Homily of Fifth Sunday of Lent of
Year A 2020
The first reading was Ezekiel’s
prophecy to the people of Israel while they were in exile in Babylon. They had
resigned to hopeless that they would never be free, and would never return to
their homeland. Ezekiel was one of the prophets God sent to give hope to the
people. The images Ezekiel used to describe the people’s situation, as we see
in the reading, are death and grave. Ezekiel then prophesied spirit, life, and
restoration. Ezekiel prophesied, “I will open your graves and have you rise
from them… I will put my spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you
upon your land…” This prophecy was fulfilled in about 597BC when King Cyrus of
Persia released the people of Israel to return to their land (Ezra
1:1-11). The king decreed, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all
the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at
Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in
Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in
Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where
survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and
gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of
God in Jerusalem.” … “In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver.
Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from
Babylon to Jerusalem.”
In the Gospel, Lazarus was dead
and was four days in the grave. He was brought back to life by Jesus. It was a
hopeless case before Jesus arrived. When Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill he
did not proceed immediately to visit Lazarus. It took him four days before he
arrived at the home of Mary and Martha. Jesus ordered, “Take away the stone.”
He commanded, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus came out with hand and foot tied
with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. Finally, Jesus ordered,
“Untie him and let him go.”
The Israelites were seventy years
in Babylon before they got their freedom. Lazarus was four days in the grave
before Jesus brought him back to life. This means that sometimes, difficult
times can last for a while. Sometimes, it takes a while before God answers our
prayers. Therefore, during difficult times, we are encouraged to persevere in
prayer. Jesus promises in Matthew 24:13, “The one who perseveres to the end
will be saved.”
The Israelites never believed
that there was hope for them to return to their home land. But when it was
God’s time, it came very fast and easy, and with unexpected blessings. The
people of Israel did not fight for their freedom, and they left Babylon with so
much gold and silver to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Also, in the
Gospel, nobody believed that Lazarus would live again after being dead for
four days, but Jesus brought him back to life. There is nothing God cannot do,
even in the most hopeless cases. Therefore, let us take courage faithfully. God
has the final say. God speaks to us through Prophet Ezekiel, “I will open your
graves and have you rise from them.”
A very difficult question is
often asked, “Why do innocent people go through trials?” Jesus’ words answer
this question. About Lazarus Jesus said, “This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God, that the son of God may be glorified.” And Jesus
said to Martha, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” Last Sunday,
Jesus said about the blind man, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so
that the works of God might be made visible through him” (John 9:3).
In John 16:33 Jesus says, “I have told you this so that you might have
peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have
conquered the world.” St. Paul adds, “We know that all things work for good for
those who love God, and who are called to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). These
words of Jesus and St. Paul give inner light and strength to faithful and
spiritual persons. Non-spiritual persons are incapable of comprehending the
spiritual meanings of the words.
The Israelites were under the
yoke of slavery in Babylon. Lazarus was dead and in the grave covered by a
stone. He was bound hand and foot, and his face wrapped in a cloth. We may have
our kind of yoke enslaving us; we may be experiencing the sting of death and
feeling like being in the grave; we may be feeling like we are weighed down by
a large stone; we may be feeling like tied by hand and foot; we may be feeling
like our face is wrapped in a cloth. As St. Paul prayed in the second reading,
may the Spirit of the One who raised Christ from the dead give life to our
mortal bodies, break our yokes, raise us up from our graves, remove the stones
weighing upon us, untie us and set us free. Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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