{"id":3342,"date":"2020-03-28T08:18:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T12:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=3342"},"modified":"2020-03-28T08:18:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T12:18:34","slug":"5th-sunday-of-lent-year-a-homily-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/5th-sunday-of-lent-year-a-homily-2\/","title":{"rendered":"5th Sunday of Lent, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A reminder that you can find a list of Masses online at
https:\/\/catholiccourier.com\/articles\/list-of-parishes-with-livestreams-available<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5th<\/sup> Sunday of Lent, Year A<\/a>
Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45
March 29, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week we\nhear the story of Jesus opening the eyes of the man born blind.  This is the sixth of seven signs in the\nGospel of John that give testimony to who Jesus really is.  They show the power of God at work in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signs\nhave been building.  Today we hear the\nstory of the seventh and final sign, the raising of Lazarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martha and\nMary \u2018sent word to Jesus saying, \u201cMaster, the one you love is ill<\/em>.\u201d\u2019  Lazarus is ill.  Jesus heals people.  One would naturally assume that Jesus would\ngo immediately to Lazarus and heal him.  In\nfact, Jesus has healed others without even being in their presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Jesus\ndoes not heal Lazarus.  Today we pray for\nGod to bring an immediate<\/em><\/strong> end to the Coronavirus.  God has not ended the Coronavirus but that\ndoesn\u2019t mean God isn\u2019t listening.  He is\nresponding as He knows best.  I do not\nbelieve God caused the Coronavirus but I do believe He is with us in our hour\nof need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what did\nJesus do when He heard that Lazarus was ill? \nHis first words were, \u201cThis illness is not to end in death, but is\nfor the glory of God.<\/em>\u201d  Remember last\nweek when Jesus\u2019 disciples asked who sinned, the man born blind or his\nparents.  Jesus said the man\u2019s blindness\nwas not because of sin but so that the glory of God would be made visible\nthrough him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 words\nabout Lazarus continue this.  Jesus does\nnot immediately go and heal Lazarus.  In\nfact, He does not go for two days.  By\ntime He departs to go to Lazarus, Lazarus is already dead.  Jesus knows this and tells his disciples, \u201cLazarus\nhas died.  And I am glad for you that was\nnot there, that you may believe.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe\nwhat?  Jesus has something incredible to\ndo.  On his way He meets Martha.  Martha\u2019s faith is strong as she says to\nJesus, \u201cLord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask of\nGod, God will give you.<\/em>\u201d  Martha has\nhope.  Mary will echo these words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus assures\nMartha that Lazarus will rise.  He says,\n\u201cI am<\/em><\/strong> the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me,\neven if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never\ndie.<\/em>\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus\narrives at Lazarus\u2019 tomb, He calls to Lazarus, \u201ccome out!<\/em>\u201d and Lazarus\narises.  From this \u201cmany of the Jews\nwho had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So too do we\nbelieve in Jesus as \u201cthe resurrection and the life.<\/em>\u201d  But what does it mean to live<\/em><\/strong>?  What does it mean to die<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, I turn\nto our first reading from Ezekiel.  The\nLord is speaking to those in Exile with Ezekiel in Babylon.  The Lord says, \u201cO my people, I will open\nyour graves and have you rise from them and bring you back to the land of\nIsrael<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the\nLord speaks of resurrection, the resurrection that all who believe in Jesus\nwill share in after earthly death.  These\nwords in Ezekiel and Jesus\u2019 words about resurrection are important.  They give us hope that earthly death is not\nthe end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand\nwhat it means to live and die, there is another level to the words the Lord\noffered through Ezekiel.  We should not\ntake the word \u201crise\u201d as simply a reference to the resurrection of the body at\nthe end of time.  Remember, the Lord is\nspeaking to Israelites in Exile.  To\nthem, to be taken from their homes to a foreign land would be like death, death\nbeing separation from God.  For us, sin\nbrings separation from God, this separation is spiritual death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Lord\nuses the word \u201crise<\/em>\u201d, He is telling them that He will free them from\nExile.  Here, I think of the prayer a\npriest says when anointing someone, \u201cThrough this holy anointing, may the Lord\nin his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  May\nthe Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up<\/em><\/strong>.  Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This prayer\nof anointing is not just for the dying but anyone facing a serious illness so \u201craise\nyou up\u201d is more than just speaking of the resurrection to come.  It speaks of how God will strengthen us in\nour time of suffering and lift us up.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s words\nto the Israelites raise them up with hope. \nThe words for anointing assure one of God\u2019s presence and raises us up in\nhope.  It gives new life that we may live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it\nmean to live and die?  We are talking\nabout something far greater than earthly death (that is followed by\nresurrection to eternal life.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are\ntalking about life in the spirit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, we\nmight feel trapped by the Coronavirus but we are only trapped in our\nhumanity.  We cannot gather together in\nchurch but God is with us, giving us true life. \nWe are called to abandon the flesh to live in the spirit.  However, when we speak of \u201cflesh\u201d in this\nsense, we are not speaking of physical flesh. \nThis sense of flesh speaks of giving into pleasures of the flesh, giving\ninto sin.  Remember, sin is death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we are\nnot simply \u201cflesh.\u201d  God offers us life\nthrough the spirit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you find\nyourself with more free time because of the Coronavirus?  Sometimes we think we are too busy to have\ntime for God.  Here is your chance.  Use the free time to turn your heart to God,\nto put God first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nCoronavirus is not the first pandemic the world has faced.  There was the 1918 flu.  Churches closed then but reopened.  There was the Black Plague.  There have been other illnesses.  God has always led his people through\nit.  God will lead us through this\nillness too.  There will be\nsuffering.  Jesus knows what it is like\nto suffer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We trust in\nthe Lord and live in the Spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reminder that you can find a list of Masses online at https:\/\/catholiccourier.com\/articles\/list-of-parishes-with-livestreams-available 5th Sunday of Lent, Year AEzekiel 37:12-14 Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)Romans 8:8-11John 11:1-45March 29, 2020 Last week we hear the story of Jesus opening the eyes of the man born blind.  This is the sixth of seven signs in the …<\/p>\n

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