Living Up

Fifth Sunday of Lent A
Hope – Raising of Lazarus
March 8, 2008

Herald Sun Weekend magazine
Last Saturday week Herald Sun Weekend magazine had a big section on how to achieve a better life – how to feel fitter, eat better, think faster, de-stress and put real meaning back into our world. The magazine enumerated 20 practical ways how to change our life. They are in this order: invite your neighbour in, show that you appreciate your friends and family, learn to cook something new, drink more water, cook at home, learn to dance, have a check-up, meditate, find your own special place, get some exercise, get a good night’s sleep, play mind games, manage conflict at work, take up a team sport, heal yourself through laughter, consider yoga, keep a diary, enroll in a coarse, and lastly, go easy on yourself as a parent.

I myself would personally try most of these (except the last one) and see what will happen. I believe our modern technology and health experts can provide us the possibility of rapid change in our life for better, a balance and healthy life-style.

Then, I ask myself, let’s say that I’ve done all these things good exercise, good diet, and everything, still in the end I will die. Even if I’m the most discipline, smart and healthy person on earth, I can’t be here forever.

I must be hope for something more than good health or a radical change in our life!

We must hope for something that is not temporary but lasting, that is beyond this life.

Ultimate Hope
Today’s readings point to our ultimate hope in life in the midst of the mess in humanity, depression and all its confusion. We have all the ultimate hope to live a life untouched by debt, miseries, pain and death. Our ultimate hope is eternal life.

In encyclical letter Spes Salvi (On Christian Hope), Pope Benedict XIV says, In some way we want life itself, true life, untouched even by death; yet we do not know the thing towards which we feel driven. We cannot stop reaching out for it, and yet we know that all we can experience or accomplish is not what we yearn for.

I suppose what the Holy Father is saying is that we are all hoping for a better life, we often don’t know how to achieve it. No medical breakthrough or modern technology can offer us eternal life. We cannot simply download it from the internet.

In today’s Gospel Jesus brings the ultimate hope to humanity that we are all longing for – the hope for eternal life.

We heard from the Gospel last Sunday when Jesus healed the blind, he brings the sign of light into the world. Today’s raising of Lazarus is a sign of the new life, of new hope, offered through the Spirit of the risen Lord.

The dramatic scene of Lazarus coming out from the cave, wrapped in linen but alive and well, is not really the main point of the reading. Lazarus was only temporarily resuscitated by our Lord. Like all human beings, Lazarus would succumb to natural death later on.

The raising of Lazarus is one of the last and greatest miracles worked by our Lord to prove that he is the Messiah, sent by God to give a new life, an eternal life, to humankind and that through faith in him believers will receive eternal life.

Jesus explains the purpose of this miracle not because Lazarus was one of his very close friends, rather “it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” How? First, when Jesus brings Lazarus back to life, people will give God glory for the miracle. Second, by restoring the life of Lazarus, Jewish leaders of his time would be more determine to kill Jesus. And ironically, the death of Jesus would bring true life and hope to the world.

Message
When Lazarus came out of the cave, Jesus commanded the people to “Untie him, let him go.” This is what Jesus saying to each of us today as we approach the end of Lent.

Untie him, let him go.
There are so many dark areas in our private life. We often bind ourselves with strings of our sinfulness, laziness, un-forgiveness, pride gossip, prejudices, hatred and uncontrollable anger and bury ourselves in the tombs of despair. Jesus asks us today to seek his help and that of the community around us to loosen those chains and come out of tombs of our own creation.

Is there an area of your life where your hope is gone? Do you want to lock it up in a tomb and seal it away from Jesus or are you willing to have Jesus visit this area of your life? There are times when we refuse to let God enter into lives, to unbind and free us from the darkness of mess.

If you want Jesus to visit the dark dungeons of your life, ask Jesus during this Holy Mass to bring the light and the power of His Holy Spirit into your private life and ask him to liberate us from our tombs.

Let the story of the resurrection of Lazarus become our story! We are called to leave our graves of sin and unhappiness. Jesus calls each of us by name to come out of our graves and help others to do the same.

Only then after we come out from our raised own grave of sinfulness, and be re-created by the power of the Holy Spirit, that we can truly say that we live better, feel fitter, eat better, think faster, put real meaning back into our world.