From our Pastor's Desk
We are entering the Fifth Sunday and Week of Lent and the Gospel passage assigned for this Sunday brings us face to face with death, the death of a close friend of Jesus. Whenever Christians ponder death they are also supposed to be thinking of resurrected life. That can be very difficult to do, of course, when one or many whom we love die, and our grief cannot be swept away with a few words. Yet even in grief the Christian is called to believe that the triumph of Christ over death is a gift extended to the whole human race, to all who die and to all who mourn, called to participate in God’s life that can never die.
The seed must die in order to give life to a plant. This image reminds us that our earthly existence will come to an end, but from that apparent annihilation, resurrected life can come forth, as promised by the Lord and shown by His own Resurrection from the dead. It is especially prefigured in the raising of Lazarus from the tomb, which Roman Catholics recall each year the Sunday before Palm Sunday. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians recount the raising of Lazarus on the Sunday before Palm Sunday.
In either case, the story of Lazarus’ return to life is placed in the Christian liturgy quite close to Holy Week when we especially ponder each year the mystery of Christ’s saving death and resurrection. Just as Lazarus, who was dead and in a tomb for some days was raised to new life by Christ, so too each of us can experience resurrected life in Jesus Christ. Resurrection from the dead is the basis of our hope and the cause of our rejoicing even in the face of death.
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