St James Catholic Church

On this final Sunday of Lent before Palm Sunday and Holy Week, we hear Jesus call Lazarus forth from the tomb.  Jesus calls us as well, forth from our tombs of sin and death, where our harmful habits and attitudes separate us from God.

The story of creation teaches us that God has the power over life.  God created plant life, animal life, and most importantly, human life.  The fall of the first humans brought death into the world.  Ezekiel prophesies that God would open the graves of the Chosen People and bring them back to the promised land.  Jesus actually brings Lazarus forth from the tomb.  But because Lazarus eventually would die once more, it is not until God raises Jesus from the dead that death is defeated, is rendered powerless, once and for all.

The people came to comfort Martha and Mary.  Seeing Jesus, some wondered why this miracle worker hadn’t prevented Lazarus’s death.  Others cried along with Jesus’ tears of grief.  They all end up taking part in Jesus’ work.  Some roll away the stone.  Some untie Lazarus’s burial bands.  All are able to hear Jesus address his Father as the one who sent him and always hears him.  Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb, but also called on his friends and neighbors to untie him to live his new life.

When we turn away from God and our neighbor in need, we find ourselves in a spiritual death, entering the tomb that separates us from God.  Jesus is always calling us forth, out of those bands that separate us from God and others back to the land of the living.  Let us listen, let us respond, and let the Spirit dwelling in us guide us to a life in the Lord.  Afterall, he is the way, the truth, the life, and the resurrection.

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob

Next Sunday, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord begins Holy Week.  If we have done nothing extra in terms of our spiritual lives during the forty days of Lent, why not plan to celebrate one or all of the days of the Sacred Triduum:  Holy Thursday Mass at 6:30 PM,  Good Friday Service at 1:00 PM, or the Easter Vigil at 8:00 PM.