The Raising of Lazarus ~ Fifth Sunday of Lent

Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

In today's Gospel, we hear what happened when Jesus learned of the serious illness that had befallen his friend, Lazarus. Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus to come as soon as possible. They were frightened and felt certain that Jesus could cure their brother and that he wanted to cure him. However, Jesus lingered along the way and back in Bethany, Lazarus died and his sisters buried him.

Several days later, Jesus finally arrived in Bethany. Martha went to meet him on the road, saying: "If only you had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha seemed to have lost hope for her brother's life... but she was comforted as she listened to the words of Jesus.

But Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow, when he saw the grief of the bereaved sisters, their family and friends. He wept with them and asked where Lazarus had been laid. There he had the stone rolled away. After offering a prayer to his Father, we turned to the open tomb and cried out: "Lazarus, come out!"

Can you imagine their joy as Lazarus was united with his family and friends? There could be no question that a true miracle had taken place... Lazarus had been in the tomb so long that his body had begun to decompose; and yet, here he stood, a whole and alive human being! God's plan (not theirs), accomplished through the action of Jesus, tells us that we should never give up! Jesus purposely delayed his arrival in Bethany so that an even greater miracle than a healing could take place.

What does this event mean for us? We must hold out even when our prayers seem to go unanswered. No matter the situation, we must trust that God has something even more wonderful in store for us or for those we pray for.

So during the rest of this Lenten season, we pray: "Father, we do trust you. We ask that you help us to hold out. With your grace, we believe we can hold out... until our change comes. Amen."

~ Image by Hermano Leon Clipart