March 11, 2011
Fifth Sunday of Lent – A
Gospel: John 11: 1 – 45 – The Raising of Lazarus
The Homily – On Love
Have you ever been in love? Love is such a unique and also common to human experience. At hearing this notion of being in love, perhaps for some of us it arouses memories of joy, calm, and sense of security in being loved. And perhaps for others it may arouse feelings of sadness, anger, resentment because at one time or another we have been disappointed in love and deeply hurt.
Such strong feelings and emotions usually come with the romantic love. However, there is also another kind of love which is also as common and unique as the first love above, the agape. This is the love of a mother or parent and child—so strong and so special. It is the love of a friend, love of your pastor, or the love of your aunt.
The highest and most of all, is the love of God and the love of Christ for us.
Whatever the kind of love it is, the basic elements are the same – bonding, special care and concern for the other, sense of security, sense of belonging, and an affirmation of life’s worth. It feels special to be loved and love.
Imagine receiving a call tonight saying that your best friend from high school or college or former work place is dying. How would you feel – concerned, indifferent?
“Master, the one you love is ill.” Mary and Mother reached out to Jesus. Because of his love for Lazarus, the sisters, knew he cared and would be concerned about the illness that has befallen his dear friend.
By the time Jesus reached their house, Lazarus was already dead and buried for four days.
“Jesus wept!”Why? Love is associated with strong emotions. Death robs us of loved ones. Even though Jesus knew Lazarus would be raised to life, he still could not help but sob—it is simply an unavoidable human reaction to sorrow and grief.
When we die, does Jesus weep too? A child may ask. What would you say? In my culture (the Baganda) rain is associated with tears. When it rains after someone has died or during the funeral, people would make comments on how even God and nature has grieved for that person’s death. So, little Julie, Yes; Jesus weeps for us too.
But I suppose the question for us adults, is whether or not Jesus really cares about our illnesses, our suffering, our troubles in the world, or our eventual death.
Since he assures us that, he is love, he surely loves us and cares about our well-being. It is because of this love that he cured the sick, healed the blind man as we heard in our gospel from last Sunday, and the same love compels him to raise Lazarus to life.
As our human love compels us to go out of our way to take risks to do big things for our loved ones, Jesus driven by love, he gives up his life to suffer and shade blood for the sake of our salvation. There is nothing we can do to merit his love or to deserve his sacrifice. It was an act of total self-giving for one madly in love.
All we have to do, is believe like Martha affirmed her faith, “Yes, Lord.” Believe in his act of mercy, believe in his saving grace, and believe in his resurrection. Through his self-sacrificing love, the act of the cross, paved way for us to see eternal life—and to share in his resurrection. He went ahead of us to prepare a place for us in his Father’s house.
Jesus himself reaffirms this promise, “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.”
Lazarus is a prime witness to this promise. Jesus wanted to help his people understand that what he was teaching was not mere rhetoric but real manifestation of the Father’s love. He did so that many may become to believe.
This is the surest hope we have, that Christ who was crucified, died, and resurrected on the third day, has atoned for our sins and paved a way for us to share in the life eternal. Death, like that of Lazarus, is a dear loss but in the grand scheme of God’s plan, it is a transition from this life to the next. Jesus is concerned for Mary and Martha for their loss and he himself wept grieving of the loss of a dear friend. It is an affirmation of our human experience of agony amidst pain, suffering and death.
Jesus performed so many deeds (signs) so that people would believe. We are probably not going to see dramatic signs like seeing a loved one raised back to life after four days. But Jesus does miracles in our lives every sing day—the fact that we wake up breathing, we travel hundreds of miles and reach our destinations safely, loved ones being there for us in times of sorrow, are sure signs of God’s constant presence.
What Jesus calls us to do, is BELIEVE and have faith and complete trust works of the Lord. When we are faced with difficult and challenging situations we usually tend to think that God doesn’t care about us or has abandoned us and such feelings may lead us to awful acts in both in deed and thoughts. Mary and Martha fell into this trap too: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
However, the gospel shows us that despite all these sufferings that we undergo the Lord is with us and watches our every need. Mary and Mortha believed Jesus would have done something had he been there when they needed him. But little did they know they were in for a surprise—he not only has power to heal but to bring back the dead to life. What a friend that exceeds expectations!
It’s the unconditional love that inspires Jesus to do what he does for us. We ought to value friendship and cherish the love others share with us. All through their grieving, Mary and Martha’s friends stood by them, wept with them and comforted them. We see this all the time in our lives. Friendship and love should not only be manifested during happy moments but in sorrow as well. The joy and happiness we feel when surrounded with loved ones always gives us the strength to move on and cope with our situations and gives hope for a better life.
We are reminded that God doesn’t want us to suffer forever; each time we feel like giving up we should remember the wonderful things He has done in our lives. It is fitting to rejoice in God’s love and the friendship of those that care about us. No matter the situations surrounding us, we are called to have faith and believe in Jesus Christ for he has solutions to all our cries and prayers. And yes, sometimes we should be ready for surprises because he is a friend that exceeds our expectations!
Dear brethren, Easter is around the corner. All lent we have been preparing ourselves to experience in a deeper and personal way the passion, death, and resurrection of our dear Lord. Yes, there is all this unending turmoil in our world, so much suffering, so much pain, lives lost in senseless violence, in tsunami in Japan, in genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia, in the holocaust, in Afghanistan, Iraq and now in Libya… our parents have died and so are our ancestors long gone for thousands of years, yet still, Jesus assures us today that, “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.”
So his (Jesus’) question to Martha is also directed to us today: “Do you believe this?”
Copyright @2011 John Mary Lugemwa, OSB. All Rights Reserved.