FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT A

[cappie]

Five weeks ago, we began with the temptation of Jesus. We heard that Jesus was subjected to tests and trials, just as we are, yet without sinning. The following week, the gospel called for a decision. 

After his transfiguration, and with the assurance of being God’s beloved Son, Jesus faced a difficult choice to journey to Jerusalem. Over the next two weeks, we encountered two unique faith stories. For the Samaritan woman, faith called her to be an apostle to her village, and for the man blind from birth, faith resulted in him being driven out of his community. Today, we contemplate the reality of death, and Jesus’ promise that “whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  

When he receives the message that Lazarus is ill, Jesus stays where he is for two more days. The gospel does not explain it. By the time Jesus finally begins the journey to Bethany, the situation has changed. What was once an urgent illness has become a death. Lazarus has been buried. When Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.

Four days is long enough for mourners to arrive from nearby Jerusalem.   Martha goes out to meet Jesus first, and Mary follows later, but both say the same thing: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

It is a statement filled with grief, but also with accusation. It speaks the pain of trust disappointed. Even the crowd echoes this question. Some of them say, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” The implication is unmistakable. Jesus had power. Jesus had opportunity. And yet, Jesus did not arrive in time.

By the time Jesus reaches Bethany  the crisis is over. The worst has happened. Nothing remains but grief, anger, and a sealed tomb. Whatever Jesus might have done, it appears the moment for action has passed. And then Jesus says something unexpected. Speaking to Martha, he says, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha responds, she affirms her belief in God’s promises for the future. It is a correct answer, a theologically sound response. And yet resurrection at the end of time offers little comfort when the pain is immediate.  

Jesus responds by shifting the conversation entirely. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.”

Jesus does not say that resurrection is something that will happen someday. He does not point only toward the future. He says that resurrection is present now. Resurrection is not simply an event at the end of time; it is bound up in the very presence of Jesus.  

When Jesus comes to the tomb and sees the sorrow of those gathered, he weeps. This moment matters. The Gospel does not present a Saviour who stands above human pain or explains it away. He stands before the reality of death and shares in the tears of those who mourn.

Only then does Jesus act.

Standing before the tomb, Jesus calls out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus emerges wrapped in burial cloths, the marks of death. Jesus then turns to those standing nearby and says, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The miracle is not only that Lazarus is raised. It is also that the community is drawn into the work of restoration. The bindings of death must be removed.  

This story from St John’s Gospel is not about one man brought back to life long ago. It reveals something essential about the character of God.   A God who arrives not before pain, but in the midst of it. A God who does not wait for the moment to be safe, convenient, or understandable.

 Jesus shows up when there are no more treatment options. When the bottom has dropped out and there is nowhere left to fall.   Jesus shows up when everyone else has given up.  When all that is left is a tomb, tears, grief, anger, and disappointment.

That is when Jesus shows up.

 There is no time too late for Jesus. No place beyond reach. No situation beyond redemption. There is no one to whom Jesus cannot say, “You will rise again.” No one who cannot be called out of death into life. No one who cannot be unbound and set free.