FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
22 MARCH 2026
In
the Gospel according to Saint John, Jesus works seven miracles, or “signs,” as
they are called. Each sign invites us to
enter more deeply into the Mystery of Jesus Christ. The first sign is at a wedding feast in
Cana. By changing water into wine,
Jesus, the faithful bride groom, invites us, his bride the Church, to believe
that he has the power to change the ordinary water of our human love into the
divine goodness of God’s love. Last
Sunday, Jesus invited us to believe that he can heal our spiritual blindness,
as he healed the man born blind. Today, he
reveals the greatest and last of the signs.
Lazarus is dead, with no hope of life after four days in the tomb. Jesus does not deny the horror of death. He even accepts the anger of both Martha and
Mary, who complain that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been more
prompt in coming. Jesus expresses his
horror of death when he becomes deeply troubled and weeps himself.
When Jesus
calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb, he invites us to believe that he can
defeat the power of death. His burial
bands must be removed, because it is the same Lazarus who emerges from the tomb
and will die again. This final sign is
also the reason that Jesus himself will be condemned to death. But Jesus will emerge from his tomb without
any need for his burial bands to be removed.
In being raised from the dead, Jesus is transformed. He will never die again. And he invites us to believe that we too can
share in his resurrection and be transformed ourselves if we are willing to die
with him.
We hear
this message as we begin these final two weeks of Lent. We’ll accompany Jesus in the garden as he
agonizes over his impending death and is betrayed by one of his best
friends. We will watch as he is unfairly
condemned by both the Jewish authorities and Pontius Pilate. We will walk the way of the cross and stand
at the foot of the cruel instrument of death.
We will mark his three days in the tomb.
But then we will affirm the ultimate truth of this seventh sign and
renew our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.
Faith in
the resurrection does not take away the pain and horror of death as we lose our
loved ones to death and face it ourselves.
However, Saint Thomas Aquinas argues that there are four ways in which
our belief in the resurrection helps us.
First, our faith in the resurrection can remove the sadness occasioned
by the deaths of others. In my years of
officiating at funerals, I can see the difference in grieving. Those who grieve with faith in the
resurrection do so in hope. While those
who do not believe in the resurrection grieve in a desperate and hopeless
way. Second, faith in the resurrection
removes the fear of death in each one of us.
None of us looks forward to death.
None of us can predict when death will happen. Ultimately, we can face death without fear by
being willing to share in Christ’s dying on a daily basis. Third, faith in the resurrection makes us
more diligent to perform good works. If
I am willing to die to my own selfishness by performing good works, I can more
readily be assured of being transformed by Christ’s resurrection when I
die. Finally, faith in the resurrection
draws us away from evil. We know that
God respects our human choices, even when we choose to turn away from doing
good and embracing evil actions. God’s
justice will always prevail.
Martha and
Mary are thrilled to welcome their brother back from death to take his place in
their family. They are incredibly
grateful to Jesus for giving him back to them.
But just as they do not understand his delay in coming back to Judea in
their greatest time of need, they will not understand the words of Jesus that
he is the resurrection and the life until after he has been raised from the
dead himself. The Lord will be with us
in these final two weeks of Lent as we face the reality of the suffering and death
of Jesus Christ and celebrate his resurrection.
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