HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A.
THEME: THE SECOND DEATH AND BURIAL OF LAZARUS
BY: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong.
1. Joke. Even in writing about death, Mark Twain, remains humorous. In his work titled “Fables of Man”, published posthumously, Mark Twain considers the legal implications of the restoration of Lazarus to life: “…the lawyer said that if Lazarus left any property behind him he most certainly found himself penniless when he was raised from the dead; that if there was any dispute between him and his heirs, the law upheld the latter.” Yes, imagine those relatives who may have already taken over ownership of Lazarus’ properties, since he was dead and buried for four days. Sisters and brothers, the restoration of Lazarus to life, by our Lord Jesus Christ, shortly before His own passion and death, as we heard in today’s Gospel reading (John 11:1-45) had and still has many implications for those of us who will die only once, which is the norm according to Scripture: “Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). Lazarus died twice and was buried twice. It is not obvious what personal benefit this might have been to Lazarus. But this miracle prepared people to believe in the greatest events of human salvation: the passion, death and glorious resurrection of the Son of God, the Savior of the World. This miracle remains a signal of God’s omnipotence in the face of any evil, God’s abiding comfort in the midst of our tears, God’s infinite goodness in spite of all the sickness, pains and sufferings in this world. In short, it is a pointer that Jesus is indeed the resurrection and the life.
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2. Restoration not Resurrection. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) affirms that the miracle performed by Jesus returned Lazarus to ordinary earthly life as with the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:11-17) and the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:35-43) and that Lazarus and these others who were raised from the dead would later die again: “Christ’s Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus’ daughter, the young man of Nain, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons miraculously raised returned by Jesus’ power to ordinary earthly life. At some particular moment they would die again. Christ’s Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space.” (CCC 646). To emphasize the difference between the restoration of Lazarus to earthly and the resurrection of Christ or the resurrection we hope for, I gave this pointed title to the homily: The Second Death and Burial of Lazarus.
3. Towards the Resurrection. Having been restored to earthly life and not resurrected yet as Christ later was, Lazarus continued to face challenges of earthly life. In fact, some people planned to kill Lazarus after his restoration: “A large crowd of Jews learned that He was there and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (John 12:9-11). Thus, Lazarus ended up again in our shoes, having to fear for his life, having to hold on to the God of miracles rather than seek more and more miracles to stay healthy and secure on this planet. Lazarus continues to represent millions who are currently ill due to many diseases. His restoration to mortal life after four days of death, underscores the importance of this life. Life is worth living. And so, we pray and do all it takes for healing to take place, inspired by the heroic sacrifices and care of Mary and Martha for Lazarus. Yes, doctors and nurses, healthcare workers are the Marys and Marthas taking care of the sick Lazaruses of our time. Even after doing their best, even after “sending” for Jesus, death still happens. The Marian-Marthan way to care for the sick is to do all in one’s power medically, scientifically, spiritually, to serve and save the Lazaruses of the moment. And when our Lord declared: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God,” (Jn 11:4), He obviously did not exclude death. He meant that death will not be the end, but a new life, even after this life as we know it. He went ahead to do what is in His power to do: restore Lazarus to mortal life as a sign of His power to bring about the resurrection of the dead to eternal life (Jn 11:25). Until then, the Marian-Marthan way to care for the sick, remains our model: doing all we can medically, scientifically, spiritually, to serve and save the Lazaruses of the moment. To God be the glory.
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