FIRST READING (I will put my spirit in you that you may live.)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (37:12-14)

Thus says the Lord God: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the Lord. I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8)

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. (Ps 130:7)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. (R)

If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. (R)

I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord. (R)

For with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities. (R)

SECOND READING (The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:8-11)

Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Jn 11:25a,26)

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die. (R)

(Long Form)

GOSPEL (I am the resurrection and the life.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (11:1-45)

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to Jesus saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

(Short Form)

GOSPEL (I am the resurrection and the life.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45)

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

“I AM the Resurrection and the Life”

           Death has been too much a close companion for us in recent years, and more so now in these weeks and days. As the threat of the corona virus pandemic spreads, we turn on the nightly news programs or peruse the internet and are surrounded by stories of tragic, horrendous and often senseless deaths spreading to every corner of the world, with the ever-increasing number of people of all ages dying suddenly, senselessly. As death seems to walk with us – death walks with Jesus in today’s Gospel as he moves in a measured pace toward his own suffering and death.

In the Gospel of John, this passage of the raising of Lazarus is the climax of John’s “Book of Signs.” And as we see, this miracle of the raising of Lazarus cost Jesus his life. It was because of this miracle that the people applauded Jesus and honored him on his final journey to Jerusalem, acclaiming him as their King and Messiah, as the Son of David. But it was also this miracle that pushed the leaders of the Israelites to plot the arrest and death of Jesus.

           Yet, with all of these sub-plots and the drama, this miracle carries a teaching of Jesus for you and me – a teaching that is central to Lent, to Easter, and to all of our Christian life.

           Three important elements shape the theology and dramatic tension of the narrative: first is the message from Martha and Mary, “Master, the one you love is ill.” Then there is the response of Jesus that illness is not to death but for the glory of God. And finally, the comment that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” but waited two days before setting out to see them.

           The conversations in this passage between Jesus and Martha and then Mary provide us with a deep lesson on faith. Martha goes out to meet Jesus and addresses him with a simple statement of faith in his power, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” As poignantly sorrowful those words are (- and how often have we had such words in our heart when faced with the death of a loved one?) they are words of deep TRUST – trust that God will grant whatever is asked of his Son.

           A dialogue between Martha and Jesus begins that is very similar to the last two weeks’ Gospels of the Samaritan woman and the Man Born Blind – a dialogue on two different – often variant – levels. The familiar Johannine technique of misunderstanding arises when Jesus speaks of Lazarus rising, and Martha speaks of the resurrection on the last day, a belief widely held at the time of Christ.

           The reaction of Jesus – that stands at the heart of this Gospel passage – is to pronounce those words that bring such consolation often in funeral liturgies, “I am the resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” Her answer is not a direct reply to his question, but a statement of faith similar to that of Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” In this way John  is teaching us that to experience Jesus as the true life that conquers death, we must first accept that he is the anointed one of God.

           Another important moment occurs when Jesus meets Mary, inconsolable and weeping at the death of her brother. The evangelist tells us, “Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled.. and Jesus wept.” Jesus wept over the loss of a loved one.

And as the drama continues, it must have been awe-striking, a magnificent moment, to see Jesus facing the tomb and commanding, “Lazarus, come out!” Suddenly, from the dark, dank shadows of the tomb, a bound Lazarus emerges. Jesus says, “Untie him and let him go free!” And Lazarus comes back to life and is set free. This is a splendid example of Jesus’ power over life and death. But it is also a lesson not just of biological life and death, but one of spiritual life and death.

A spiritual death is when our life may have lost its purpose or direction. We have lost a conscious relationship with God. Our spirit is deadened, trapped by sin, addictions, obsessions and fatal attractions. We can be considered “among the living dead” – among people not living in tombs made of stone or underground, but tombs often of our own making, entrapping us, binding us, suffocating our spirit.

When Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the Life” he is teaching us that the most critical moment of our life is not birth, not puberty, not graduation, not our first job, not a promotion, not marriage, not the moment of giving birth to a child, not the moment of death – The moment we turn from un-belief to belief in Jesus Christ as Son of God – THIS is the most decisive moment for each of us.

In this moment of affirmation of faith, Jesus is no longer a distant historic figure, but someone close and involved in our life. From him we receive a new kind of life that is stronger than death because it is Jesus’ own life that we call grace.

It is when we place ourselves in the hands of Christ and His truth that we start to emerge from darkness. The bonds that have enslaved us are loosened as grace enters our life. It is the moment when we open ourselves to the power of Christ. It is at these moments that Jesus calls out to us.

From the tomb of separation from God, Jesus calls us in the sacrament of Baptism to “Come forth” to union with God.

From the tomb of private spirituality, Jesus calls us in the sacrament of Confirmation to “Come forth” to a public expression of Faith.

From the tomb of sin, Jesus calls us in the sacrament of Penance to “Come forth” to a renewed life of grace and mercy.

From the tomb of isolation, Jesus calls us in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to “Come forth” to a life of communion with him and with His Church.

From the tomb of anxiety in illness, Jesus calls us in the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to “Come forth” to join our illness to his redeeming work.

From the tomb of self-absorption, Jesus calls us in the sacraments of Marriage and Orders to “Come forth” to a life of sacrificial love.

Think for a moment – place yourself in the dank, dark timb of Lazarus, bound up in the darkness and spiritually lifeless. Can you hear the voice of Jesus in the Gospel and in every sacrament calling you, “Come forth.”?

Brothers and sister, the point of the resurrection of Lazarus is that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus is OUR Resurrection, and OUR Life.

Martha and Mary are models of people coming to deep faith even in the face of doubt. The Elect preparing for baptism are on their own individual journeys of faith, and they too experience doubt, but they have heard Christ’s call, “COME FORTH”

And as we witness their steps towards Baptism – delayed as it may be this year-  maybe, just maybe, in this most difficult, challenging and fear-filled Lent our church and our community will be our Bethany where we all come back to life!

“I am the Resurrection and the Life!”

Prayers

Celebrant: As the time of Christ’s suffering and death draws nearer, let us ask the Father to lead us through the dark moments of the Passover of his Son to the glory of his Resurrection.

READER:   For the holy Church of God, that she may be defended from the snares of her enemies through the Spirit of Christ, who makes his home in her, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For all peoples of this world currently suffering from the corona virus, that they may be gathered into the Father’s kingdom through the prayers, compassion and sacrifices of Christian believers in every nation, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the dying, especially at this time of the pandemic, that they may pass peacefully and confidently through the gates of death to meet Him who is the resurrection and the life for us, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those who mourn, that Christ who wept for Lazarus his friend may console them in their grief, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: And for the intentions we carry in our hearts, and for all those who have asked for our prayers and who we remember now in silence. (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father, hear the prayers of your Church. Bring forth to resurrection the people who trust in your promises. We ask this through Christ our Lord. (all) AMEN.