Sunday:       CHRISTIAN INITIATION: THIRD SCRUTINY - 5 th SUNDAY OF LENT
Date:         April 1, 2001
Year:         C
The readings: [Ezek. 37:12-14; Rom. 8:8-11; Jn. 11:1-45]
The message:  I am the resurrection and the life.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1607

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My brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to today's celebration of the Holy Mass on the 5 th Sunday of Lent. As of today, your spiritual journey has led you to the Third and final Scrutiny of the Christian Initiation. At this stage, you are reminded that the Lord Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

During today's First Reading from the Book of Ezekiel that is found in the Old Testament, to prove that He is the Lord, God made three promises to His people.

First, He promised to open the graves of the people and to raise them from the dead. [Ezek. 37:12-3]

Secondly, He promised to put His Holy Spirit within them so that they may live. [Ezek. 37:14]

Thirdly, He promised to place them on their own soil. [Ezek. 37:14]

When reviewing these promises in context with the entire Book of Ezekiel, we learn that the Lord God had made others promises. Over and above the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit, [Ezek. 36:27] God promised to give a new heart and a new (human) spirit to His children so that they may follow His statutes and keep His ordinances and obey them. [Ezek. 11:19-20, 18:31, 36:26]

When considering all this knowledge, it is perceived that God was speaking of a spiritual resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit and membership in the Body of Christ. Allow me to explain.

Because of the original sin of Adam, the souls, spirits and bodies of all, from the moment that they are conceived, are called to experience spiritual death. To overcome the spiritual death of the soul as defined in the Council of Trent, (C.C.C. # 403) in His infinite love and mercy, the Lord God planned that those who would receive the Sacrament of Baptism, they would be born again. [Jn. 3:3, 5] They would experience a spiritual rebirth. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God would bless each and everyone with a new spiritual creation through which the soul would continue to manifest itself when physical death arrives. For what is born of the Spirit is spirit. [Jn. 3:6] In other words, God planned a way for all to overcome spiritual death in order to enjoy eternal life in the Presence of God.

Through faith in Christ, during the Sacrament of Baptism, we are crucified with Christ, [Rom. 6:6] we are buried with Christ, [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12] and we are raised with Christ to walk in the newness of life [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12] as a new creation of the seed of God. [1 Jn. 3:9, 5:18] The new creation is everything! [Gal. 6:15]

My brothers and sisters in Christ, that is what God meant when He promised to open the graves and to raise the dead from them. Before the coming of Christ, the Gentiles were spiritually dead. They had no living hope. Now, through the Sacrament of Baptism, they are born again so they may receive their salvation in Christ. "Do you suppose that it is for nothing that the Scripture says, 'God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?'" [Jas. 4:5] To protect the newly created human spirit of the godly seed [1 Jn. 3:8] within man, God places His Holy Spirit within all so that they may follow His statutes and keep His ordinances and obey them.

Having shown this tremendous love for His children, the Lord God then prepared a spiritual land in which all the newly created human spirits could dwell. That land is called the mystical Body of Christ which embraces the visible, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and the invisible Kingdom of God on earth. While the physical bodies of the faithful dwell in the visible Church, their invisible human spirits dwell in the Kingdom of God on earth. The existence of the human spirit cannot be denied when the Holy Bible teaches, "For a body without a spirit is dead." [Jas. 2:26]

All of this spiritual knowledge brings us to today's Second Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. St. Paul said, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." [Rom. 8:8] Why is it that they cannot please God while they are in the flesh? It is because the human nature is continuously drawn towards sin. The human nature opposes the spiritual nature of the new human spirit that God has created within the believers during the Sacrament of Baptism.

When Paul said that those who are in the flesh cannot please God, he was affirming the Words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman. "The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in (human) spirit and truth." [Jn. 4:23-4] Note that Jesus did not say that the true worshippers would worship the Father in physical form, but rather in spiritual form, in the spirit.

St. Paul further added, "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the (human) spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you." [Rom. 8:9] By this, he meant that now, through the new creation of the human spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit, the members of the Body of Christ are not the same anymore. They are spiritual beings. They have a new heart. They have a spiritual mind. Through their new creation, they can be pleasing to God in worship. Not only are they pleasing to God in worship, they are obligated to do so in thankfulness for the new life that has been given to them in Christ.

St. Paul said, "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Jesus)." [Rom. 8:9] Indeed, "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is (human) spirit." [Jn. 3:6] "No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water (baptism) and Spirit." [Jn. 3:5] To be saved, it is absolutely necessary to receive the Sacrament of Baptism at which time the Holy Spirit makes His indwelling within the individual. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, the believers receive the gifts of God that are necessary to worship God in spirit, such being pleasing to God.

Because Christ is in the believer, although his physical body is dead because of sin, his spiritual nature is his assurance of salvation because of the righteousness of God that has received through their new birth in Jesus.

And "if the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to their mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in them." [Rom. 8:11] As the Spirit of God has given a newness of life to the believers, He will also give a newness of life to their physical bodies.

During today's Reading from the Gospel of John, we heard Jesus say, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." [Jn. 11:25-6] As Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He shall also raise our physical bodies on the last day.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, there was a reason why Lazarus had to die and be resurrected. And there was a reason as to why this miraculous event was recorded in the Holy Bible. "It was for God's glory that Lazarus died and was resurrected, so that the Son of God may be glorified through this event." [Jn. 11:4] In other words, it was to affirm that truly, Jesus is the Son of God. It was to affirm that our resurrection and our life depends entirely on Jesus. It was to strengthen the faith of those who witnessed the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus. And it was recorded in the Holy Bible to testify to us that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. [Jn. 14:6] There are no other ways to make it to Heaven, nor can anyone else raise our physical bodies once they have turned to dust.

Jesus said, "Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light in not in them." [Jn. 11:9-10] What do those words mean? It means that when you embrace a spiritual mind, you perceive the way, the truth and the life. You perceive that Jesus is "the Light of the world." [Jn. 8:12] You cannot stumble because you base your living faith on sound Catholic doctrine.

But those who do not have the Light of God in them, they walk in the darkness! They are spiritually blind! They are eternally lost! The resurrection and the life is not in them! They reject the fullness of the grace of God at work in the Sacraments of the Church. They reject the Sacrament of Baptism that opens the door towards salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. They reject the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." This week, let us reflect upon this biblical passage and ask ourselves, "Is my living faith in Jesus who is the resurrection and the life?" If it is, let us be thankful to God. If it is not, let us embrace it in thankfulness to God for revealing it. May the grace of God be with you this week and forever.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Thus says the Lord God: 'I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.

I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,' says the Lord." [Eze. 37:12-14]

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Second Reading...

"Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you." [Rom. 8:8-11]

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Gospel Reading...

"Now a certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill,' But when Jesus heard this, he said, 'This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this Jesus said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.' The disciples said to him, 'Rabbi, the people there were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?' Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light in not in them.'

After saying this, he told them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.' The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.' Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him,' Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.'

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said to him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.'

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.' And when Mary heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.

The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt 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 came with her also weeping, He was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. Jesus said, 'Where have you laid him?' They said to him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!' But some of them said, 'Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?'

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.' Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, 'Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.' Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, 'Father, I thank you for having heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.'

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him and let him go.'

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him." [Jn. 11:1-45]

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