FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A

Ezekiel 37:12-14

Psalm 129 (130)

Romans 8:8-11

John 11:1-45

YOU SHALL LIVE!

The celebration of Easter is at hand; and this Sunday’s liturgy is about the victory of life over death. In the first reading, the painful experience of the people of Israel in Babylonian exile is compared to a death experience, expressed in the image of the grave. In Ezekiel’s vision, the Israelites were like dry bones, lifeless corpses in the tomb. But God promises to open their graves; he will put his Spirit in them and they will live. He will raise them up and establish them in their land.

The Gospel is about the death and raising of Lazarus. After four days in the tomb, Jesus brings him back to life. As Lazarus comes out of the tomb alive, Jesus’ mission is fully expressed, for he came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. In this way, the climax of the story is when Jesus says to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life.” In the second reading, St. Paul develops what this means for us who believe in Jesus, because He who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies through his Spirit which we received at Baptism.

Two lessons may be drawn for our meditation. First, our experience of distress, suffering or discouragement at certain times in life may be comparable to that of the people of Israel in exile. In fact, the Israelites thought God had abandoned them; their hope was gone. They thought they were already dead. And yet, God promises them restoration. To us too, God reiterates his infallible presence and closeness. He never abandons his people.

Second, in the gospel everything is for the manifestation of the glory of God. But to see the glory of God, one must believe: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”, Jesus said to Martha. 

Today, Martha is proposed to us as a model of faith. Like her, we are invited to trust even when it seems impossible or when everything seems lost, because everything is possible for he who believes. Let us ask the Lord to grant us a firm and unshakable faith, by which we shall remain calm and constant in the midst of the crosses and difficulties of life. Amen