Cycle (A) 5th Sunday of Lent


Ez 37: 12-14;   Rom 8: 8-11; Jn 11:1-45
There is a scene in the movie Return of the King, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga The Lord of the Rings, in which Aragorn gives the dead soldiers who had deserted their king a chance to regain their honour if they will help to defend the City of Kings which is under attack by evil powers. He enters a cave through a small crevice in the mountain. It is dark and the sound effects make it clear that this is not a pleasant place. He steps over piles of dry bones heaped

up against the walls of the cave. Suddenly, in the centre of a large room, these skeletal creatures begin to threaten him, even though they are not really alive. Aragorn offers them a chance to redeem themselves by making good on their pledge to defend the good against evil, and to be a part of a community that will restore the kingdom.  The prophet Ezekiel, in today’s first reading, has a similar experience. In a vision or dream, he is with God in a valley of dry bones (Ch. 37: 1-12). God tells Ezekiel to instruct the bones to listen to the Lord. God restores their bodies with muscle and flesh and gives them breath, raising them to life and the knowledge that God is the Lord.
Death and resurrection are the themes that permeate today's Scripture lessons. Prophet Ezekiel guarantees his community in exile that Yahweh will one day bring them back to live in the freedom of the Promised Land. He assures his people that not even death will stop God from carrying out this promise. Yahweh states, "I will open your graves, have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel." St. Paul, in the second reading, assures the early Roman Christians who were facing death by persecution, that the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead and Who dwells within them will give life to their mortal bodies. For John, in today’s gospel, the raising of Lazarus is the final and greatest sign of Jesus, the Deliverer, a symbolic narrative of his victory over death at the cost of his own life and a sign anticipating his resurrection. Describing this great miracle, the Church assures us that we, too, will be raised into eternal life after our battle with sin and death in this world. To be raised to eternal life we need to follow certain things.
First of all, we need courage to follow Jesus. Jesus was told about the death of his friend Lazarus. But, when Jesus finally announced that he was going to Judea, his disciples were shocked and staggered. They remembered that the last time He was there the Jews had tried to find a way to kill him. So to go to Judea at that time seemed to be walking into death. Hence, the disciples might have refused to follow Jesus. Then only lonely voice spoke up. Let us, too, go that we may die with him.” Thomas was determined that whatever happened to him he would not quit.
Today, too, following Jesus is a great challenge. We begin our journey with great enthusiasm. But when we face bleak realities we try to give up.  We become easily susceptible to the ideas of others. Because, we lack courage to stand against them, as our experience itself is very shallow.  Gilbert Frankau tells of an officer friend of his who had to go up in a captive balloon and to indicate to the gunners whether their shells fell short of or over the target. It was the most dangerous assignments one could be given. Because the balloon was captive he was the target for the target for the guns and planes of the enemy. Gilbert Frankau tells that every time he went up in that balloon he was sick with nerves, but he wouldn’t quit. That is the real form of courage. This is demanded of us, too, in our journey on the footsteps of Jesus. We are not alone in our endeavour. There stands Thomas ahead of us declaring, “Come Let’s, too, go that we may die with Him.” There is a legion of martyrs who walked with Jesus, and   sacrificed their worldly life to find eternal life with Jesus. “When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted.” Says Elenor Rossevelt.
Secondly, we see that Martha and Mary had absolute trust that Jesus would come to them   at the moment of their great despair. So, they waited with great expectation. C.F Andrews tells of two friends who served together in the First World War. One of them was left wounded and was lying helpless and in pain in no-man’s land. The other, at peril of his life, crawled out to help his friend; and, when he reached him, the wounded man looked up and said “I knew you would come.” We have to cultivate this unconditional trust that Jesus would be with us when we need Him most.
Thirdly, Jesus asked the people to “Roll away the stone, unbind him and let him go.” There are so many dark areas in our private life that we often bind ourselves with. We bind ourselves with the chains of slander, gossip, envy, prejudices, hatred, anger; and bury ourselves in the tombs of despair. Harvard University is considered one of the greatest academic institutions in America and around the world; its students have the highest SAT scores, the brightest minds. A few years ago, the President of Harvard University was asked, "What is the greatest problem you see in your university?" He said, "Emptiness! There is no meaning or passion for life. Everybody is bored--no fulfilment." Jesus stands near us, as He stood at the tomb of Lazarus, to bring us out of the tombs of our own creation. As He called, Lazarus to come out, to He calls us come out – to come out of the emptiness that we have created abound us. What we need is courage and unconditional trust in him.
Satish