RE News
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
Gospel Reflection
The third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent in Year A feature significant passages from the gospel of John. The first of the three readings was the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, to whom Jesus described himself as Living Water. The second was the healing of the blind man and Jesus declaring himself to be the Light of the World. In today’s passage about the death and raising of Lazarus, Jesus declares, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ Living Water; Light of the World; and the Resurrection and the Life – three important images of Jesus that all emerge from the gospel of John. Each of the events relate to Jesus’ response to some physical need: thirst; blindness; and death. However, in each case, Jesus not only responds to the physical need but also reveals a truth about himself that leads people to belief.
The raising of Lazarus marks a turning point in the gospel of John. Chapter 11 concludes with the Jewish authorities plotting to arrest Jesus and then Chapter 12 begins the final week of Jesus’ life in Jerusalem. The significance of this episode is highlighted by the disciples who question Jesus about the wisdom of going back to Judea when the people there had wanted to stone Jesus to death.
In going to save the life of his friend, Lazarus, Jesus knows that he is journeying towards his own death. In fact, the end of Chapter 11 makes clear that it is some of the witnesses to the raising of Lazarus who go and complain to the authorities and precipitate the action against Jesus. In the gospel of John, it is the episode with Lazarus that effectively signs Jesus’ death warrant. The gospel makes clear that Jesus gives up his own life so that Lazarus may live.
Scriptural context – Jesus wept
‘Jesus wept’ is the shortest verse in the New Testament. Just two little words carry a world of emotion and speak volumes about Jesus. Pope Leo I used this verse to highlight the two natures of Jesus, pointing out that in his humanity, Jesus wept for the death of his friend, but in his divinity Jesus raised Lazarus to life. Lazarus and his sisters were close friends of Jesus and Jesus is clearly emotional about the death and its effect on Martha and Mary. That Jesus is about to restore Lazarus to life does not deny the grief and mourning at Lazarus’ death.
Living the Gospel – Unbind him, let him go free
To see a man bound up for burial suddenly come walking from his tomb must have been an unnerving experience to say the least. However, Jesus calmly commands the astonished onlookers to ‘unbind him, let him go free’. These words speak to us today as we come to the end of the Lenten season and approach the celebration of Easter.
What are the things that ‘bind’ us? From what do we need to be released so that we may ‘go free’? Are they bindings placed by ourselves or others? What will it take to be unbound?
By Greg Sunter