“This illness will not end in death; rather it is for God’s glory, and the Son of God will be glorified through it.”
It is a fact that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus; yet, after he heard of the illness of Lazarus, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Only then did he say to his disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” They replied, “Master, recently the Jews wanted to stone you.
Are you going there again?” Jesus said to them, “Are not twelve working hours needed to complete a day?
Those who walk in the daytime shall not stumble, for they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, for there is no light in them.”
After that, Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up.”
The disciples replied, “Lord, a sick person who sleeps will recover.” But Jesus had referred to Lazarus’ death,
while they thought that he had meant the repose of sleep. So Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there,
so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. As Bethany is near Jerusalem,
about two miles away, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained sitting in the house.
Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.”
But Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection. Whoever believes in me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?” Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”
After that, Martha went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The Master is here and is calling for you.”
As soon as Mary heard this, she rose and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
The Jews, who were with Mary in the house consoling her, also came. When they saw her get up and go out,
they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep. When Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping,
and the Jews also weeping, who had come with her, he was moved to the depths of his spirit and troubled. Then he asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They answered, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. The Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said,
“If he could open the eyes of the blind man, could he not have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, again deeply moved, drew near to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”
Martha said to him, “Lord, by now he will smell, for this is the fourth day.” Jesus replied, “Have I not told you that, if you believe,
you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you, for you have heard me.
I knew that you hear me always; but my prayer was for the sake of these people, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When Jesus had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them,
“Untie him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what he did.

LECTIO DIVINA:

Read: The account from the prophet Ezekiel is a figurative des­cription of God’s creation of a new Israel.
The prophet foretells of an ideal people shaped by God’s spirit to live the co­venant faithfully.
St. Paul explains that under direction of the Holy Spirit, Christians are able to fulfill the divine will.
The gospel account of the rai­sing of Lazarus is the climax of the signs that Jesus did in the gospel of John.

Reflect: For the early Christians the story of the raising of Lazarus was a challenge to never give up hope even in the hopeless situations
in which they found themselves as individuals, as a community, and as a nation. It is never too late for God to revive and revita­lise a person,
a community or a nation. But first we must learn to coope­rate with God. The emphasis in the story on how we coo­perate
with a miracle-working God is placed on practical obe­dience and doing God’s will. In order to effect the miracle,
Jesus issued three commands and all of them were obeyed to the letter. That was how the miracle happened.
Many people today have fal­len victim to the death of sin in various ways. Some are already in the tomb of hopelessness and decay,
in the bondage of sinful habits and attitudes. Only a miracle can bring us back to life. And Jesus is ready for the miracle.
He himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Pray: Father, grant us the grace to listen to your voice and obey them especially in “unbinding” or forgiving one another.

Act: What are the “stones” that need to be rolled away from your life? In this season of Lent, take the necessary steps to get out of your own “tomb”.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020