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Lent 5 A
Posted on
March 26, 2017 by
David Jackson in
Reflections on Sunday Gospels
Fifth Sunday of Lent “A”_
l. WHO: l) Narrator, 2) Jesus, 3) Disciples, Thomas, 4) Martha, 5)
Mary, 6) Lazarus, 7) Jews._
2. WHERE: Stages:
l) Home of Mary, Martha, Lazarus in Bethany near
Jerusalem (under two miles away)._
2) Bethany beyond the Jordan._
3) Place near Bethany of Jerusalem where Jesus
stops._
4) Tomb._
3. WHAT:
a) Jesus comes from Bethany to Bethany (ll:l-l9)._
b) Martha comes out to meet Jesus (ll:20-22)._
c) Jesus declares: “I am the resurrection and the life.”
(ll:23-27)_
a’)Mary comes out to meet Jesus. (ll: 28-32)._
b’)Lazarus comes out of the tomb (ll:33-44)._
4. OBSERVATIONS: _
l) Constant motion: message of distress goes from Bethany near
Jerusalem to Jesus. Jesus and his disciples move toward Bethany. The
Jewish friends of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus come out from Jerusalem to
comfort Martha and Mary (ll:l9). Martha moves to Jesus. Martha moves to
Mary. Mary moves to Jesus. All move to the tomb. Lazarus moves out of
the tomb. Informers move to Pharisees. Jesus and his company move to
Ephraim in northern Judea. _
2) Death-rising to new life motif runs through the whole
story, for it is applied to Lazarus, to Jesus, to the individual
christian (vv. l6,23-26) and to the christian community (vv. 50-52). _
3) The meaning of the miracle is explained at the beginning
(v. 4) in the centre (vv. 23-26), and toward the end of the account (v.
40)._
4) The point that Lazarus is really dead is made in several
different ways. Jesus delays two days. The disciples misunderstand
Jesus to mean that he is asleep and Jesus clarifies that he is dead._
ll:l7 The mention of four days in the tomb. ll:39 He has been dead four
days. This to combat the common belief of the time that the spirit of
the dead lingered for three days; no chance that Lazarus was in a comma._
5) Martha’s opening words to Jesus express both complaint and
confidence. Her confession rings more of the old than it does of the
radical new life offered by Jesus._
6) Jesus’ tears may be a sign of his love for this family, as
some in the crowd suppose, but that is not all they signify. Jesus
weeps also because of the destructive power of death that is still at
work in the world. Once again one sees the intersection of the intimate
and the cosmic: the pain of this family reminds Jesus of the pain of the
world._
7) Martha and Mary model how people are to live as they
struggle to free themselves from the power of death that defines and
limits them and move to embrace the new promises and possibilities of
life available through Jesus._
8) Lazarus’ resurrection parallels that of Jesus himself:_
a) a mourning Mary at the tomb (ll:3l and 20:ll); b) a cave tomb closed
with a stone (ll:38, 4l and 20:l); c) grave clothes plus a face cloth
(ll:44 and 20:6-7); d) a special role given to Thomas (ll:l6 and 20:28-
28). _
9) Note again the listing of titles for Jesus: Lord, Son of
God, the Christ, who is coming into the world, teacher, rabbi, “I am the
resurrection and the life.”
_
l0) Jesus has given (physical) life as a sign of his power to
give eternal life on this earth (realized eschatology, present) and as a
promise that on the last day he will raise the dead (final eschatology,
future)._
Development of homily:_
Introduction to Mass: today’s readings are a reminder that we all run
into dead ends (callejones sin salida) in our lives. In the first
reading we hear of the Jews dead end. They are in exile in Babylon away
from their homeland and have been so for many years. This captivity and
exile is a dead end. In the second reading St. Paul speaks of the dead
end which is sin. And in the Gospel the ultimate dead end is death._
Homily: Introduction to Gospel. This Sunday the Gospel is again a kind
of drama or teatro. We have the different persons: narrator, Jesus,
disciples and Thomas, Mary, Martha, Lazarus and the Jews. We have four
different stages on which the action takes place: the home of Martha,
Mary and Lazarus; the place where Jesus is when he receives the message
and where he stays for two days; the place near Bethany where Jesus
arrives and the sisters come out to meet him; and the tomb of Lazarus.
There is plenty of action or movement in the Gospel. Lots of arrivals and departures._
1) The Gospel writer John makes the point four times that Lazarus is
dead. He does this because the Jews had a belief that after a person
died their spirit hovered near for three days and then left. John wants
his readers including us to know that Lazarus was dead. (l) He states
that Jesus delays two days before going up to Judea. It was a day’s
journey for the message about Lazarus to reach Jesus. He delayed for
two days, and then it took another day to reach Bethany (four days).
(2) In Jesus’ dialogue with the disciples he first says that Lazarus is
sleeping and he is going to wake him. But when the disciples
misunderstand this to mean a natural sleep. Jesus says “clearly” he is
dead. (3) When Jesus arrives near Bethany the narrator tells us that
Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. (4) At the tomb Martha
says, “Lord it has been four days now, surely there will be a stench.”
John wishes us to know that this is not a case of a coma or some kind of
resuscitation. This is a raising from the dead. A conquering of one of
our greatest enemies: death._
2) We follow Martha and Mary in this story. In some ways they are
similar to the story of Martha and Mary in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus
comes to eat at their home. There the active one is Martha, busy about
the preparations and she scolds Jesus. Mary is sitting at Jesus feet
listening. In this story Martha is also the active one who goes out to
meet Jesus. Her first words to Jesus are, Lord if you had been here my
brother would not have died. These later are the exact words that Mary
will use. But Martha also has a bit of a scolding or reproach for
Jesus. Jesus tells Martha that Lazarus will rise again. She believes
he will rise again in the Resurrection of the dead on the last day.
Jesus affirms this. “I am the Resurrection and the Life whoever
believes in me, even if they die, will live…” but then Jesus adds,
“whoever is alive and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?” To the question Martha has the right words, “I believe you are
the Messiah, the Son of God who is to come into the world.” But she
doesn’t completely understand the power of life that Jesus has. Because
when Jesus orders the stone taken away, Martha reminds Jesus and us,
that he probably stinks because he has been dead for four days. So
Jesus has a surprise in store for Martha. He gives Lazarus life not
just after death in the resurrection of the last day, but restores him
to life now, in the present._
Martha’s relationship with her sister seems to have gotten better
since the Lukan story. Her in John she does not scold her sister Mary
but simply goes and calls her saying, “The Teacher is here and is asking
for you.” When Mary arrives at the place where Jesus is she fell at his
feet. She is in the same position as in the Lukan story. _
3) We follow Jesus in this story also. What are some of the things
that Jesus does? We usually note first of all that he weeps. But he
also loves Martha, Mary and Lazarus. He calls out loudly to Lararus. He
raises Lazarus to death. But he also prays. But John also puzzles us
with some others things that Jesus does. He delays for two days before
coming to Bethany. God also does some things in our lives that are
puzzles for us. We do some things that are puzzles to one another.
When Jesus tells them that he is going to go up to Bethany. They
caution him that people have just been trying to stone him. Their
caution is not to go. But Jesus goes anyway. Jesus also “was troubled
in spirit, moved by the deepest emotions.” What does this signify?
Jesus is troubled in spirit at the death of a friend. Death can do that
to all of us, trouble us in spirit. But the Greek word here has the
meaning also of being angry. Jesus is angry before the reign of death,
the suffering caused to this family that he loves. He also seems to be
angry at the response of the people who seem to critize him: “He opened
the eyes of that blind man. Why could he not have done something to
stop this man from dying.”
4) Lastly what do the second parts of Jesus words to Martha mean for
us, “y el que haya creido en me, no morira para siempre?” Jesus
promises us his life, eternal life while we are still on earth. How do
we receive the life of Jesus here on earth? When we pray. When we do
some good deed for another. When we try to get closer to Jesus. When
we receive the sacraments. And what is the promise of Jesus life for us
now? Jesus tiene el poder para vencer la muerte. Cuando en frente de
nosotros es un muerte del amigo, tenemus la promesa de vida eterna.
Pero Jesus tiene el poder para vencer muerte de diferente classes.
Sufrimiento, enfermedades son tipos de muerte. Jesus tiene el poder
para vencer estas muertes, possiblemente por sanatio. Jesus tiene el
poder para vencer la muerte que es pecado, cautividad, addiciones,
exilio. Jesus tiene el poder para vencer todas las callejones sin
salida. El nos da el poder para descubrir una salida, para resolver
problemas, difficuldades. ?Tienes problemas personales, con sus hijos,
con sus papas, con una relacion con otra persona? Jesus tiene el poder
para dar esperanza cuando no hay esperanza. Jesus tiene poder sobre la
muerta que es la callejon sin salida mas fuerte. We must live with the
life of Christ now to live with the eternal life of Christ forever.
During Lent we have heard Jesus say, I am the Resurrection and the Life,
I am the light of the world, I am living water. In John’s Gospel he
also tells us I am the Way the Truth and the Life. I am the Good
Shepherd, I am the vine and you are the branches. Let us live with this
life.
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