Sunday Sermon: When all seem to be lost the future remains

The liturgy of the fifth Sunday of Lent is based on the following readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45. Incidentally, as we remember for the seventeenth time the Genocide carried on against the Tutsi in our nation, the main theme of our three readings is on resurrection. Each text treats this theme differently. In the first reading Ezekiel speaks to the exiled Israelites in Babylon about the future restoration of the exiles to their own land of Israel. He uses very strong words saying that the Lord Yahweh will “open your graves and raise you from your graves (v.13)”. Although the immediate concern of the prophet was the end of the exile in Babylon, he alluded as well to the final liberation of his people through the resurrection of the dead. In the second reading St. Paul reminds the Roman Christians of the power of God’s Spirit. As we remember the victims of the Genocide on the seventeenth time, his words console those who are in tears that the power of the Spirit will “give life to our own mortal bodies.” (v.11) Here St Paul implies that this new life is not a mere promise for a distant future on the last day. He wants it to take effect in our lives here and now as we struggle to face our history in a very courageous way; that life goes on beyond death. Hence he encourages us all to live now, according to the Spirit and without fear of those who can only kill the body. In the Gospel, St. John uses the episode of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in order to teach us the meaning of resurrection in a very eloquent way. In a rather miniature way, Jesus portrays the final resurrection of believers at the end of time, on “the last day.” (v.24) Here Jesus shows his absolute mastery of the final event as he commands the dead to come out of his tomb: “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Then Jesus ordered those who were around to take off the grave clothes and let him go free. In a way this event prefigures his own resurrection that was due to happen a short time later. In addition to this he showed the depth of his own love for Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. And this event gives us a hint on what is his regard for our suffering as well, when we have him as a close friend. It is noteworthy as well during this hard period of ‘Remembrance’ that Psalm 130 asks the Lord to hear the cry of the psalmist’s heart. And as we continue the struggle to forgive and reconcile with one another for the sake of our national unity, the psalmist stresses that pardon and mercy are the Lord’s gifts for those who seek them, because humanly speaking, it might be hard at times to forgive all the wrongs. From the doctrinal point of view, the liturgy reconciles two paradoxical human experiences of life and death. In our daily experience, it is a normal course that any life ends in death. But our experience as a nation shows that one cannot get used to death because every time it strikes, it is another member of our society that is taken away. Death remains always a new experience and a painful loss. From the pastoral point of view, it is not easy to understand what the resurrection really means. We may talk of an afterlife, we may speak words of sympathy to those who suffer the death of a loved one, but sorting out the apparent contradiction in our hearts between what we see, what we feel and what we believe is not easy. That is why if most of us had a choice, we would be happy if death would wait. Amidst the silent and painful tears due to ‘Remembrance’, we must ask ourselves why Jesus delayed to answer his friends’ call for help! When he finally arrived, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Yet he had not been far from their home! According to Martha, Jesus’ late coming would not help the situation. It was too late: “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Perhaps by delaying, Jesus wanted to show Martha and Mary that the tears of suffering do not contradict his promise of resurrection. All was not lost as they seemed to think. The idea above applies to our situation as a nation. With the dramatically painful experience of too much senseless death that we have experienced, no theory or explanation can satisfy the many question marks in our mind, and none shall console enough our national memory. But something reminds us too that all is not lost. There is the future to hope for. And this teaches us how to live well with our past without being left behind by the future because as the saying goes; those who over-stare at the past have their backs turned to the future Ends