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March 20, 2023Today’s story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John is one of the greatest stories of the New Testament. It reminds us that Jesus is the one who is the champion of life and whenever He confronts death, death is overcome by the power of God. This Gospel more than any other reveals the heart of Jesus and what he wants for all of us.
The shortest and one of the most poignant sentences in the Gospel is in this passage. “And Jesus wept”. He wept for the death of his friend Lazarus and for the sadness of his sisters and then he stayed present to them even when they challenged him. That is our task also. To stand with those who are grieving and to offer our presence, our love, and our prayers. I frequently use this at wakes to remind the visitors that attending a wake is an important exercise of Christianity. We go to be with those who are grieving and offer them our presence and love.
We may not make a resurrection occur, but we can help someone who is grieving know that they are not carrying their grief by themselves.
It is also a wonderful symbol of what we hope for ourselves in the Lenten journey. At the end of the Gospel, Jesus calls out to Lazarus and then after he emerges from the tomb, he instructs those with Him to “unbind him and let him go free”. This is the Lenten journey for us. We are invited to submit ourselves to Jesus and then, through the Lenten journey, come out of it a little freer. We leave the bindings of whatever held us captive behind us. In the time of Jesus, before burial, it was common to tightly wrap a corpse in funeral wrappings with spices (the myrrh of the gifts of the Magi come to mind) to prevent the smell of decay to come from the tombs. Our Lenten journey allows us to be “let free” by the recognition that we can go a period resisting something for God. Or we can recognize that we are enriched by reading the Bible, saying the rosary daily or whatever practice or sacrifice we have made. We can like Lazarus rejoin the community as resurrected people. We can think of those who are recovering from addiction, or those who have come into the faith of the church after formerly scoffing at it. The resurrection of one is always dramatic and a powerful testimony to God’s grace working in and among us.
As a bit of a comic aside, I frequently play golf with a lifelong friend who knows the Bible well.
Whenever I extricate myself from the woods and make a good score, he will sometimes call out, “Lazarus, Lazarus”. It is a recognition that I have come back from a bad situation and saved the moment. I hope this Lent is helping you to feel freer and recognize where we need Jesus to visit us and call us to more freedom and more life. This is the overall goal of Lent.
Peace,
Father Murray
The Catholic appeal is going well. At this writing, we are 52% (14,780.00) to our $28,503.00 assessment and 35% on the way to our $42,003 goal. We are also at 153% of our in-pew envelopes so thanks to everyone who filled out pledge cards. We are still in need of support and you can mail in your letters or bring them to church and put them in the basket at the collection. Thank you again for your generosity.
Building news: We are currently waiting on another estimate for the front of the building. We are close to choosing a contractor and hope the front, the rear, and the chimney will be done this year. We also are waiting for an estimate for a new fire security system as the current one, which is more than 25 years old, needs replacement. I received a call from the Risk Management department advising me that we would have a contractor soon.
