5th Lent: Jesus leads us to life.

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Resurrection of Lazarus, 1896, Public Domain. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Ossawa_Tanner,_Resurrection_of_Lazarus.jpg

A woman dies unexpectedly of heart issues. She was in her late 60’s to early 70’s; she was always at mass, always positive, always nice. Her husband was non-Catholic, did not attend mass with her and I had never met him before. We finally met a few days after her death; when asked how he was handling all of this, he replied with a cliché…”I know she is in a better place.” So I asked him “Does that make you feel better?” He broke down and said no. Then we really began to talk.

A teenager, along with many others, was having fun in the desert. He and several kids were in the bed of a pick up riding in the sand and sage. The driver hits a bump, this teenager falls out of the back and under the truck, killed by it. What a waste. The funeral was full of kids from the High School, so many tears; and of course the parents trying to make sense of this.

A man with a wife and two young girls endures cancer. It goes on for years, but nothing can be done. I am called to the ICU to be with family, as they say goodbyes, cry, hold him as he takes his final breaths. Sad, yet beautiful too.

Death happens in so many ways.

I watched one of my grandmothers grieve for almost 20 years when my grandfather died. And I watched another enjoy life after her initial grief.

There have been people who have spent decades seething in anger, living a life as victim; manipulating others with it.

People too, so arrogant and/or so insecure they strive to control all aspects of life, their and those around them. They wonder why there is no joy in their lives.

People so fearful they remain paralyzed in life; unable to do anything, unable to see joy in the world; unable to see the world; unable to help anyone or see a bigger picture; only seeing threats.

People locked in depression, addiction, locked into this obsessive need to please everyone else to ensure they feel worthy…

Death happens in so many ways.

We may have heard this Gospel passage a lot, the raising of Lazarus. I have preached on it for over 20 years…and still there is much to discern.

Jesus is confronted by death on different levels. His own disciples remind him that others want to kill Jesus. They are fearful of being killed, so much so they are hesitating to go back to help Martha and Mary. When Jesus goes to Martha and Mary, he confronts their grief and their lack of understanding.

Notice it says Jesus became “perturbed and deeply troubled.” These words in the original context are words of anger. Jesus is angry, not just irritated, but to his core Angry. Angry at the situation; angry at the power of death, the fear of death he sees. Maybe Angry at the lack of hope?

And then when he asks them where is Lazarus, they answer “Come and see.” I hope those words are familiar.

Jesus had said these words to his disciples “Come and see” as an invitation to follow him and find life. Now these words are given to him, “come and see”, come and see death. No wonder he weeps; grief? Frustration? These people that love him, follow him still do not understand??

Jesus is life; Jesus leads us to life, not only in some distant future, but in our lives now.

Life, not simply biologically alive; but spiritually, wholly.

Life as the capacity to love and let ourselves be loved

Life as in the capacity to fulfill our very nature and do good for this world.

Life, as the capacity and the desire to work with God and bring others to life.

A seminarian recently chatted with me, from another diocese, asking about how to get over a certain challenge. I asked him what he thinks he can do? He said simply pray. I reminded him that it is a start, but then asked what action he will take after prayer. He did not know. He tended to think that God would perform some kind or miracle act on him.

Talk to anyone in recovery, especially those using a 12 step method, each day there is that need to admit a higher power and each day there is the choice to avoid the addiction or its triggers. This is how they find life.

Those who grieve will experience the loss, and then find hope after. They look forward and see different opportunities. They find life by going ahead and engaging in living.

Those who hold onto anger will pray, but then will need to consciously choose to release it, to not desire vengeance on the other. They find life in mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus brings life. Life, the fullness of life, comes with forgiveness; it comes with practicing gratitude and humility; it comes with giving compassion and mercy. It is following him as a disciple and making choices for life.

Jesus teaches life, and he graces us with the power to live life.

We desire life, we are created for life; each day we must choose life.  It will probably not happen by magic; maybe a miracle will happen and we can be dramatically changed because God can do anything; but for the overwhelming majority of us; Grace we receive now is sufficient for us to make better choices; to engage in living now.

God’s Spirit has been placed within us so that we can discern better, to make smarter choices that bring to us and to others life.  This is why we must remain close to Jesus; in prayer, in scripture, in sacrament.

Jesus’ wisdom, his teachings come to life through the Spirit. So that with the Spirit we can be induced to forgive, to share, to give of ourselves; and sometimes hold back and wait a bit. We walk unbounded more and more to engage in living life as God intends.

Jesus will ultimately confront the power of death and those who seek to use it to manipulate.  He will show that LIFE and LOVE will always conquer death.

Eucharist signifies this: we receive the living Christ!

We will all need to confront death, in its many forms. It will be sad, it can be scary, it can make us angry. That’s okay, that is being human.

Living in the Spirit though means we move forward, we trust that faith in Christ will bring us to life; today, tomorrow and for an eternity.