THE CONCLUSION

The readings for today permeate the truth about life and death. In Ezekiel’s vision which is from today's 1st reading, he saw the release of the Jews from their captivity which is likened to rising from the dead. It is a promise that they will experience new life that springs from God's own spirit. The same is true for us, when our battle on earth is over, then we, too can settle upon the land and kingdom that God has prepared for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ezekiel 37:12-14
12 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. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! 14 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.

The psalm speaks of the same theme. It is stated that out of the depths, the Lord hears our cry to Him. We are assured that with the Lord there will be mercy and fullness of redemption. God is more than just merciful. The sacrifice of Christ has won for us plenteous redemption. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R: With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; Lord, hear my voice! 2 Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. (R) 3 If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? 4 But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. (R) 5 I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. 6 More than sentinels wait for the dawn. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD. (R) 7 For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; 8 and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

The 2nd reading assures the Christian community of a future of unending glory for all who have been loyal to God. The assurance of resurrection is nothing less than the spirit dwelling in us. We are released from the graves that we create for ourselves. The resurrection is the ground of our faith and basis for our hope. Amen. Hallelujah!


Romans 8:8-11
...But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 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 that dwells in you.

The climax is found in today’s gospel which is the rising from the dead of Lazarus. It gives us hope in our own rising just as Ezekiel and Paul tells his community. It confirms our faith in Jesus who is for us our resurrection and life. St. John’s gospel begins with a wedding and closes with a funeral. Today’s gospel is the account of the funeral at Bethany. There are 4 characters, Jesus, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. John tells us that He loved them. The funeral ritual in Jesus' time is very different in ours. The body is wrapped, covered and placed in a cave. Jesus waited 2 days before he went to Lazarus despite the urgency of the call. It was for the will of God to be demonstrated by this miracle. At that time the Jewish authorities are ready to do away with Him. The miracle of Lazarus is a last ditch attempt to win the Jewish authorities over. We also see this statement of Jesus in the gospel that we continue to hear at every funeral mass, “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?” The chief priest and Jewish officials failed to make the connection that Martha was able to make. In fact Martha is considered a woman of great faith for she is the only one aside from Peter who had professed that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. We can also see that Jesus wept. He is the Son of God but also the vulnerable Son of Man. He is the most sensitive of human beings. Jesus’ love for Lazarus and his sisters is very obvious. We should believe that His love for us is no less than them. We can contemplate on the rolling away of the stone, unbinding Lazarus and letting him go. How often do we bind ourselves with metaphorical strings like addiction, gossip, prejudices, sexual deviations and anger. We hide it to ourselves but we can’t hide from God. We should seek help to unbind ourselves. Is there an area in our life where hope is gone? Let us pray to bring the light of his love to liberate us. Hand them over to Jesus to be healed, raised up and set free. Jesus calls us by name to come out of our graves. There is a deeper and darker truth in this world where we are. Sometimes we meet death of our own making. We see how people kill each other in acts of murder like abortion, euthanasia, overworking, stress, bad eating habits, physical neglect as we also watch others die through destruction of our environment. Death is certainly all around us, not just as a result of old age but of our own making. We need to alleviate it for ourselves and others too. The vital question is, "Am I ready to face my own death, we don’t know the day nor the hour." Now is the time to make preparation and to take responsibility not just for ourselves. We, not just Lazarus and his sisters are loved by Jesus. We are all called to unbind and be free. We should make it an ongoing Christian responsibility throughout our life. Indeed, if we do so, the resurrection is the conclusion of our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!



John 11:1-45
1 Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 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. 3 So the sisters sent word to him, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” 4 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.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”...“Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” 12 So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” 13 But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. 14 So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. 15 And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”...Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” ...When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” 35 And Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”...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.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 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.” 43 And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 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.” 45 Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.