5th Sunday of Lent, Year A. HOMILY ...2020 march 29
John, Chapter 11, Raising of Lazarus
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[__01__] Mark Twain. Mark Twain was an American author/writer, famous for "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "Tom Sawyer" and other novels.
He was known also for a famous saying or quotation, when he heard that there rumors/news circulating about his health and well-being.
The time was the late 1800's. The year was 1897. Mark Twain had been traveling outside the U.S. He was in London at the time. While he was in London, he ended up in the news. Reporters - some at least - were saying he was not "well". He was not well either "financially" or "physically", that he was both poor and sick.
At the time, one of relatives was in London, got sick and this made the news media as well.
All of this snowballed into a rumor that Mark Twain had died, but he was very much alive. To all of this Mark Twain made the famous statement: "the news of my death has been greatly exaggerated."
It was good news - especially to Mark Twain - that he had not, in fact, died.
[__02__] In the Gospel this Sunday (5th Sunday of Lent, Year A), of the Gospel According to St. John, chapter 11, we read about the raising of Lazarus from the tomb.
The raising of Lazarus is very connected to the resurrection of Jesus Himself, in that, before - during - and after the raising or Resurrection, the faith of the disciples is both being decided and being displayed.
Before and after death - or the dying of someone we know and love - our own faith is being decided and displayed.
Is it because the news of death is greatly exaggerated?
[__03__] Is it because the news of your death - or my death - is greatly exaggerated?
We live in a time of great fear about our health, well being, death, sickness. Is that greatly exaggerated? I'm not saying it is greatly exaggerated. It is life and death right now.
Is it not somewhat commonplace for all of us to imagine - to picture - what life would be like after our own deaths, after we pass from this world?
We might wonder who would show up at our funeral? Who would mourn? Who will not be there?
These are not purely morbid, depressing fascinations or fantasies but a recognition that your life - my life - has meaning to others.
The significance of one person's life to others is proclaimed when a famous person dies.(But life is not important to others just 'cause you're famous..but I use this an example.)
A few months ago, there was a public fascination with Los Angeles helicopter crash that took the lives of 8 passengers and the pilot. 9 people died. Among them was a 12-year-old girl whose father happened to be Kobe Bryant, (retired) L.A. Lakers NBA basketball star.
The news of the death of Kobe Bryant - especially - was widely reported all over the news for weeks, but mention was also made repeatedly that the life of every person on the helicopter had value including - in a special way - Kobe's daughter, Gianna.
Kobe Bryant died. Everyone of us is going to die. That's not an exaggeration.
[__04__] What does it mean to say that a person's life has meaning, has value?
The philosopher, Josef Pieper who has written much about St. Thomas Aquinas, expressed it this way: "to love another person means that we can say of him or her.... 'it is good that you exist'. " "it is good that you exist."
And, we can say that the opposite or absence of love can be defined by the opposite of that statement. When we are in some odious confrontation or adversarial conflict with some person, we might wish the other person did not exist. I'm not saying you or I should "go there" and wish that others did not exist. But, sometimes, we find ourselves in that place ... and we need love to get out of it. Jesus says, "love thine enemy and pray for those who persecute you."
Love means... It's good that you exist.
To love yourself, it means that you can say..."it is good that I exist."
For me to love myself, I am called to say, "it is good that I exist"
Your life matters. My life matters.
I'd like to connect with to the Gospel with these ideas that the Gospel According to St. John, chapter 11, brings out:
__ DENIAL ..... __ DELAY ..... __DISAPPOINTMENT...
[__05__] 1st DENIAL. Does dying and death not spark in us feelings of denial or rejection or running away?
In the beginning of the Gospel, we see something of the "denial" of the disciples.
It seems, at this point, that all but one of them want to "deny" or avoid the fact that Jesus Himself is one day going to suffer and die.
So, their "denial" is demonstrated by their desire to put "social distance" (of 2 meters, 6 feet...or much more !) between Jesus and those who would cause him to suffer and die.
Lord, you don't really want to go to Judea. They tried to stone you there, to put you to death. So, the disciples deny - at least at this point - the fact of Jesus' own Passion, Death, Resurrection.
These denials only increase and famously so with Peter's triple "hat trick" of 3 denials on the night before Good Friday.
But the denial of Peter and of other disciples was only one step in a journey. Peter was caught and caught up in these denials, but he was not destroyed by them. The news of Peter's death may be greatly exaggerated.
We can make a comeback - as Peter makes a comeback - from denial.
So, the Gospel this Sunday kicks off with denials.
And, a question for myself -- do I [sometimes or more often] deny the reality of suffering and my need for God's help in my suffering? Do I deny - or avoid the reality - of someone else's suffering? Do I pray for them? Make sacrifices for them in prayer, in fasting, in almsgiving?
That's the DENIAL section.
[__06__] 2nd. There is DELAY.
Jesus delays, postpones "shoving off" and going to Bethany. This delay proves fatal for Lazarus. Lazarus dies in the interim. But is the period of waitng a miscalcuation or mistake by Jesus? Not really...it is a way for Jesus to engender and plant the seeds of faith in the disciples.
Where are those seeds of of faith, the seed of God's word for you and me right now? in this season of delays.
There are delays on many fronts.
There are delays at the supermarket, there are delays standing in line, there are "delays" going on line or trying to use technology of online learning, studying at home, talking on video conferencing, delay on Google hang outs, delay on going back to school, delay on going back to work.
So - where does this delay come from? Well, it's because everyone is trying to do everything from home. Why is everyone at home? Because are supposed to "social-distance" and "shelter-in-place".
Why do ... "Social-distance" and "shelter in place" ?
Because there is coronavirus. Why is there coronavirus?
That's the puzzle we want solved. But, it's not a puzzle with a piece or 2 missing. It is a mystery. And, it is part of the mystery of evil and suffering in the world that this could all happen at once, simultaneously to so many people in so many places.
It is not because God does not love us that he permits this evil - and other evils - in the world. But it
is part of God's will.
In a letter about suffering, Pope John Paul II reminded us of the suffering and theme of redemption in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan is not good because he solves all the pain immediately..but is present to the one suffering:
_____The parable of the Good Samaritan belongs to the Gospel of suffering. For it indicates what the relationship of each of us must be towards our suffering neighbour. We are not allowed to "pass by on the other side" indifferently; we must "stop" beside him. Everyone who stops beside the suffering of another person, whatever form it may take, is a Good Samaritan. This stopping does not mean curiosity but availability. It is like the opening of a certain interior disposition of the heart, which also has an emotional expression of its own. The name "Good Samaritan" fits every individual who is sensitive to the sufferings of others, who "is moved" by the misfortune of another. If Christ, who knows the interior of man, emphasizes this compassion, this means that it is important for our whole attitude to others' suffering. Therefore one must cultivate this sensitivity of heart, which bears witness to compassion towards a suffering person. Some times this compassion remains the only or principal expression of our love for and solidarity with the sufferer. ___ (John Paul II, Salvific Doloris (1984), n. 28)
Suffering is something we often experience as a delay and in a time of delay we can realize what is important, how is important.
The "delay" in this coronavirus crisis reminds me that ...NOT ONLY are my agenda-items and to-do list going to take longer than I might like..... BUT ALSO that there are others to help and accompany.
And..that there may be others willing to be a Good Samaritan or Simon of Cyrene to me.
God is present not only in the effectiveness and efficiency of life. God is in the details of the delays.
[__07__] 3rd. There is DISAPPOINTMENT
The sisters, Martha and Mary, at least initially express disappointment in their dear friend, Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11: __)
Sometimes, you and I also speak this way, in our distress and disappointment. And, that's part of the journey, to express and be honest about our fears and anxieties.
It's also true that we sometimes - mistakenly - measure God's presence as though the Almigthy Father were similar to a cell-tower or wifi router. That is, it depends on where we are standing and we can get a better signal.
It is true that, these days, we may feel "distanced both socially and spiritually" and disappointed in God and in the Church right now, for we cannot pray and enter the church, to receive Holy Communion ..but we also have a tradition of spiritual Communion. I encourage you to consider this prayer:
____ My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.____ (St. Alphonsus Ligouri)
There is also a popular hymn (St. Louis Jesuits) for reflection:
_____Take, Lord, receive. All my liberty. My memory, understanding, my entire will! Give me only your LOVE, and your Grace, That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, are enough for me.
Take Lord, receive, All I have and posses. You have given unto me, Now I return it. Give me only your love, and your grace, That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, Are enough for me!
Take Lord receive, All is yours now. Dispose of it, Wholly according to your will. Give me only your love, and your grace, That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, Are enough for me!
[__08__] Also, is it not true that we knw that God is not contained or limited to the brick and mortar of Our Lady of Lourdes Chruch. It's a Catholic tradition not only to kneel down or bow or genuflect as we enter church but also to make the sign of the cross as we walk by or drive by a church where the Blessed Sacrament is.
And, I invite you to consider - someday - that you can have a moment of adoration/prayer just by coming into parking lot, stopping for 5, 10, 15 minutes of quiet time. You will not get a ticket. You might get inspired.
We know in the Resurrection appearances that Jesus can pass through walls. So the message to Martha, Mary, Lazarus, all the disciples to you and me is to be healed of our disappointment, not to be defeated by the delays and remember life does not end in denial.
We are called to eternal life. Lazarus - resurrected in this moment of John chapter 11 - will die. His earthly life will come to another step... as we pray his life is changed not ended, for we all have a hope of life beyond this world.
That's the good news.
Any other news about life and death is greatly exaggerated. [__FIN__]
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