+John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Ezekiel 37, 12-14; Romans 8, 8-11; John 11, 1-45: 5th Sunday of Lent: Year A, 2017)
The gospel readings of the two previous Sundays and that of today lead us gradually in appreciating the person of Jesus Christ. In the episode of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus is revealed as the source of living water that can quench the thirst of people for truth and love. We drank from this source at our baptism. In the episode of the cure of the man born blind of last Sunday, Jesus is shown to be the true light that can illumine every person who comes into the world. Indeed, at Baptism, he illumined us with the gift of faith that has been guiding us in our journey in life. In the episode of today’s Sunday that is about the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus is revealed as the resurrection and life. At our baptism we have already risen to new life with him.
Already in the first reading there is the hint of the promise of resurrection. Ezekiel declares in the name of the Lord that there will be a resurrection: The Lord says thus: I am going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people and lead you back to the soil of Israel. Really, these prophetic words do not directly allude to the resurrection, but to the return of the exiles that can be seen as a new life for the people of God, a life that is made possible by the Spirit of God. And I shall put my spirit in you and you will live and I shall resettle you on your own soil… Thus the restoration envisioned is likened to a new creation. At creation, the creature that had been formed from the dust of the ground became a living being when God breathed the breath (ne-shama) of life into it (Gen 2,7). Here, in the oracle of Ezekiel, those in the grave live again when they are raised from the dust of death and given God’s own spirit (ruah). Both original creation and this new resurrection from the dead are unconditional gifts from the magnanimous God. The passage from Ezekiel testifies to God’s absolute and unconditional control over the powers of life, death, destruction and restoration. Just as the metaphor of bodily resurrection illustrated the incredible nature of restoration of the nation, so its reestablishment might have led the people to believe that resurrection itself was possible as well. If the first reading is an oblique allusion to the resurrection, the second reading speaks clearly of the victory over death. Paul affirms that we are not under the dominion of the flesh but of the spirit and the Spirit of God is the spirit that make it possible that we live new life. This is because those who live in the Spirit have Christ living in them. This is the same Christ who through his own death, has vanquished the powers of death. Although sin can still exact physical death as punishment, it cannot quench the spirit because of righteousness. Therefore, just as Christ conquered death and lives anew, so those joined to Christ will share in his victory and enjoy new life. Paul does not deny that Christians are under the same sentence of death as all other people. However, he contends that sin and death are not complete victory. The Spirit of God raised Jesus, the same Spirit will raise those, who here and now, live in the Spirit of Christ.
The gospel episode demonstrates that Jesus is capable of communicating a new life and vanquishing death. Indeed, speaking to Martha, Jesus proclaims himself the resurrection: I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me, will never die. The explanation of this claim is the heart of Jesus’ teaching here. Belief in Jesus establishes a bond of life that not even death can sever. Although believers die physically, the bond will bring them back to life. Furthermore, this bond will survive physical death and keep believers from an eternal death. Jesus posed a solemn question to Martha: Do you believe that I am the resurrection and life? Martha’s answer is immediate and unequivocal: Yes Lord. She elaborates on her faith, assigning three messianic titles to Jesus: Christ, Son of God and one who is to come. She may not know how Jesus is about to accomplish the impossible, but her faith and trust in him are secure. Having explained to Martha what he meant when he claimed to be the resurrection and life, Jesus acts it out. He first prays to God, not in petition for divine power, for having been sent by God, he already possesses it. He prays in thanksgiving, for he knows God always hears him. His prayer is really a public testimony to his relationship with God and is prayed for the sake of those around him. The marvel he performed cannot be denied, but it can be misunderstood. Jesus is not merely a wonder-worker: He himself has the power of the resurrection and he is the source of eternal life. Although, the raising of Lazarus is merely a temporary resurrection, the new lease of life given to him is a powerful sign of the eternal life that faith in Jesus guarantees.
The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead is a sign, proof and guarantee of another resurrection which Jesus performs, that is, the raising of our souls from death of sin to the life of grace. Jesus is indeed our resurrection and life, when at baptism he snatched us from darkness and brought us into his admirable light. Jesus has been and is for us our resurrection and life whenever he pardons our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation and when he donates himself in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus who is our resurrection and lifealso poses the same question he asked Martha to you: Do you believe this? Do you believe that I am your resurrection and life? That I work out your spiritual resurrection, that I communicate to you divine and supernatural life and feed you through the sacraments. Do you also believe that I will also raise to life this your mortal and miserable body? Do you believe all these?
Jesus addresses us as he did Lazarus: Come out of your tomb! He wants that you come out of your life of indifference, sloth, selfishness, interior disorder, sadness and dissatisfaction. Come out! Let us dedicate ourselves seriously in an attempt to free ourselves from the inclination of sins and bad vices that hold us prisoners as a grave holds the dead prisoner. Jesus expects from us a little bit of good will and a sincere desire to change our behaviour, attitude and life in order to have the new lease of life of the resurrection .Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
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