HOMILY FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A
Ezekiel 37:12-14/ Psalm 130/ Romans 8:8-11 /John 11:1-45
AGORSOR Aaron Agbeshie
THEME: Promote the culture of life.
The three readings of this Sunday fit beautifully together, for all concern the resurrection to newness of life. Already, in the Fifth Sunday of Lent, mother Church anticipates the resurrection experience and evokes the sentiment of faith in all believers. This will be followed by "Passion Sunday," (Palm Sunday) and finally the Holy Week that will reach its peak on Easter Sunday. The next two weeks are a very special time for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have come home through their conversion to the Catholic Faith. They are now preparing themselves to receive the Church’ Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. And for those of us who have already been baptized, this will be a time of renewal, when we will reaffirm our belief in the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.
In the first reading, the passage from Ezekiel concludes and interprets the vision of the valley of the dry bones which are gradually restored to life. The interpretation identifies the bones with Israel in exile and their resurrection to Israel’s restoration from the Babylonian exile to their homeland. Thus he says “ Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves my people; and I will bring you up back to the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:12).
The Lord assures the prophet that He will not only bring the Israelites out of bondage but He will put his Spirit within them; an assurance of resuscitation from a seemingly hopeless situation. “ I will put my spirit within you and you shall live and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord have spoken and will act, says the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:14). In this figurative expression, God will bring his people to newness of life and put his spirit within them.
The Gospel reading reinforces that apocalyptic vision of the resurrection figuratively explicated in the story of the dry bones. That the works of God may be made manifest was the purpose of Jesus’ miracle. This is because when Jesus heard of Lazarus’ illness he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). However, the vision of Mary, Martha, and their friends was clouded to this reality. For, “When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt 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 came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved … Jesus began to weep” (John 11:32-35).
I must emphasise that Jesus did not weep because Lazarus was dead but because of their unbelief. After all, he was going to wake Lazarus up so there was no need to weep. The key to unlocking v.35 is found in v.33 “When Jesus saw Mary crying and the Jews who came with her also crying, he was greatly disturbed in spirit.” Therefore, it was not merely the death of his friend that pained Jesus; rather it was the tears of unbelief on Mary’s face that brought tears to Christ. When Jesus saw that look, that display of sorrow and grief in Mary’s eyes and on the faces of those who were with her, he was overwhelmed with sadness and he wept.
Jesus weeps everyday when we have an unbelieving heart. Indeed, sometimes the way we behave during the death of a love one raises lots of questions as to whether we are people of the resurrection. Christians are the worst offenders. Expensive coffins, clothes, food and drinks and even now ‘take away’ to mention but few have become the order of the day. Taking care of sick people and educating our children have been relegated to the background. Instead, we are promoting the culture of death.
A story appeared in one of the newspapers recently. A man was abandoned by relatives and friends in a hospital because no one will pay his bills. So he connived with the hospital authorities to announce to his relatives and friends of his demise. Within a week, a troop of mourners gathered in the hospital with an expensive coffin to carry the mortal remains away for business, I mean funeral. To their utter dismay, they saw their beloved come out of a room and I do not need to tell you the pandemonium that ensued. But why should it come to that? These are attitudes that provoke a weeping Jesus.
St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit since the spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:8-9). The way we go about our activities be it social, economic, political and the like, must show that we are pilgrims on this earth and heaven is our home. Christians must be at the forefront to condemn these negative attitudes which pose a threat to gospel values.
“If you o Lord should mark our guilt, Lord who will survive? But with you is found forgiveness for this we revere you” (Psalm 130:3-4). May God forgive our unbelieving hearts and help us to promote the culture of life.
In sum, our work is to enhance life. We are all called to preserve the sanctity of human life because it is dear to the heart of the creator. The Eucharist we celebrate, the body of Christ we share is a sign that the work of becoming the body of Christ is not an individual affair but a corporate task. Let us all put our hands on deck and condemn the culture of death and promote the culture of life.