Fifth Sunday of Lent / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Ezekiel provides the first reading for Mass this weekend. Even a quick reading of the history of ancient Israel shows that there were few periods of prosperity and calm. Indeed, only the reigns of David and Solomon might properly be considered as truly good times.
Some periods, however, were more trying than others. Certainly, the generations spent in exile in Babylon were miserable. Confined in Babylon in wretchedness, and a minority surrounded by paganism and surely unwelcome, the Jewish exiles yearned for the day when they would be able to return to their homeland.
Ezekiel built upon this theme of hope and expectation. As did all the prophets, he saw a release from Babylonian bondage not as an accident or a coincidence. He regarded it as a result of God’s mercy and of fidelity to God. So, in this reading, the Lord speaks through Ezekiel, promising to breathe new life into the defeated, dejected people.
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans furnishes the second reading. Rome was the absolute center for everything in the first-century Mediterranean world, the political, economic and cultural heart of the empire. Its inhabitants came from everywhere, having brought with them a great variety of customs and beliefs. It was a sophisticated city. Paul wrote to the Christian Romans, among whom eventually he would die as a martyr.
This passage highlights two spiritual realities. A Christian is linked with God through Christ. Therefore, a Christian possesses the very life of the Holy Spirit, a life, of course, that will never die.
For its third reading, the Church this weekend presents the Gospel of St. John. Jesus went to Bethany, then a separate community but now a part of greater Jerusalem. He was summoned by Martha and Mary who were anxious about their brother Lazarus, the Lord’s friend, who had died.
When Jesus at last arrived, Lazarus had been dead and buried a tomb for several days. Putrefaction had begun. Responding to the sisters’ faith, the Lord restores Lazarus to life.
Several important themes occur in the passage. First is the powerful, life-giving love of Jesus. In the mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus knows and expresses human love. Secondly, the faith of Martha and Mary is unqualified.
The evangelist sees a parallel between the resurrection of Jesus and the restoration of earthly life to Lazarus. In each account, mourning women are essential parts of the story. Stones seal the tombs. The bodies are dressed and cloths, customary in Jewish burials of the time, covered the faces. Finally, in each story, faith and human limitation have important roles.
Reflection
Next week on Palm Sunday, the Church will invite us to learn and to worship in the most intense liturgical days of the year. Calling us to Christ, and with ancient drama and the most compelling symbolism, it will proclaim Jesus as Savior and as the risen Lord.
This weekend, the Church prepares us for the experience of Holy Week, giving us the beautiful and wondrous story of Lazarus.
Foreseeing the Lord’s own resurrection, today’s message is clear: If we are united with Jesus, as Lazarus and his sisters were united, then in God’s power we will have everlasting life.
Eternal life will occur only if we seek Jesus, with the faith uncompromisingly shown by Martha. It is the faith that believes that Jesus alone gives us life.
The other readings reinforce this theme. For everyone, life can be hard. Death awaits all. Ezekiel assures us that God will give us true life, a life of holiness, a life that never ends and a life of peace and joy.
St. Paul reminds us that this life abides only in Jesus. As Lent progresses toward its culmination, the Church calls us to Jesus, the Lord of life. †