This weekend is the Fifth Sunday of Lent; the Gospel comes from John 11:1-45 and talks about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. Lazarus was the brother of Martha (who busily served Jesus) and Mary (who silently listened to Jesus teach), and was also a good friend of Jesus. He was severely ill one day and when Jesus heard this, He waited two days before departing for Bethany, allowing His friend to suffer first before He raised him from the dead, revealing the mystery of the resurrection before their eyes and proving His identity as the resurrection and the life. We might be surprised to learn that God permitted His good friend to suffer, but God works good from evil, and even permitted His own Son to die so that we might be saved. In the Apostles Creed, we profess “I believe in the resurrection of the body” along with Martha to recognize Christ as the resurrection every Mass. According to St. Thomas, the resurrection strengthens our faith in four ways: (1) it relieves our grief upon the death of our loved ones, because we have hope in their resurrection; (2) it removes our fear of death, because we know a greater life exists afterward; (3) it encourages us to do good in this life, because we know there is an eternal reward after; and (4) it makes us avoid evil, because we know there is an eternal punishment after.
「Spiritual Talk」Fifth Sunday of Lent – Fr. Anthony Ho
