A Reflection on the Gospel: Fifth Sunday of Lent

As I read the Gospel for this weekend, some statements spoke to me. I want to share a brief reflection on a few of them:

Master, the one you love is ill.
In the past few weeks we have been reading about the healing miracles of Jesus. He healed the man born blind, he restored the health of the man who laid by the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. He promised living water to quench the thirst of the woman at the well. He is the spring of living water, prefigured in the prophecy of Ezekiel who saw a vision of water flowing from the altar toward the east gate, and giving life to everything on its path (chapter 47). This same Jesus is the one whose friend was ill. If he could cure people who were not in close relationship with him, what about the one whom he “loved?” “The one you love” suggests a special relationship with Jesus. It could be you or me. I have no doubt that Jesus loves me and everyone of us. He loved us into being, and his love continues to hold us in existence. We exist for God and nothing happens to us without God’s knowledge. God’s love for us is not restricted to when we are well and healthy; he loves us even when we are ill.

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.
It is very easy to love God when things are going well for us. It is harder to love or trust God when things don’t go according to our vision for our lives. We tend to see our sufferings and misfortunes as signs of God’s rejection or abandonment, just as the disciples asked Jesus whether it was the man born blind or his parents who sinned. But in actuality, God never abandons us. He is always with us, whether in good times as well as in bad. While we are not exempt from what might be seen as the human condition, God can bring about good even from apparent evil. All we need to do is trust God. Nothing happens to us that cannot be opportunities for giving glory to God. Do not allow any situation in your life to go to waste.

He remained for two days
How do you claim to love someone if you are not moved to haste at hearing about their misfortune? How do we reconcile the fact that Jesus loved this man yet he remained where he was without making an attempt to go rescue him? Shouldn’t he have rushed to heal him when he received the sad news? Is Jesus being unfair or insensitive? How do we believe Jesus loves us when he seems slow to take away our pain, our illnesses or even our grief? Is my love for Jesus contingent on the good things of life I receive from him? Do I accept good things as well as bad lovingly from his hands?

Let us go to him
Jesus goes to Lazarus. He comes to us. We might think he tarries, but he always shows up. His timing is never ours. We are always in a hurry, but Jesus is always on time. Jesus comes at the appointed time, and this is the perfect time. He leaves whatever he was doing to come to us. How special we are to him!

Let us also go to die with him
Did Thomas just say that or was he making a prophecy? Of course, the apostles will all go to die with him. But at different times. Yes, let us all go to die with him. Let us all take up our crosses daily and follow him. Let us never look back on this charge, for if we die with him we will surely rise with him. Jesus knew the plot of the leaders against him, yet he goes to Galilee in order to wake up a dear friend. He was unafraid of the plan to kill him. His disciples must also be like him, unafraid to die for love.

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
That’s true. Not only is it true that nothing dies in Jesus’ presence, it is even more true that Jesus is capable of raising to life whatever was dead. He is the resurrection and the life. He tells us, God is God of the living, not of the dead (Mark 12:27). So, everyone is truly alive in his presence even though they might have departed this world for a while. Hence, Jesus would say to Martha, “Your brother will rise.” The same Jesus who, in his humanity, was moved to tears, demonstrated his divinity by raising the dead man from the grave. This Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you!
Fr. Julius