grace we will be forgiven and live a new life with Christ! Let us open our ears to hear the voice of Jesus calling us to come out, to go to him and let him unbind us from all that holds us down.