Spoken Into Life

“I am the resurrection and the life; 
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

John 11:25-26

In this final “character Gospel,” we hear of the “raising of Lazarus.” Notice that it is not the “resurrection” of Lazarus. So far, Jesus has told His disciples that He is the living water in the encounter with the Samaritan woman and that He is the light of the world when He cures the man who has been blind from birth. Today we hear Jesus say He is the resurrection and the life. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were good friends with Jesus and upon hearing that Lazarus was sick, instead of quickly making His way to him, Jesus stayed where He was for another two days. Does that make sense? Wouldn’t you want to rush to your loved one who is sick? How could Jesus treat one of His best friends this way?

Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus’s illness will not end in death but instead will be used for the greater glory of God. After two days, Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep and so He will go wake him. The disciples are still not quite understanding Jesus and the way He speaks, and so they really think that Lazarus fell asleep. But how would that even make sense? Jesus will walk all the way to Bethany to wake up His sick friend who probably needs all the rest he can? The disciples just do not get Jesus. So, after this, Jesus tells them plainly “Lazarus has died.” They start on their way to Lazarus.

Upon arriving close to the town, Jesus encounters Martha whom has run out to meet Him. Martha expresses her grief while at the same time affirming and confessing her faith in the Lord. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” I can only imagine what Jesus may have felt. Perhaps sadness in seeing His friends so upset and also somewhat disappointed that He was not there to save their brother. But, Jesus has a bigger plan, one that could not have come to fruition if He had ran to Lazarus once He heard he was sick. There is always a bigger plan, a plan in which God will bring about greater good.

Jesus was moved by Mary and Martha’s grief and was “perturbed” or “deeply moved in spirit” at the sight of such sadness. Some commentators say that being deeply moved in spirit here points not to the grief as experienced by the sisters but rather as a result of being in the presence of death. Jesus who is the resurrection and the life, at the sight of death, will naturally have a negative reaction, just like how in the presence of light, darkness scatters, and in the presence of the divine, evil scatters. How can death remain when the Lord of Life is present? And so Jesus raises His eyes towards the heavens, gives thanks to His Father, and commands Lazarus, who has been dead and entombed for four days now, to come out. Upon hearing the voice of Jesus, Lazarus walks out in his burial cloths. Lazarus was spoken into life once again by the Lord. The words of Jesus has the power to bring the dead back to life, hearkening back to Genesis when the Lord created the universe by simply speaking, “Let there be light.” When Jesus speaks, something amazing happens and even the dead listens to Him and follows His commands.

Remember in the beginning I mentioned that the word to describe this miracle was “raising from the dead” and not “resurrection.” That is so because although Lazarus has been called back to life, he will die again. Only Jesus has resurrected, and on the last day, we pray that we too might share in that Resurrection in our glorified bodies.

Do we believe that the words of Jesus has power to save and to bring to reality what seems impossible? Do we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do we listen to Him? May we listen to the Voice who calls out to us today and may we ask the Lord to grant us the grace and strength to follow Him, who is the resurrection and the life.

The Lord Draws Close To Us

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means ‘God is with us!’”

Isaiah 7:14

First published as “Never Alone” on March 25, 2022.

As mentioned in a previous entry, feast days are usually not celebrated as such during Lent except generally for two solemnities that occur during the Lenten Season: St. Joseph and today, the Annunciation of the Lord. Although very commonly mistaken, this solemnity is not about Mary being conceived but rather the day when Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

After refusing to ask the Lord for a sign as He had told him to, the Prophet Isaiah told King Ahaz that the Lord Himself will give him a sign: a virgin will bear a son whose name will be Emmanuel, “God is with us.” A little over 700 years later, the Angel Gabriel went to a young woman by the name of Mary who lived in a little town in Galilee called Nazareth and greeted her with “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

In the Gospel of Luke we see the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken of by Isaiah to King Ahaz. King Ahaz was told the child will be named Emmanuel meaning “God is with us” and the first words the Angel said to Mary reiterated it, “The Lord is with you.” At the Annunciation, God became man, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This dwelling is further illustrated by the “overshadowing,” recalling the cloud imagery in the Old Testament where God encountered Moses and the cloud descending upon the “Holy of Holies” in the temple where the Ark of the Covenant is, signifying the presence of God. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant for Jesus is the New Covenant. God dwelled within Mary and when it was time Jesus who is God-with-us came into the world making His dwelling among all of us. God’s presence is here.

Today we are invited to be bearers of Christ who has made His dwelling within us, knowing that we are never alone because God is with us. May we say a prayer of thanksgiving today for the great love God has for us, to the point of becoming one of us, taking on our human nature so that He might redeem us from its deathly effects. Because Jesus assumed a human nature, we now dare share in His divine nature. In Christ we are never alone. Even when all seems dark and hopeless we only need to remember the Angel’s words, “The Lord is with you.” God has made His dwelling among us, what or whom should we fear?

Be Thou My Vision

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 9:5

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as “Laetare Sunday” similar to the Third Sunday in Advent, “Gaudete Sunday,” both reminding us to “rejoice!” In the midst of the penitential season of Lent when we prepare our hearts to once again say “yes” to Jesus and “no” to Satan and to walk with Our Lord as we remember His passion, death, and Resurrection, the Church implores us today to rejoice. Why? Because we know how the story ends. We know that in His Resurrection Christ has triumphed over sin and death and that we have the gift of salvation. While here on earth we still fight the battles against the enemy, but we know that the war has been won once and for all.

In today’s Gospel we are presented with our second “character” Gospel that we read during Lent — the man born blind. This man was blind from birth and yet the people assume that it was a punishment from God for the sins of either the man himself or his parents, but Jesus tells them otherwise. The man was born blind not because of sin, but because through what seems like a punishment in the eyes of the world, God will show His power through it: He will make him see. We can imagine the great rejoicing this man shows when he sees for the very first time. But not everyone was rejoicing.

While the man himself and perhaps others in town rejoiced with him, the Pharisees questioned and plotted. They made up every reason they could to doubt that this man, who indeed was born blind, had been cured by Jesus. When this seemed futile, they turned it back on Jesus, condemning Him for curing on the Sabbath. The Pharisees followed the letter of the law, but forgot about the heart or spirit of the Law and the Lawgiver Himself. That is why Jesus said He came not the abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.

You see, the world sees that the blind one here is really the man who was born blind, but in reality it is the Pharisees who are really blind. They may have the power of physical sight, but they are spiritually blind, blind in their hearts. Do we see as Jesus sees or as the world sees? I chose to give this reflection the title of one of my favorite hymns, “Be Thou My Vision,” because it is so fitting. If we see with the eyes of Christ, how much more beautiful the world and our lives would be. If we can see the homeless and poor as beloved children of God instead of problems to be rid of or the “acting out” of those around us as a cry for help instead of an excuse to judge and retaliate, this world of ours would be so much more peaceful. But, too many of us choose to not have Christ as our vision, but rather choose to see only from our own perspectives, our own desires and preferences, and our own pride and arrogance. We have chosen to see with the eyes of the world and of the enemy.

Let us today examine our hearts and minds and be honest with ourselves and with God about the places within us that experience blindness. Where are the places in our hearts that are closed off to God, others, and even our very selves? Jesus wants to cure us of our blindness, but only if we want to. Do we want to see?

May we today ask the Lord to cure us of our spiritual blindness so that we may truly allow Christ, who is the Light of the World, to shine in our hearts and through our bodies so that we might come to see one another as we truly are: brothers and sisters, beloved sons and daughters of God who is love itself. “Lord, be thou my vision!”

I encourage you to listen to “Be Thou My Vision” today. If you do not know the hymn, “Be Thou My Vision,” here is a link to a YouTube video of it. Here is a video with the lyrics. For just the lyrics, see this website.