Fifth Sunday of Lent - (Year A) March 9, 2008 Reflections on Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130:1-8; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45 by Judith Zonsius, OSB “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE…DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

One of the primary tasks the editors of the revised lectionary had was finding common threads or themes as paired each Sunday’s 1st reading from the Hebrew scriptures the a Gospel text. During this Liturgical Year A, we see some of their best work (by Year C, they’re getting a little tired, and the common themes are not as obvious.) As excited as I am about the apparent “death-to-life” connections to be made between Ezekiel and John, I’d like to focus on John’s gospel today: where it’s been and where it may be leading us. One of the reasons for doing so comes from the following story.

A few weeks ago I needed to move out of my bedroom while it was repaired and painted (due to a ceiling cave-in!), so, as many of you have also done, I dutifully packed up all of my belongings and played “gyrovagi monk” for a few weeks. When it was time to move back into my room, of course, everything had to be put back in its place and I decided that, being lent and all, this would be a good time to “sort and toss” the books, knick-knacks and photos that have accumulated over the years in that space.
I was most brutal with my bookshelf, meager as it is, and decided it was time to pass on some of the texts I had saved from my college theology courses.

One of the books I packed to give away was from a course at Mundelein College on the writings of St. John. The day after I finished putting my room together, I received an e-mail via Suzanne that Sr. Anne Carr, BVM, had died. Anne Carr was a wonderful person, superb theologian and scholar…and she was my instructor in that course on St. John. So, this is really, as the kids would say, a “shout out” to her and to her many contributions to the Church. Oh, and by the way, you may have noticed that today’s gospel was written by John…and I’ve retrieved the book to put back on my bookshelf.

“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE…DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

As we enter this last week of Lent and prepare for Holy Week, the Lazarus event pushes us toward Easter and connects us with Jesus’ resurrection. In both accounts, don’t we see:
1. women mourning at a tomb
2. a cave tomb with a stone rolled away
3. a description of burial clothes
4. and a declaration by Thomas, the apostle?

The raising of Lazarus is the last and greatest of John’s 7 signs, “each of which has served to reveal something of the person and purpose of Jesus.” [P. Sanchez, Celebration]

The first, the Wedding at Cana, where, at the request of a woman, and reluctantly, Jesus begins his public ministry. The last, the raising of Lazarus, at the request of a woman, and weeping (for his friend or for himself?), because he knows that this will be his final public sign, and will lead to his arrest by the authorities and ultimately his death. But, it doesn’t end there, does it?

“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE…DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

In his book, The Witness of John, James Plastaras describes the Johannine community’s theology of resurrection. “They did not look to a future resurrection as the beginning of a new existence of eternal blessedness. Neither was the moment of death the entrance into eternal life. They believed that the resurrection, the beginning of a new existence which was a sharing in the very life of the Father and the Son, took place at the moment when a person (man) heard the Word and believed.” [Plastaras, p. 148]

The Word, so prominent in John’s writing, teaching us that “wherever the gospel is preached, it is the risen Christ who is present to us both as the Speaker, and as the Word which is spoken. That Word confronts us as both a call to decision and a summons to judgment. Lazarus coming forth from the tomb is an image of the person (Everyman) who hears the Word and accepts it in obedient faith.” [Plastaras, p. 149]

Martha’s response to Jesus’ question, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE…DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?” was, “Yes…I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, God’s Only Begotten, the One who is to come into the world.”
What is your answer? [P. Sanchez, Celebration]

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