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Untie Him and Let Him Go
A Lenten Reflection
For the Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 25, 2007
By Philip D. Ropp
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As our
Lenten journey begins to draw
to a close, we find ourselves in Bethany,
a mere
two miles from Jerusalem. It is here, in the home of Mary, Martha and
their brother, Lazarus, that Jesus resides whenever he has reason to
visit the Holy
City. This is the so-called “Bethany Household,”
that has been the subject of Church legend and intrigue since the
earliest days
of our faith. Catholic Church Tradition
has long associated Joseph of Arimathea with Lazarus and his sisters,
and this
is the most likely scenario.
The
basic story of Joseph's trip to Britain
varies in some details from account to account. But the bare facts are
that
Joseph, with many disciples traveled from the holy land by Phoenician
boat and
landed at Marseilles (a Phoenician trading post), in the Vienoise
province of
the Gauls ( modern France). From there he went on to Britain
established seminaries and
sent out missionaries. In his "Ecclesiastical Annals", Cardinal
Baronius, Curator of the Vatican
library,
gives this account. "In that year the party mentioned was exposed to
the
sea in a vessel without sails or oars. The vessel drifted finally to
Marseilles and
they were
saved. [1]
Joseph’s
company included, among the others, Mary Magdalene and Mary,
Martha, and Lazarus, whom the Lord had raised from the dead.
Joseph would continue on to Glastonbury
in Britain
and establish a vital and legendary Christian religious center that
would
include the earliest Catholic seminary. From here, many
missionaries would be sent throughout Europe
and the known world, and would convert many to Christ. Most of
the Bethany
party remained in Marseilles to
establish a
vital and important Christian community in the south of France.
Lazarus
traveled to Britain
with
Joseph and was one of the first to go out from Glastonbury. He
returned to France
where he became the first Bishop of Marseilles, and was instrumental in
establishing Christianity throughout the entire region. The point
is, of course, that he could not
have accomplished this great work for the Lord had he remained dead in
the
grave back in Bethany.
We
know that God will, at times, take from us in death someone so young
or in some other way so undeserving of death that it can shake our
faith down
to the very bottom of our souls. One of
the signs of true Christian maturity is when we learn to not only cope
with
this harsh reality, but to embrace it in faith and trust in God even in
circumstances
that are beyond our comprehension and understanding.
Conversely,
we are also well aware of situations in which death seems to
be so imminent as to be unavoidable, and yet God extends the full power
of his
grace in the eleventh hour, and we witness those miracles that are not
unlike that
of Lazarus. And while, like the case of
Lazarus, the ability of God to bring back to life and health one that
our human
reason has already written off to the grave astounds and delights us,
we too
often let our amazement keep us from realizing the greater purpose that
God has
in mind. In the case of Lazarus, it was
the evangelization of France.
One
such case that did not escape our attention was that of Pope John
Paul II. On May 13, 1981, he has shot and
critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca as he entered St. Peter’s
Square.
To this day, even his doctors admit that he
should have died from the wounds with which he was inflicted on that
day, and
make no argument to the claim that his recovery was miraculous. As the
Holy
Father later said about these events:
Could
I forget that
the event in St. Peter’s Square took place on the day and at the hour
when the
first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants
has been
remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal?
For
in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that
extraordinary
motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the
deadly
bullet. [2]
As
John Paul hovered near death, he encountered the Blessed Mother at the
gates of heaven. It was she that
informed him that he had much to do and that he would be returned to
health to
accomplish his mission. The world we
live in today is a much different and better place because it has known
John
Paul II, and the Catholic Church remains the strongest voice within in
this
world for social and moral justice thanks to his miraculous return from
death’s
door. In Matthew 16 we are told by
Christ that the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church, and
in the
healing of John Paul II, we see the lengths to which God was willing to
go to
make this so.
While
not as dramatic as the Lazarus miracle, or even that which we
witnessed with John Paul II in our own times, we all can look back at
some
point in our life when God intervened in some way that made a profound
impact
and changed the direction in which we were headed for the better. The
subtly
that is often overlooked in the Lazarus event is seen in that it is
often
referred to as a “resurrection,” while it might be more accurate to
call it a
“resuscitation.” Jesus was resurrected
from the dead into eternal life, as witnessed in the gospels and the
Acts of
the Apostles. The proof of this is found
in his ascension into heaven to rule with God the Father in the life
that we
look forward to beyond this one. While
Lazarus was certainly no less dead than was Jesus when he came down
from the
cross, his return to life was to the temporal and earthly existence
that he
continued to share within his family and the larger community of
Christ.
And the proof of this is found in his
ascension to the bishopric of Marseilles
to rule a foundling, earthly and visible church upon the earth.
Whereas Jesus was resurrected
into eternal life, Lazarus was resuscitated back into
his human life, and we can be assured that,
like John Paul, he reassumed this life with renewed vigor and
purpose.
And, like John Paul, his passing from this
human life into life eternal was postponed to another day; a day in
which his
earthly purpose had been fulfilled. And
so it is with us.
As
the Lenten season now rounds third and heads for home, we find
ourselves in Bethany
with Jesus. In territory both strange
and yet somehow strangely familiar, we find ourselves within the tomb
of
Lazarus and we marvel at this miracle of new life that takes place
within the
shadow of the cross. We listen and the
Lord calls us to come out. We look down
to discover that it is we that are bound in the grave clothes of sin,
as we
stumble out into the brilliance of the light of Christ’s
presence.
And so we hear his command, “Untie him and
let him go.” And suddenly we are
free. We breathe in the fresh, spring
air and we look around to see those that we love the most rejoicing at
our good
fortune; for we were lost and now are found; we were blind and now we
see; we
were dead and now truly do we live. New
life is ours and the best is yet to come. Like Lazarus and John
Paul II, our vigor is renewed.
As
Holy Week begins, we depart from Bethany
to make our triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Flush
with victory and fresh with new life, Jesus
has taught us that death is merely a state of mind and life already
reigns
eternal. And so the journey from the
wilderness of human sin to the green pastures of heaven is nearly
complete. Through Jesus we have new
life, and so the ancient promise has been fulfilled and the Lord God
stands
ready to open our graves and bring us home to eternal life. The
Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and so
will he
give life to our mortal bodies also. With
Easter nearly upon us, it is this that we celebrate, and it is indeed
cause
for celebration.
[1] Britain, Phoenicia's
Secret Treasure,
and its Conversion to Christianity -- The Legendary Tin Mines of
Cornwall.
http://phoenicia.org/britmines.html
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March 25, 2007
Psalm:
Sunday 11
Ez
37:12-14
Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
Ps
130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness
of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of
redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of
redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of
redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of
redemption.
Rm
8:8-11
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Jn
11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
hen Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him,
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.”
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him.’
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
“Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the CHRIST, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
he cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
or
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
he cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
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