Welcome to Life beyond the Grave.

Homily for April 2, 2017.


Two Sundays ago, we heard Jesus say to the woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14.

Last Sunday, as we pondered upon the story of the man born blind, how he received his sight, yet the Pharisees who supposedly could see turned out to be the really blind ones, Jesus said: “I am the light of the world.” John 9:5.

Today as we read about the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we hear Jesus say: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” John 11:25-26.

When we examine these signature statements of Jesus, three things come to mind: Firstly, Jesus is the source of living water essential for human survival; secondly, Jesus is the light leading us out of darkness and thirdly, without Jesus, there is no life in us.

At the heart of all our temptations is to try to live without Jesus or to treat Jesus as if he is not so important. By so doing, we become like the Samaritan woman struggling for water that never truly satisfies, the blind Pharisees unable to see even with eyes wide open or like dead Lazarus.

As St. Paul makes us understand in our second reading, being alive is not simply a matter of having the ability to breathe, to be alive is to have the Holy Spirit. As he said: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies.” Romans 8:11.

Dear friends, the question for us this morning is: Am I truly alive? In other words, am I being controlled by my mortal flesh or by the Spirit of Christ?

By raising Lazarus to life, Jesus proves to us that he is God who alone he has the power over life and death. As Ezekiel prophesied in the first reading: “Behold I will open your graves and you shall know that I am the Lord.” This was why when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he said: “this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God that the Son of man might be glorified by means of it.”

Again, in raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus teaches us that nothing is impossible for God; that even if we become dead as a result of our sinfulness, bad habits and dangerous addictions, there is hope for us.

Like Lazarus who was bound all over, sin ties us down and keeps us stagnated spiritually. That is why we need the Jesus in our lives. And it really doesn’t matter how deep sin may have crushed us; Lazarus was buried already for four days yet he heard the voice of Jesus. Today, if we decide to listen to Jesus and repent, we would be raised from the grave of sin.

Finally, the raising of Lazarus to life is a story that clearly shows the power of love. Jesus was a family friend to Lazarus and his sisters; Mary and Martha and when Lazarus was sick, they sent message to Jesus saying: “He whom you love is ill.” Again, when Jesus wept at the grave, the Jews said: “See how he loved him!”

Dear friends, we all are called upon to enter into a deeper loving relationship with Jesus. And just as our opening prayer says, may we walk in that same love which propelled Jesus to sacrifice himself for the world.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, raise me from the death of my sinfulness. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (5th Sunday of Lent. Year A. Bible Study: Ezekiel 37:12-14, Romans 8:8-11 and John 11:1-45).

Fr. Abu.

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