From Death to Life

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:1-4)

Each Sunday of Lent especially in this year's liturgical cycle, dwells on a particular mystery of Christ as the Savior. We have reflected Jesus as a Suffering Servant of God last First Sunday of Lent. We have seen Jesus as the Glorious Messiah in the Sunday after that. The Third Sunday of Lent allows us to reflect on Jesus as the Giver of Life-giving Water, giving lasting satisfaction to human thirst. Last Sunday, we have seen Jesus as the Light of the world. And in this Sunday, the last Sunday before the Holy Week, we are invited to recognize Jesus as the Giver of Life.

When Lazarus was sick, Jesus did not immediately go there to heal him. Instead, he waited two days more and at that time, Lazarus died.  Jesus is a close friend of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. There must be the reason why he did not heal him immeciately. He can heal Lazarus merely by his word--- like what he did to the servant of a centurion and the nobleman's son at Cana. But, he had chosen not to heal him, but as he had said, he did this in order to show the power of God.

In our life, sometimes we ask God why did he allow an evil thing to happen. We might have asked why did he allow Ondoy to hit causing the death of so many lives. The same thing with tsunami and earthquake in Japan and in New Zealand. Why is God so silent when his children are crying to him for help?

Let us proceed first with the Gospel passage. On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:17-22)

Martha cannot understand why Jesus was not with them when Lazarus was sick. Lazarus must have been alive if Jesus was there. But, her faith did not waiver after her brother's death and she still believes that Jesus will do marvels for them.  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23-24) Because of her faith, Jesus himself assured Martha that he will make his brother rise again. But Martha's response, although correct, indicates her lack of faith. She is still waiting for the last day to come. A person with enough faith and who has limitless trust in Christ's words may say: I believe Lord, I will now open the grave in order for you to bring his life again. So, Jesus once again allow her to understand: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:25-27)

So, after hearing Martha's confirmation, Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.  “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” (John 11:38-39) Martha still has not enough faith. She has not fully abandoned herself to Jesus word. She still relies on her reason and still has excessive worries. That is why Jesus scolded her and said: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:41-44)

We are invited to reflect on our faith. We must believe in Jesus constantly giving life both in ordinary and extraordinary events of our lives. Sometimes, we ask for miracles but we sometimes forgot the small miracles that he is doing.  We have expected for Ondoy to stop suddenly or for the earthquake not to destroy anything. Yet we fail to see that it is an act of nature. God may not intend to contradict nature's laws. But, something good comes out of evil. Actually, St. Augustine says that evil does not exist. All things are good. Without vocanic eruption, the earth will failt o release the heat underneath the surface. Without earthquakes, the earth will burts since there are no movements of the land plates. Without typhoons, the earth will have global warming since the athmosphere is steady. But when we see these disasters, we actually see the hand of God doing "miracles"--- we see the unity and camaraderie, we reflect the transiency of our lives here on earth and we see the survivors as stronger persons as they go on with their lives.

There is nothing to be afraid of death--- it is a passage to life. Only in the valley death, does God allow seeds of new life to sprout. It is also true in "small deaths" that we have everyday. And Jesus is the Lord and Giver of Life. His death on the cross is actually a participation to our own "deaths". We are invited to put our faith in him.

This Sunday, let us supplicate: Rescue me O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears from death into life.