April 2 – Fifth Sunday in Lent
“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
By our faith, we know that it is God who gives life and restores life. Every Sunday we affirm this in the creed: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty… I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ… I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life… I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” But, to prove that we really believe, is when we are tested by real situations, like sickness and death. This is especially true when you lose a close relative or a close friend as in my case a few days ago. Our faith becomes dry and we don’t understand certain events of life, and ask: “Where you are my God?” However, we know our God is almighty and loving, and in him we put our trust.
Today, in the first reading from the book of Ezekiel, the people of God had lost hope and God promised to put His Spirit within them so that they may live. There, Ezekiel was told that through his gift of prophesying, God’s chosen people, who had been exiled in Babylon for some time, would receive a new spirit that would rise them from their lost hope. Consequently, they would be led to a new life in the land of Israel.
The second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, reminds us that by our Baptism our vision has changed: “We are no longer living according to the flesh, our life has been hidden in Christ. We live according to the spirit, therefore we have to set our minds on the things of the Spirit.”
We should remember that we are children of God! “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.’“ (Gal 4:6). Paul says: “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.” So, in us dwells the fullness of the Blessed Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; we are temples of the Trinity!
No doubt the Lord is with us. The Lord feels our misery and pain. He knows our struggles in life. Indeed, He understands our attachment to our loved ones. With them and us, Jesus weeps too, since he took on our nature. We have hope that the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit Who dwells in us. Having raised Christ from the dead, through His indwelling, surely He will also give life to our mortal bodies.
During today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus confirmed: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Those who come to Him shall share in the blessed hope that is found in the Divine Plan of Salvation. What is the Lord saying to us? “Take away the stone!” The Lord wants to take away the stone that keeps us in our prison if we are willing to let go and allow Him. But, what is this stone that prevents us from allowing Jesus to enter into our lives? As we draw nearer to the Feast of the Resurrection, it is important that we acknowledge the barriers that hinder us from being set free.
This stone can be the lack of contrition. If we are not ready to change, then there is no way for us to live the life of God. The stone that is blocking our path to freedom could be lack of trust. Like the Jews, we say, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” For a number of people, God is far away. He does not care for us. When Martha said to Him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone.”
What kind of faith is required of us to be set free? It is not sufficient to have faith in life after death. Such faith is great but will not help us today. Today, people are not living for a pie in the sky. They want to live today, not tomorrow. Many are not willing to sacrifice the present for the future, unless the future is real. People live as if there is no tomorrow. They are desperate to enjoy life as much as possible because most do not believe that there is a tomorrow. They do not want to waste this opportunity. As for life after death, their attitude is, “who knows?”
That being the case, we better make the best of life here and now. Then acts of anger, murder, abortion, and war creep in. And in moments of frustrations, we kill ourselves by suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, bad eating habits, and physical neglect. We can live for tomorrow only if we have complete trust in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. We say “Jesus, I trust in you.”
God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit that we may be made alive in Christ. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to change and transform us into men and women of faith, hope, and love. Let the Holy Spirit strengthen within you the life and joy of God and the hope of heaven. We are called to resurrect from sin to grace by partaking in the Sacrament of Confession to cleanse our souls so we may be pleasing to God, now and forever.