Lazarus, Come Forth

We now come to the third of the three great Lenten gospels of John, the story of the raising of Lazarus. It is one of the great stories of John’s gospel and it is unique to him. The other gospels do recount stories of Jesus restoring people to life – Luke has the widow of Nain’s son while Matthew and Mark have the raising of Jairus’ daughter, but they have none of the sheer drama and powerful impact of the raising of Lazarus. John has used the story to offer a deep challenge to our faith.

Lazarus is dead, of that there is no doubt. He has been in the grave for four days
and a heavy stone has been placed across the opening to the grave. He is gone and there can no longer be any access to him. But for Jesus the stone is not a barrier, it is merely and obstacle. It can be overcome and moved if only we have faith. In the stories of the woman at the well and of the man born blind, we have heard and observed Jesus brining two people to faith. We have seen how through his signs and deeds he elicits from them a profession of faith drawn from within them. Even though in their lives they both seemed unlikely figures from which faith would be born, Jesus allows them to understand that through their encounter with him, his love and his mercy can be revealed within them and be the life source which brings them to their knowledge of God as a living presence for them. But now in the story of Lazarus, what we have placed before us is the great challenge of death, and the question for us becomes one which asks: can our faith deal with death and its aftermath?

Death is the ultimate obstacle to our faith. It is the great stone which stands thwarting our desire to commit. It is the great mystery which for many is the reason to abandon faith since death is the end of life, beyond which there is nothing. Remember man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return was what we were told on Ash Wednesday, and the graveside is the stark reminder of that. But here is Jesus standing at the graveside of the one he loved, and for whom he wept. The one who brought living water and the light of faith stands on the threshold of death at every graveside and asks us for faith just as he asked Mary and Martha. Jesus will be tested too, and he will overcome, and roll away the stone. “Lazarus come forth!” is the affirmation of faith as it resounds in our ears. As we move towards Holy Week and live out again the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, let those words resonate once more and bring us forward in faith, to the glory of Easter.

Let there be light

Following on from last week when we considered the symbolism of water in connection with baptism, this week the gospel related the story of the man born blind. Here we observe the symbolism moving from water to light and the clear implication of this change is to express how through baptism we are enlightened by the sacramental encounter we have with Jesus. The words Jesus uses bring this idea into focus. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Note that we are told that the man had been blind from birth or in other words he was born blind, from the very beginning. It reminds us that in the beginning, God created the world when there was darkness over the deep. God’s first words were “Let there be light”, as if it is a moment of revelation, an opening up of the mind to understand the purpose and meaning of our lives. In the mind of the man born blind he was until this moment still living in darkness. It is by his coming to understanding that he is brought to a knowledge of the presence of God in the person of Jesus.

For each of us too, our coming to enlightenment in Christ through our baptism is an opening of our eyes. The light of Christ floods into our minds and we begin to see the world as the work of God’s hands. Notice how Jesus makes a paste from the earth, the “humus” and creates the man anew for him to see the true nature of himself as created in God’s image. At every baptism the paschal candle burns with the light of the Risen Christ. The newly baptised person, a new creation, receives a candle lit from the paschal candle, a light to be kept burning in their hearts as they take the first steps on their new journey.

This journey will not be without its challenges. We read how the man in the gospel was immediately challenged by those around him – indeed we are told they drove him away. We must have the courage and strength to withstand these challenges, to see them as moments of witness, when we are being asked to stand up for our faith and our beliefs. These moments can happen suddenly and without warning. They can come unexpectedly and out of the blue. Such moments can be overwhelming and can quite literally “blind” us as we struggle to understand and appreciate what has happened. It is in these moments, when the darkness may seem about to overcome our capacity to accept what has happened, that the light of world comes to bring up his revealing love to guide us through the shadows and to our home.

May the light of Christ dwell within us.

Refresh my Soul

Over the next three Sundays we have the three great Lenten readings of the
Woman at the Well, the Man born Blind and the Raising of Lazarus. Their themes of water, light and resurrection are intimately linked to the sacrament of Baptism, which our catechumens are preparing for at Easter. With the baptism liturgy as our guide, we will explore each theme over the three weeks beginning to day with water.

The sign and symbol of water is paramount to baptism and so as Jesus encounters the woman at the well it is the image of him bringing her to faith that provides the backdrop for our thoughts. Baptism is the gateway into faith and the road on which we travel. As the woman is drawn to the well, we can all understand the symbolism at work. The well becomes the baptismal font from which she will receive the water of new life. This water, blessed by the presence of Jesus, reminds us of the waters at the beginning of creation and over which the spirit of God hovered at the beginning. From this beginning all things come into being, created by God and given life.

It was at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan that the moment of revelation took place. At this moment the voice of the Father was heard: “This is my son, my favour rests on him”. In a similar and symbolic way the voice of the Father is spoken to the newly baptised as the emerge from their moment of revelation. The woman at the well responds to the words of Jesus and we are also called to respond in a similar way.

Through baptism we encounter the risen Christ in the sacramental life we have been born into. The water and blood which flows from the side of Christ, pierced by the lance when he was on the cross, is the symbol of this sacrament. Just as Eve was moulded from Adam’s side, so then the Church, the bride of Christ, is born from the blood and water which flows from the side of Jesus, the new Adam.

In the gospel of today, this symbolism is played out in all fulness. The woman comes to the well, to the font of life and is refreshed, so that now she will never thirst again. All that was her life before this moment is now put behind her, cleaned by the water of life. Her place within the community is no longer one which is exclusive but is now inclusive. What she has received, she now openly gives to others, to bring them to this moment too. She is an evangelist.

We pray for our catechumens as they prepare for their encounter with the Lord.