FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION.
March 26, 2023.
Fifth Sunday of Lent - A.
What is the Resurrection, and what assurance do we have that
we, too, will be risen? “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have
died." John 11:21
An Albanian proverb says: “Faith begins where reason stops.”
And another proverb adds: “It's easier to lose faith than to find it again.”
There is a sad reality each one of us, oftentimes, goes
through, the seeming absence of God. When passing through difficult times and
hardships, we end up thinking and believing that God has forsaken us or gone
away from us. In today's Gospel, in their helplessness, Martha and Mary, in
front of the death of their only brother Lazarus exclaimed to the Lord: “Lord,
if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Their common
exclamation is that of each one of us in front of life's problems: "Where
are you, God?” Or to quote the Psalmist during the hour of agony: “My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?” Psalm 22:1
I was one day talking with one young lady, and at a certain
point in our conversation, she said: "Father, for a while now, I have
stopped going to church and lost ardor in my prayer life. Because, even though
I tried all I can to keep faithfulness and obedience to all the teachings of
the Church and the commandments and word of God, look at my life. I'm always in
problems, and nothing goes well. God seems to have forgotten me." Here is
the sad reality for many. God seems absent.
Today's liturgy, the 5th Sunday of Lent, while emphasizing
the reality of the Resurrection, teaches us that what seems to be God's absence
is, indeed, a calling for a more constant faith. The Resurrection is a mystery
of faith. Therefore, it is only out of faith that we will get to experience it
and it.
Before all, let's reflect on the resurrection. Today's three
readings are centered on the life that God gives to all people, the eternal
life or life after and beyond this earth. The first reading introduces us to
the meaning of Resurrection through the prophecies of Ezekiel. The Lord gives
his people hope in a new life. "I will put my spirit in you that you may
live." Here, the Resurrection is described as the life in the Spirit, the
perfect restoration for the righteous. The Lord promises his people to open
their graves and take them out from them and bring them home.
The Gospel seems to be a clear fulfillment of this prophecy.
Jesus opens the grave of Lazarus, and takes him out from it with a powerful word:
“Lazarus, come out!” And restores him to a new form of life. It is a life that
prevents a person from dying. And Paul, in the second reading, reminds us that
each one of us is given that newness of life, the life in the Spirit. The
Apostle speaks of the Holy Spirit as the first and main agent of Christ's
Resurrection and of our present and future Resurrection, too.
About the Resurrection, this is what says the teaching of
the Church: "Christ will raise us up "on the last day"; but it
is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by
virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a
participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ: And you were buried with
him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the
working of God, who raised him from the dead... If then you have been raised
with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the
right hand of God." CCC 1002.
The Resurrection is thus, the life in the Spirit, the life
in the Lord. It is something we already have, but that is also to come in
perfection and fullness. For, "United with Christ by Baptism, believers
already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this
life remains "hidden with Christ in God." The Father has already
"raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus." CCC 1003.
While awaiting the fullness of our Resurrection, what we are
urged about is faith. Here is the other great message from the readings. When
we lose faith or lack firmness of belief, we think that the Lord has forsaken
us or gone away from us in midst of tribulations and hardships. Faith is the
only thing that can help us see God's presence everywhere and at any time.
Martha and Mary, in the sorrow of having lost their brother, lost also faith in
the Lord. Why was he not there when they needed him more? Where was he? “Lord,
if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
At this moment of our Lenten Journey, we are urged to deepen our faith in the Lord. We are reminded that when we sign on with the Lord we sign onto the cross and its obligation of faith. Lent and Holy Week are profound reminders of that commitment, the pain of the cross that can only be carried through faith. Faith in the Lord’s resurrection and also faith in our own Resurrection. Without faith, all our Lenten efforts and sacrifices lose their meaning. Without faith, fasting becomes a mere corporation punishment. Prayer turns into a chore. And almsgiving becomes either altruism or torture. Faith is what brings sense to Lent and makes it a moment of preparation to rise anew with the Lord. Together with faith, let us keep firm our hope, and nourish our love for an Easter of genuine life in the Spirit.
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