Lazarus, Come Out

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

This Sunday we continue to read from the Gospel of St. John. The story we hear today is that of Lazarus, one of the intimate friends of Jesus. Because their brother was desperately ill, his sisters had sent a message to Jesus to alert him. Because Lazarus and his sisters were among the disciples of Jesus, it is clear that they intended for Jesus to return in time to restore Lazarus’s health. However, the evangelist tells us that Jesus did not immediately leave for Bethany as both the sisters of Lazarus and his apostles thought he would.

Jesus announces that he intends to return to Bethany only after Lazarus has died. At this point in the story, the apostles do not understand why Jesus would endanger his own life now that Lazarus is dead. The apostle that steps forward at this point is Thomas who displays his loyalty to Jesus by insisting that they accompany him even though the situation is dangerous. This detail cannot be ignored, for we know that Thomas will appear two more times in the Gospel. Each time that he is mentioned, there is a strong connection between him and resurrection.

Martha and Mary represent the grieving community and asking the perennial question: “If Jesus promised us eternal life, why are believers still dying. If Jesus had not left us by returning to the father after his resurrection, he would still be among us, and believers would not die.” The evangelist must correct this misunderstanding. Jesus is indeed “the resurrection and the life.” However, this does not mean that physical death can be eluded. Through Martha, Jesus addresses believers of all times: “Do you believe this?” Her perfect answer ought to echo down through the ages: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was sent into the world.”

Faith in the risen Jesus is not fully developed until it enables a believer to face physical death with the firm confidence that the present possession of eternal life is not simply a pledge of resurrection on the last day but is rather a present and continuing participation in the life of the ever-living Jesus now, at this moment. Those who believe in Jesus never truly die. When Jesus reveals himself as the resurrection and the life, we are called upon to echo Martha’s profession of faith. She makes this profession of faith before Jesus raises her brother from the dead. Her faith does not depend upon or flow from seeing her brother raised from the dead. Remember: proof simply begets knowledge; faith does not rest on proof.

By raising Lazarus after four days in the tomb, Jesus stirred the admiration of some. However, others see this miracle as a reason to put Jesus to death. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. If Jesus can bring the dead back to life, his popularity would endanger the positions of the chief priest, the scribes and the elders. The raising of Lazarus is the last of the seven signs that John includes in his Gospel. It is supreme irony that at a crucial point in the life of Jesus, this miracle occasions his final journey to Judea and Jerusalem. The sensation created by Lazarus’s resuscitation sets in motion the events that will lead to his crucifixion. The evangelist has placed the story of Lazarus at this precise point for theological reasons. Jesus goes to his death as the one who is the resurrection and the life and who will die to inaugurate the resurrection for all. Of all the things that Jesus says to his disciples during his lifetime, the great pronouncement that he makes before raising Lazarus is the high point of this Gospel. “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in me, though he die, yet shall live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” As St. Paul had written long before this Gospel was written, if Christ had not been raised from the dead, our faith would have been in vain.