In the first reading, God tells his disheartened people exiled in a foreign land He will restore them and bring them back to the promise land. Amidst their despair, the prophet Ezekiel tells of dead bones brought back to life and of a people freed and restored. St. Paul, in the second reading, speaks to the Christians living in Rome, a pagan place at that time, and tells them that true life is spiritual. In the Gospel, Jesus shows himself as the resurrection and the Lord of life by raising up Lazarus from the dead. To have faith in Jesus is to have life in its fullness.

Reflection

We don’t think about death and dying that much. As a priest, encountering death and dying in its different stages remains a mystery. Whether it be listening to someone with a serious illness, administering the sacrament of anointing or the viaticum to a dying person or offering the prayer of committal for the dead at the grave, the seeming finality of death creates a strong impact in us. And when the realization of loss hits home, we experience an abandoned place in our heart, a pocket of emptiness as it were, that nothing or no one can fill because of the uniqueness of that person in our life. In that place, sadness and desolation also resides.

Yet when we find ourselves in such a place, God’s word assures us that He occupies that same place of emptiness with us. He is present in our time of sadness and grief. He is by our side in our moments of vulnerability and feelings of abandonment. God goes beyond being with us but even says through the prophet Ezekiel: “I am the Lord and I will have you rise from your grave!” Jesus gives us the same reassurance when he says to Lazarus buried inside the tomb, “Lazarus, come out!” He speaks the word of life and Lazarus is resuscitated.

Jesus speaks the same words to us. We might not be dead yet but sometimes we do not live a full life. A full life is not only about activities, laughter or being the life of the party. But a full life is about coming out of the tombs of the hardness of our heart, out of the grave of our indifference and self-righteousness, out of the catacombs of arrogance and selfishness. As St. Irenaeus said: Gloria Dei homo vivens! The glory of God is a person fully alive! As Jesus told Lazarus, he also tells us: Come out of your tomb!

Response

What “tomb” has hindered me from living a full life and need to rise from?