Lent 5-A:                       Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45
St Paul’s, Dowagiac                                   Fr. Joseph Neiman (3/9/08)

Homily:  ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ (Jn 11:45)

My brothers and sisters in Christ, ministers also in Christ’s name.

Two questions: First, what does the raising of Lazarus by Jesus have to do with our encounter with the risen Lord today in this place? Second, why does the Church present this narrative to us during Lent when the majority of readings this year are from the Gospel of Matthew?

Let’s take the second question first, namely, why this narrative on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Lent is a 40 day period, excluding Sundays, in which we prepare for Easter by embracing various spiritual disciplines. That’s Church talk or Church shorthand. What does it mean in English?

Lent means we take an extended period of time to examine our lives, and through the addition of various spiritual disciplines, we seek to develop eyes to see the action of the risen Lord in our lives and ears to hear what it is the good Lord would say to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Lent is a time to listen, to struggle with our personal “demons,” and to come to a deeper appreciation of what it means that Christ has risen and is present with us in the quiet of our hearts as well as when two or three come together in His name. With eyes that see and ears that hear we can begin to grasp our “resurrection destiny.”

Of the three year cycle of readings from Scripture assigned, Year A, this year, is the oldest and most traditional arrangement of Gospel narratives, and it was the pattern used in the Church to prepare persons for Baptism at Easter. Aware of their sins and failings on Ash Wednesday, catechumens (those preparing for Baptism) would be taught on the First Sunday of Lent about Jesus' temptations in the desert with an eye to their own continuing temptations to the flesh, power, and possessions. Then on the Second Sunday – last Sunday -- the conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:1-17) stressed one must be "born again" or "born from above". The Third Sunday about the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42) presents Jesus as "the living water." The Fourth Sunday the emphasis is the healing of the blind man near the Pool of Siloam (John 9:1-4). Then today on the Fifth Sunday the emphasis turns to the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45). Palm Sunday has echoes of "the saints go marching in" and stresses the ruling presence of Christ as King. After the Maundy Thursday confession (being shriven of sins like we did on Shrove Tuesday) and the lesson of humble service (foot washing), Good Friday stresses Christ total commitment even unto death. Then the all night service of lessons from Scripture, stressing God's plan from the beginning of creation to the life and death of Jesus, leads to the Baptism and celebration of Holy Eucharist on Easter. Even if there are no baptisms per se, we renew our baptismal promises.[1] This sequence is designed to give us a vision of God’s plan for us, in particular, our resurrection destiny.

This traditional structure of the Lectionary, that is, the design to help prepare persons to be baptized, is also an aid to help us correct or relearn Christian behavior, namely, how to love one another as Christ as loved us.

Now the first question, what does the raising of Lazarus have to do with us this morning here in this place?

I will skip the historical analysis of what lies behind this narrative and what it means in the context of the whole portrait of Jesus presented to us in the Gospel of John. Instead I want to focus on one dimension of meaning contained in this narrative, and expressed in the last sentence when Jesus said: “Unbind him and let him go free” (Jn 11:44).

We are all bound by sin, either our own sins or the impact of the sins of others upon us. That’s part of the human condition. The word for sin in Greek means “off target” or “off stage” or “off center.” Anything that keeps us from walking in the path in which the risen Lord would lead us is sin for it puts us in the proverbial swamp with the alligators.

The path we are call to walk leads to our resurrection destiny. Jesus, John tells us, said: ‘This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day” (Jn 6:40). We have all been taught from our earliest days as disciples of Jesus that he will raise us up on the last day, and after our death we shall live with him in what is called “eternal life.”

Jesus said to Martha:  “‘I am the resurrection and the life.^* Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ (Jn 115-26).

 

I have no doubt about that teaching of Jesus, but there is so much more, and that more, I believe, is contained in the passage we heard: “Unbind him and let him go free” (Jn 11:44).

I believe Jesus wants our life now to be abundant and filled with the joy and the peace which comes from a right relationship with God, with one another and with the things we temporarily care for falsely believing we own them.

John tells us Jesus also said: “I have come that (you) may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn10:10). Jesus also taught us: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:9-12).

Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, to have a deep abiding joy, and developing a right relationship with God, one another, and the things of the earth becomes the path on which to walk that will lead us to the abundant life and the deep abiding joy. Living as Jesus taught us, Paul tells us brings to us “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,[which] will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:4-7).

So living as Jesus teaches us to live will not only open for us the resurrection destiny foreshadowed in the raising up of Lazarus, which we heard this morning, but will also help us to grow into the abundant live, peace and joy which the good Lord intends for us now during our life journey. Paul taught the Romans and us: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).

Sin keeps us off the path that leads to the target of abundant life and deep abiding joy. Sin keeps us bound, and the risen Lord says to us today: “unbind him and let him go free.”

Lazarus was wrapped in the burial cloths, much like a mummy. What do we wrap around ourselves to take away the fear of death, to make us feel loved and important and powerful? What keeps us off the path and in the swamp with the alligators? We each have to answer that question ourselves. We know what it is within us that leads us into trouble. We know what our addictions are. We know our prejudices. We know how we hurt others or judge them or abuse them. We know how attached we are to money and things. These are the bandages with which we are wrapped and which ultimately can lead us to death in body, mind and spirit.

Fr. Henri Nouwen writes: “We all have dreams about the perfect life: a life without pain, sadness, conflict, or war. The spiritual challenge is to experience glimpses of this perfect life right in the middle of our many struggles. By embracing the reality of our mortal life, we can get in touch with the eternal life that has been sown there.

Only by facing our mortality can we come in touch with the life that transcends death. Our imperfections open for us the vision of the perfect life that God in and through Jesus has promised us.”[2]

Your homework: (I give homework and let the good Lord do the testing.)

Carve out some personal time for serious reflection this week. Examine your inner spirit. What troubles you? With what so-called demons are your struggling? Ask the good Lord to identify these with you and to assure you that He will be with you in the struggle against them, and ultimately will lead you to victory over them. Listen to his voice saying to you: “Unbind him/her and set him/her free”

God bless you and keep you this day and always, and remember that the good Lord does indeed love you more than you can ask for or even imagine. Do you believe it?