FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT A
REVIVE MY SPIRIT
JN 11: 1-45
MESSAGE
Before all the medical and technological advances were invented, there were several ways to ascertain if a person were dead. They checked his nostrils if he or she was breathing; if not, then surely the person was dead. They lit a candle and allowed its hot wax to drop on the eyelids of the person; if he or she did not flinch, then no life was detected. They bit the toes, checked the pulse, rocked the body… if none was successful, then the spirit has gone.
Lent is concerned about death, not just physical, but spiritual. Because death was not in the original plan of the loving God, Father and Creator, who wanted his creatures to reflect his very life. Death entered the world as a result of sin and it has since symbolized human weakness, human fragility, human impotence in this world.
The readings emphasize the intention of God to give, share, and extend life. He does not relate with the dead; that is why Ezekiel says that the Lord is willing to call them forth from the graves, imparting to them his spirit and renewing a relationship. Paul in his letter to the Romans assures Jesus’ followers that they will not die because they possess the Spirit of Christ risen from the dead. The Gospel narrates the resurrection of Jesus’ friend Lazarus, dead for four days, but at the word of command from the Lord regained his spirit and lived again.
One day we will die a physical death; but each day it is possible for us to die a spiritual death due to sin. Lent comes with the promise that the Lord Jesus will grant his Spirit to those who will listen to his voice and resolve to follow him into life. This happens above all in Confession, when the stench of sin is washed away by the fragrance of the Holy Spirit who renews the soul.
REFLECT
Before the Lenten season ends, do you wish to experience new and everlasting love? Do you want to be filled with a living relationship with the Father and the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit? Lord, give me the courage to offer to you the dead parts of my life in Confession, that I may experience the joy Lazarus had at the command of Jesus. Amen.
