Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A John 11,1-45

Jesus is not only one who conquered death, but also teaches us how to properly accept the death of the body. Can

Do you remember who you love? Yes? Name them all. Do you know what you would do to make them happy now? When was the last time you told them you love them? You enjoy and suffer with them. You like to meet them, visit them, feel good with them…

Imagine that someone you love comes to you and says: “How can I believe that God knows about me?! After all, there are five billion people in the world. Is it even possible for the poor human worm to know about me?” When a young man came to a priest with such a question, he invited him to open his hand in front of him: “Look at the fingers. Take a good look at the skin on the ends of your fingers. You will not find a person in the world who has the same finger grooves as you. So you are a creature quite different from others. God paid special attention to the fingertips.”
The young man’s face lit up and peace filled his soul: “Thank you. I will no longer allow doubts to multiply in me. Just looking at the finger is a reminder that God is interested in me.”

Question for us: Can we see to the end of our finger? This is because we want to understand death correctly in the light of the teachings of the Lord Jesus, who loves us and proved it with his death.

Jesus reminds each of us: “I am the resurrection and the life.” He who believes in me will live even if he dies (John 11:24).

The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus in Bethany, who has been in the grave for four days, St. John describes in detail several reasons. It is the greatest miracle of Jesus, and he did it to show that he is really the promised Messiah and to give the high priests and Pharisees an impetus to their plan: to put Jesus to death and thus finish the mission for which Jesus came into the world as a man out of love for us. Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, and therefore the information reached the addressees in Jerusalem quickly. The message about the resurrection of Lazarus is undoubtedly joyful news, because Jesus himself says it: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies (John 11:24). The resurrection of Lazarus is all the more joyful, because the Jews did not believe in the afterlife. However, they believed that the soul of a person, good and bad, goes to the underworld, which they called “Sheol”. The Sadducees and their class – which mostly included priests – together with the Samaritans, did not believe in the resurrection, in the immortality of the soul, spirits and even angels. When Martha says to Jesus: “I know that he will rise on the last day in the resurrection” (Jn 11:24), she gives testimony, like the Pharisees, that she believes in the resurrection of the human body. When Jesus says: “He who believes in me will live, even if he dies” (Jn 11:24), he is not thinking about the physical life of the body. The truth is that whoever believes in him will physically die, will experience physical death. Jesus speaks of the death of sin. If a person is dead to sin, Jesus will make him alive again. Death is not the end of life, although it is a mystery. Jesus says the joyful message: “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:24). At that time, they buried the dead facing the west, because death ends everything and Jesus bears witness to the east. Our life through death leads not to extinction, to nothingness, but to life, which faith tells us will be quite different than what we can and can imagine today. Why do unbelievers laugh at Christ’s teaching even today? They lack faith, so they have not done everything to believe. This is their punishment, that they could accept Jesus, but did not. In order for someone to believe and accept Jesus as his God and Lord, he does not need special studies. It is necessary to have before the eyes the event of Good Friday, the death of Christ on the cross, and to accept the event of Easter Sunday morning, Christ’s resurrection. Then we can learn that true and eternal life comes after death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day, but not to eternal life, so he had to pass through the gate of death once more. We know he died later. therefore they did not do everything to believe. This is their punishment, that they could accept Jesus, but did not. In order for someone to believe and accept Jesus as his God and Lord, he does not need special studies. It is necessary to have before the eyes the event of Good Friday, the death of Christ on the cross, and to accept the event of Easter Sunday morning, Christ’s resurrection. Then we can learn that true and eternal life comes after death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day, but not to eternal life, so he had to pass through the gate of death once more. We know he died later. therefore they did not do everything to believe. This is their punishment, that they could accept Jesus, but did not. In order for someone to believe and accept Jesus as his God and Lord, he does not need special studies. It is necessary to have before the eyes the event of Good Friday, the death of Christ on the cross, and to accept the event of Easter Sunday morning, Christ’s resurrection. Then we can learn that true and eternal life comes after death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day, but not to eternal life, so he had to pass through the gate of death once more. We know he died later. the death of Christ on the cross and to accept the event of Easter Sunday morning, Christ’s resurrection. Then we can learn that true and eternal life comes after death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day, but not to eternal life, so he had to pass through the gate of death once more. We know he died later. the death of Christ on the cross and to accept the event of Easter Sunday morning, Christ’s resurrection. Then we can learn that true and eternal life comes after death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day, but not to eternal life, so he had to pass through the gate of death once more. We know he died later.

In life, we encounter many questions and uncertainties. However, two things touch every person: life and death. The world is a huge cradle, but also the biggest grave. Only a person from animate and inanimate nature who is gifted with reason and free will knows that he will die. The animal can sense its end, but nothing more. A person can know that his existence does not end with death. The place where they put the remains, the body, or the dust from the body will remain empty, but that is not the end of a person’s existence. After all, the eternal God created man in his image and likeness. The human soul is eternal. No end. The human body will be glorified once more. All this is guaranteed by Jesus before he died and rose from the dead. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies (John 11:24). Today, it is a challenge: to accept and believe in the words of Jesus. Life is relatively short compared to the distances of the star galaxies, but it is long enough to prove itself freely and voluntarily for eternal life either as a punishment or a reward. It is not the length of life that matters, but how we fill our life. When we see different-minded people around the grave, it is a challenge for us to adopt the most advantageous way of life for us for life on earth and once for eternal life.

We, believers, accept death as a consequence of sin. We take a responsible approach to death because it is just like a bridge over which we cross into a new life, but life does not end with death. In science, it is said that matter turns into energy. Our mortal certainty is transformed into immortal energy, into eternal life in love. That is why Martha and I confess: Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.
Sometimes we say that a mother is a friend of a son or daughter, and by this, we want to emphasize that between them there is an amazing understanding, trust, and certainty of soul mates. There is something much more between Jesus and us. His teaching, example of life… We have become brothers and sisters, and Jesus is our assurance of eternal life. A friend is faithful. Jesus indicated this to his friend Lazarus when he received the message: “Lord, the one you love is sick” (Jn 11:3). Judas Iscariot was not a friend of Jesus. Sin destroys friendship. It is necessary to strengthen your friendship, even by a real return in the Easter Holy Confession.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, in his memories of childhood, mentions a story that stuck in his memory. He saw a drunk woman. She was lying on the side of the road, where dirty water was flowing from the yard. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t. I wanted to help her, but she disgusted me because she was dirty and I told myself that my hands would stink in a month. A little boy was sitting on the curb, tears streaming down his face, crying hopelessly: “Mommy, Mommy! Get up, please!’

The peak of Lent is upon us. What did sin do to us? Can it be expressed in words when we have the treasure, our soul, on our minds? However, Jesus died precisely so that we could rise, could receive the forgiveness of our sins. Change life on earth and earn eternal life after your resurrection. Let’s remember the words of the little boy: “Mommy, Mommy! Get up, please!” What do we want more from Christ than what he offers us, what he leads us to, and what he teaches us?

God loves even the most ungrateful person. God has not forgotten any of us. Let’s look at our hands and look at our fingertips. Each of us is original in God’s work. Today is the time that we want to take a responsible and faithful approach to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ.