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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