LORD, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE…

HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

There’s no doubt that God is very concerned about us when we experience difficulties, worries, troubles and travails. And when we call upon Him, He responds in His own good time. In the First Reading (Ezek. 37:12-14), we are comforted with the great promises of God for the well-being of his people: I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, Oh my people… I will bring you home into the land of Israel...I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live...I will place you in your own land… When God says I will, it goes way beyond any physical time. The ‘I Will’ of God is in His eternal will, and should not be understood in terms of any material future or any defined physical time. As the Eternal Presence whom He is, God’s I will does not mean that His plan is yet to come. It simply means that this is what he does, has done, and will keep doing. 

But how should these promises speak to our current situation and concern? Historically, this is certainly a promise made to the Israelites who were in exile; but we can clearly adapt this same message in our world today as we live above our present worries in order to live in the joy of this great promise of God. It then consoles us today when we reflect upon this promise by God of a new spirit to be put within us. Recalling that initial breath of life - the breath of God that made the first man, Adam come alive - in the second account of creation (Gen. 2:7) helps to inform us that the new spirit that God promises to put within us is the spirit of recreation, revival, and of renewal; thus, a re-enactment of creation. Secondly, recalling the Garden of Eden - that initial home (the first paradise) where our first parents were placed (Gen. 2:8) - helps to inform us also that the land/home that God promises to resettle us in is another paradise like the initial one, which would be a home of tranquillity, joy, love and purity. 

The Gospel (John 11:1-45) serves to help us understand the message of the First Reading, how God accomplishes His good plans for us in His own good time. In our limitation as human beings, we make mistakes when we design a particular formula for God to follow in executing His good plans for us. Let’s consider that lovely story of the raising of Lazarus from death. Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha) was sick, and his friend, Jesus was informed and called. While Jesus delayed, Lazarus died. It was then after two days of Lazarus’ burial that Jesus started going to Bethany to see his friends. Now, we must understand that this is peculiar to St. John the Evangelist; he designs his stories of Jesus to lead the readers to a discovery of the supreme power of God. 

After two days… By his arrival time, Lazarus would have already been in the tomb for four days. Oh! What a poor expression of loyalty, any one of us might think. Couldn’t Jesus have responded as soon as He was informed about the ill health of His friend; that’s if he claimed to be a good friend? And somehow, the two sisters could have thought like many of us would. On hearing about the physical presence of Jesus, both sisters expressed their feelings by weeping and by running quickly towards Jesus with those words: Lord, if you had been here… They didn’t quite see the bigger picture of the highest wonder that was about to happen: the raising of their brother. Sometimes, like Mary and Martha, while we cry in difficult times, we ask God questions that express great disappointments with Him for not coming when we think we need Him. Don’t we? In our impatience, we fail to see a bigger picture that lies beyond our present sorrow. Let’s not forget that God’s omnipotence is manifested in difficult times.

The arrival of Jesus only reminded the two sisters of a person who would have averted death from the life of their brother. If only Jesus had come in time, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. While promising Martha that Lazarus would rise again, Jesus then led her into a deeper faith in the resurrection, such resurrection and life that only the Christ would bring. She would then confess her belief in Jesus who is the Christ, the son of God. Again, this is peculiar to St. John. Miracles are signs which lead us to an absolute faith in the Christ. The Evangelist writes his stories so as to convince the readers to go beyond the miraculous story to a discovery that Jesus is the Christ who was to come. So, the raising of Lazarus from the dead was a preparation for the resurrection faith that would be born at Easter. 

On seeing how troubled His friends were, Jesus burst into tears. Oh! See how much he loves them; see how much he loves us when he sees us in agony and pain. Jesus wept. It was a sympathetic sorrow, tears of compassion; one that comes as a result of grief over the effects of sin and death. Two reasons can be offered to why Jesus wept. The first is this: Jesus wept because he faced the reality of the pains and misery of his friends. Isn’t it how he feels when He is faced with our miseries? The second is this: Jesus could have also wept for the sheer hypocrisy of mourners who were wailing and weeping. Now, the Jewish house of mourning had set customs after each funeral. Deep mourning lasted for seven days, of which three days were days of weeping. During these seven days, it was prohibited to anoint oneself, to put on shoes, or to engage in any form of trading, or even to wash. It was called the week of deep mourning. It was a sacred duty to visit the family and to express sympathy during this week. The Jewish world view was that the more unrestrained the weeping was, the more honour it paid to the dead. On his arrival then, Jesus saw people wailing and shrieking, and crying aloud, not because they were sympathetic enough, but because they were merely fulfilling a custom. Our Lord saw how such burial ritual could render people hypocritical; and this must have troubled Him greatly. He wept.

At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus prayed and called forth Lazarus to come forth alive. This is a fulfilment of the promise of God in the First reading: I will ‘open your grave, and put a new spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you back into your home.’?  With that Eternal Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, and who is able to give life to our mortal bodies, (Second Reading: Rom. 8:8-11), Lazarus was raised. He was raised from the dead after four days - the period before which, according to Jewish custom, the spirit of the dead hovered around the body of the dead in search of reconnecting with it. After this period also, the spirit would have left since it could no longer recognize the decayed face. This sends a message to us! God is never late. It is God’s way, not yours or mine. And so, when he is four days late in human calculation, he is still on time in His divine will. His appointed time remains the best!  So, instead of finding reasons to worry, we are encouraged to find reasons to worship God. 

Let go and Let God! There are two days in every week when we should not worry. Both days should be kept free from fear, worry, anxiety, cries, feelings of disappointments, and apprehension. The first is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. Nothing is able to bring it back; it’s gone. The second is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, burdens, promises and prospects. It is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise irrespective of our awareness of it. But until it does, we have no stake in it, for it is yet unborn. The only battle that we are faced with is that of today. When we allow the worries of yesterday and the cares of tomorrow to overcome us, we surely face a breakdown. It is the remorse for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring that drives people crazy. Do not bother yourself with what you are unable to control. Why? Because, God is in control. May these words help to calm us in times of distress. Amen. God bless you!