Fifth Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 34

Reading I

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.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

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.

Reading II

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.

Verse Before the Gospel

John 11:25a, 26

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

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.”
When 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.

OR: 

John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, 
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When 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.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus 
had already been in the tomb for four days.
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,
“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.”

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.

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

“The Divine in Me Bows to the Divine in you. “This is a standard greeting to be found in India, South-east Aisia, and beyond. It is prevalent in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It is not documented where this greeting has come from, but there might be a real good reason for that: Namaste just might be a vehicle to get closer to God and experience our lives more completely. It is also a way that we can deepen our relationship with Him and become stronger as a result through the Virtues: Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Wisdom. There are also three more virtues known as the “Theological Virtues.” We received these directly from the Apostle Paul: Faith, hope, Love.

 

When we examine the entire concept of, Namaste,” we can have a understanding of that word and action. Using Namaste, reminds us that we are God’s children and that a “spark of divinity dwells within all of us. As God said in the Book of Genesis,

 

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

 

It was through these words that God reminds us about who we are and how we should be conducting ourselves: We are children of God and should act accordingly. We also have value. Each person matters and is as important as anyone. There is no hierarchy of importance. In the eyes of God, no one is better or less than. All are equal and are given certain rights and privileges as His children. Society may try to belittle this point, but Society is not over God and God’s law should take precedent over that which has its origins on this earth.

 

In the Scripture Reading today, God reminds us through Ezekiel that He would put His spirit into the Jewish people, His people, describing how they would rise from the grave and be settled upon the land with God’s spirit within them.

 

“I will put my spirit in you that you may live,”

 

It is through God that we received life, through God that we receive redemption, and it is through God that we are saved. The raising from the graves is a reminder for us that death has been conquered. Jesus Christ died and was resurrected on the third day. Death was conquered through Jesus Christ. Any interaction with God leads to a new life and defeats death. Death is an enemy of God. It is a by-product of Original Sin and the exercise of our free world. These things lead to death, but Jesus Christ leads us to victory over it.

 

During this Season of Lent, as we journey towards Calvary with our own crosses hoisted upon our shoulders, it is good to remind ourselves what lays directly beyond the cross where our Savior was crucified We know there is light and resurrection. And this is where our experience of God’s creation and the Divine Plan become big factors regarding who we are as Christians. The Cross of Jesus Christ separates us from the rest of the world, those who choose to reject Him, and the Resurrection is what waits us on the other side of Jesus’ death. Knowing this is extremely important if we believe what is being revealed. We, as Christians, cannot pursue a relationship with God part of the time, especially when most of the people we are surrounded with are people who have Jesus Christ as the furthest thing from their minds.  Many may say that they believe and then conduct themselves the direct opposite. Strength and wisdom are keys to overcoming whatever addiction or ailment we may have. A relationship with God must be pursued. When it is pursued results will come, if we resist the temptation to do something differently. Just as a doctor takes time when treating an illness, God is taking time with us to do the same. We just have to let Him do it.

 

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead. With this event, came several messages: It is good to differentiate between death and Jesus and we are God’s Children destined for our own resurrection. With that knowledge, we must prioritize our life and put God first. Putting God first can only lead to good things. God does understand that this is a struggle, but anything that is good does not come easy. The Gospel Reading mentioned how Martha initially approached Jesus to first indicate that if He was there, Lazarius would not have died. Then, in a testament to her faith, she said that she knew whatever Jesus asked of God would be granted. She was petitioning for Lazarius’ resurrection! What she displayed was a strong example of faith. She said that, if Jesus was there, Lazarus would not have died. Yet, even after his death, Martha still had faith enough to indicate to Jesus Himself that whatever He asked of God would be granted. She further testified to the divinity of Jesus Christ and Him being the Son of God. This came from a woman who, a short time ago, complained directly to Jesus about her sister Mary not doing enough physical labor serving at table. Jesus also sends us a direct

message:

 

“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?”

 

That final question should be one that we are asking ourselves consistently. It is a dogma of our faith and something we have to believe if we are to call ourselves Christians:

 

“Do you believe this?”

 

If we do, then we must also believe that we will one day be reunited with Our Creator, sharing in that promise. This is where the divine in all of us will find its lasting home. And with this knowledge comes the responsibility we have to conduct ourselves in a way that lets that divinity shine forth to all those whom we interact with. And together we can all go forward, transformed by the experience, as Children of Light.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 31

Reading 1 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

The LORD said to Samuel:
“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice,
Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There—anoint him, for this is the one!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6.

R. (1)  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2 Eph 5:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:
 
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

Verse Before the GospelJn 8:12

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Gospel Jn 9:1-41

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
 
He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
 
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

 

 

 

 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS:

 

As Children of Light, we have indeed been called to step out of the darkness and into the light, to be bathed in its radiance. Christ is the Light of the World, and He shines from within all of God’s Creation and out toward it. The darkness from which we come represents ignorance of the truth—which is Jesus Christ. It also represents a life without Jesus Christ and the absence of a relationship with Him. Without Jesus in our lives, we may find ourselves walking blindly, making wrong decisions, and, ultimately, traveling down the wrong path. Although this may sometimes feel exciting, it always leads to the same place: to dead ends and desolate landscapes.

 

When we explore a relationship with Jesus Christ and allow Him to enter our lives, everything—what was, what is, and what will be—takes on a different meaning. Without Jesus Christ, things are interpreted and understood in a purely natural way, devoid of His influence. He remains outside the equation, for it is unknown how He fits into it. However, when Jesus is taken into account, things acquire a distinct significance, as His influence upon all that exists is then revealed. It is much like gazing at a painting: one can observe it without regard for the artist’s thoughts, feelings, or attitudes. When approached in this manner, the work lacks depth; it is impossible to draw any emotional or spiritual sentiment from it. But when that same painting is viewed with the artist’s perspective in mind, a totally different perception of the work is revealed and experienced; it becomes deeper, more meaningful, and makes far more sense than when it was viewed in isolation. In the same way, God’s Creation—ourselves included—takes on a different meaning when the Creator’s intention is taken into account and we enter into a relationship with Him. Those things that once baffled us or caused us confusion now make perfect sense; and that which once provoked fear and anxiety is now accepted and placed in its proper perspective. And most importantly: God’s Love can be felt and experienced exactly as He intended—from the very beginning—that we should experience it.

 

This is what Jesus was referring to when He spoke with the Pharisees. Learned men, well-versed in Jewish Law, they were blinded by the knowledge they possessed and by their own interpretation of it. Jesus emphasized that, for anyone to see the truth and God’s creation as they truly are, everything previously known—as well as one’s interpretation of it—must be forgotten and relearned through His perspective: that of the Son of God. In other words, for a person to see the truth, they must first become blind, so that they may then learn how to see. There is a process of acceptance implicit in this exercise. We must understand that much of what others have told us throughout our lives is false, and that true truth resides in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus as the Son of God and committing ourselves to maintaining a relationship with Him clears away all the clutter and misconceptions we have accumulated over time, and ushers us into a new world—one defined by the Light of Christ—placing Him at the very center of everything, exactly where He belongs. It becomes a monumental reset—one that is, without a doubt, well worth it. Just as the blind man was healed through his encounter with Jesus Christ, we, too, are capable of being healed through our own experiences with Him.

 

As Christians, we are encouraged to approach Jesus from the exact point where we currently stand in our lives. There are no prerequisites for entering into a relationship with Him; all that is required is a simple acceptance—childlike in its simplicity—of who He is. From that point onward, our relationship with Him will be nurtured and will grow by leaps and bounds—provided, of course, that we allow it to do so. This does, admittedly, require us to let go of what we previously thought we knew, and to remain open to all that a life lived alongside Jesus has to offer us. This process has its stages, and it all begins with that first step: stepping out of the darkness to enter into the light.

 

Deacon Tom