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Commentary

Sunday, 3/29/2020, Fifth Sunday in Lent

I Will Do It, Says the Lord

First Reading Commentary: Ezekiel 37:12-14

Jesus promised the Kingdom of Heaven when He gave the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus made His promise, He was confirming the promise which had already been made by the Father through the prophet Ezekiel.

Today’s prophecy from Ezekiel is all about the last day and the LORD promising the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord said, “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” We have to consider two questions. 1- Who are God’s people? 2- Where is the land of Israel?

Ezekiel spoke to the children of Israel who were the people that God chose to deliver from Egypt. God chose to have His Son come into the world as a descendant of Abraham and David. Therefore, God chose to have His Son born a Jew.

But we must not put limits on God who created all of mankind. By our creation, we are all His chosen people and therefore, God speaks to all of us in making His promise just as Jesus did. However, God’s promise is fulfilled with everyone, past, present and yet to be born who have faith in Him and listen to Him.

With that in mind, it is not an earthly place that God promises through Ezekiel. It is the New Jerusalem—the Kingdom of Heaven and it is God’s people who will be delivered to the Kingdom.

With faith, we believe that which we do not see with our human eyes. Jesus gives us this message over and over again throughout the Gospels. Because of our faith, we are able, to believe in God and His Kingdom even though we cannot see it. But God tells us that when He opens our graves and has us rise from them, we will know that He is the LORD. In other words, we will not have to believe with faith anymore because we will be with God in His Kingdom. This is the reward of having faith.

God tells us that He will put His Spirit in us so that we may live and settle in our land. Jesus also promised the Holy Spirit and said that He would send the Advocate who is the Holy Spirit. That promise was fulfilled on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the Apostles. That promise is also fulfilled with us, one-by-one, at Baptism and strengthened at Confirmation.

When we are raised on the last day, we will be given a new life which will be everlasting. There will be no more death and our home will be in heaven.

God never has and God never will break a promise and through Ezekiel God says, “I am the LORD, I have promised, and I will do it.” All we have to do is to believe.

The Trinity within Us

Second Reading Commentary: Romans 8:8-11

Today’s reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans points to what was promised by God through Ezekiel. But there is a twist. Paul tells us that we cannot please God if we are in the flesh.

Paul tells us that we are in the Spirit and in order to please God, we must have the Spirit of Christ. This may sound like double talk but think about it. God made us in His image and through Baptism; the Spirit descends upon us and lives within us. The question is, do we allow the Spirit to work within us and through us?

Paul is telling us that if we do not allow the Spirit to work within us and through us, we do not have the Spirit and if we do not have the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ and therefore, Christ is not in us.

We cannot have one without the other. We cannot have the Spirit without Christ and we cannot have Christ without the Spirit. Why? Because, even though they are two different persons of the Trinity, they are both the same One God.

This means that the Father must also be with us. Paul tells us that when He says, “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” This is a proclamation from Paul of the Trinity within us.

Notice that Paul uses the words “mortal bodies.” That is because when we are raised on the last day, we will be raised body and soul. But Paul’s spiritual direction is not limited to the body. In fact, Paul’s message is about rejecting the sinful ways of the body so that our spirits can live. Paul says, “…the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

When we allow the physical pleasures of the body which lead us into sin govern our lives, we kill the spirit’s ability to work within us. Therefore, when the body dies, so does the spirit within us. But we are all sinners and many of us commit the same sin over-and-over again. So how do we attain the righteousness which allows the spirit to live?

We repent. We admit to our sins and ask God for His forgiveness. That is why Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Confession.

Raised from the Dead and Set Free

Gospel Commentary: John 11:1-45

Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was ill and upon hearing the news, Jesus said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Everyone thought that Jesus was saying that Lazarus would not experience a physical death. But Jesus was talking about the spiritual life of Lazarus and not the physical life of the body. This set the stage for what would be much more than a great work by Jesus and He already knew exactly what He was going to do. We know that because God knows all things but, in this case, Jesus also told us so when He said that the death of Lazarus occurred so, “that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

This is not the first time that Jesus raised someone from the dead. In Luke 7:11-17, Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead. But the raising of Lazarus led to the Sanhedrin deciding to kill Jesus. Remember that the Pharisees were stuck on their own pride and wanted the people to listen to and follow them. But because of the many works that Jesus was performing, more-and-more people were becoming disciples of Jesus and so the Sanhedrin decided that Jesus had to go.

God is always way-ahead of evil and Jesus knew very well that He would soon experience His Passion. Jesus used the giving of life to Lazarus by raising him from the dead as a lead into His own death and Resurrection.

Jesus stayed where He was for two days and then said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” The people had recently tried to stone Jesus in Judea so the disciples did not want Him to go back. But Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” The disciples took what Jesus said in a literal sense so Jesus had to tell them directly that Lazarus had died.

You have heard the saying; “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” So, it is with Scripture. Sometimes we cannot hear the message for the words. This is the mistake that the disciples made by not knowing that when Jesus said; asleep, He meant; dead. I have commented on this before and in this passage, Jesus is telling us to listen to the message without being hung up on the words.

Jesus added, “I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” This suggests that there was doubt within the minds and hearts of the disciples. They knew who Jesus was, they had listened to His preaching, they had seen Him perform many works and they had faith in Him. But there was a limit to their faith and there was doubt in their hearts because when they looked at Jesus, they still saw a man. Remember our message from last week: Our eyes do not see as God’s eyes see?

Many of us make the mistake of the disciples. We believe in Jesus but there is a limit to our faith because we keep trying to see God in a human way. If we are going to truly see God and have limitless faith, we have, to step out of the box and try to see things as God sees them.

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Let’s take a closer look at that. We could compare the four days that Lazarus was dead to the forty years that the Israelites were in the desert or the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert.

Martha told Jesus that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus told her that Lazarus would rise and Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”

This was not a lack of faith on Martha’s part for she had no idea what Jesus was about to do. In fact, what Martha said was an expression of her faith in the resurrection and the Kingdom of Heaven. So, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life…whoever believes in me…will live…Do you believe this?” Martha’s answer was another testament to her faith. She said that she believed that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God.

Martha did not know what Jesus was going to do but she did have absolute faith in Jesus because when she looked at Him, she saw much more than what her physical eyes could see. Martha was, able to see things as God saw them and she was therefore able to see Jesus for who He was. When Martha looked at Jesus, she saw God.

So, Martha went for her sister Mary who fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She said the exact same thing that Martha had said but was her level of faith the same? We really do not know because we do not know everything that Martha said to Mary. What we do know from the Gospel is that when Jesus saw her and the Jews who had come with her weeping, He became perturbed and deeply troubled.

Why? Was Jesus perturbed because of His compassion for their grief? Or did Jesus see their tears being the result of their faith being weak? Or was Jesus perturbed because their tears were an outward expression of their not realizing that Lazarus was dead to this life but spiritually, he was still living in a much better place?

Put yourself in their shoes. If you were Mary, Martha or one of the other people, why would Jesus be perturbed with you? With this question in mind, I could write a whole different commentary on why a funeral is a celebration of life. But that is another commentary.

Jesus said, “Where have you laid him?” They showed Him and Jesus wept. Jesus wept in the same way that we weep when someone close to us dies. Lazarus was a close friend and Jesus loved him and so Jesus wept. You may ask, how this can be when Jesus is God, the Son, who was about to raise Lazarus from the dead? Once again, we must remember that Jesus was both one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human. It was the human Jesus that wept.

But remember, Jesus was perturbed. Is it possible that Jesus was weeping for us as well? Does Jesus weep for us when we break His heart with our sins and/or lack of faith?

Some of the people said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” These were people who, were aware of Jesus healing the blind man in John 9:1-41 which was last Sunday’s gospel. Their question came from a lack of faith and after witnessing such a work, their lack of faith could only come from the influence of the evil one. At this, Jesus became perturbed again.

Jesus went to the tomb which was in a cave and said, “Take the stone away.” Notice the connection to the Resurrection of Jesus who was laid in a tomb with a stone placed in front of the entrance which was removed when Jesus rose.

Martha told Jesus that there would be a stench but Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” Up to this point, Jesus did not say what He was going to do but this was His way of telling Martha, “Relax. I got this. I am going to raise Lazarus from the dead.”

Jesus raised His eyes and spoke to the Father saying, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” In other words, Jesus was saying to the Father, “We do not have to prove anything here. I know that we have given them enough signs. But I am interceding on their behalf just the same so that they may be a witness one more time to the fact that You have sent Me.” This intercession of Jesus is a demonstration that He does not give up on us in, spite of our brokenness.

Having spoken to the Father, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” When Lazarus came out, Jesus said, “Untie him and let him go.” You could say that the raising of Lazarus was a fulfillment of the prophecy made by Ezekiel in today's first reading. In reality, the raising of Lazarus is a prelude to the fulfillment of that prophecy which I see as coming in two parts: The Resurrection of Christ and the second coming of Christ on the last day when we are all resurrected.

There is a message in the instruction from Jesus to untie Lazarus. When we die to this life, we are bound and tied up by our sins. But when we are resurrected, the bandages are removed and we are set free of sin never to be tied up again.

John tells us that many of the Jews who saw what had been done began to believe in Jesus. The operative word is: many. There were still some who would not believe. Such is the case today. In spite, of all that has been done by God for us and in spite, of everything that God has given us, there are those who will not believe. But for those of us who do, we can keep the faith knowing that God promises eternal life and that when we are resurrected, we will be set free.

Reading 1          Ezekiel 37:12-14

Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

Reading 2          Romans 8:8-11

Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Gospel          John 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying, "Master, the one you love is ill."
hen Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?"
Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him."
So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved."
But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe.
Let us go to him."
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her, "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.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you."
As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?"

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days."
Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

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The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Paragraph 767 "When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church."174 Then "the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun."175 As the "convocation" of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them.176

The Holy Spirit came to Mary and the Apostles as tongues of fire.

The LORD, God the Father, promised that He will raise us from our graves and bring us back to the land of Israel. Jesus, God the Son, renewed this promise and told us that the land of Israel is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 130:1-8

R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Verse Before the Gospel

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.

Paul tells us that the Light of Christ is in us. Jesus said, "If one walks during the day, he does not stumble...But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." Point is: If you do not walk in faith, you walk in darkness.

The Father and the Son both promised to raise us from our graves. We know that God does not break promises but, just to let us know that He can keep His promise of resurrection, Jesus raised Lazarus from his grave. If Jesus can raise Lazarus, He can and will raise all of us.

Saints of the Week

St Ludovico of Casoria
3/29/2020
(3/11/1814 - 3/30/1885)

St Peter Regalado
3/30/2020
(1390 - 3/30/1456)

St Stephen of Mar Saba
3/31/2020
(725 - 794)

St Hugh of Grenoble
4/1/2020
(1053 - 4/1/1132)

Saint Francis of Paola
4/2/2020
(3/27/1416 – 4/2/1507)
Patron Saint of: Sailors

Saint Benedict the African
4/3/2020
(1526 – 1589)
Patron Saint of:
African-Americans

Saint Isidore of Seville
4/4/2020
(c. 560 – 4/4/636)
Patron Saint of:
Internet
Computers

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