Meditation for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

RAISING QUESTIONS:

The Franciscan Richard Rohr has said:  “All spiritual language is by necessity metaphor and symbol.”  Accepting that proposition, what is the Gospel writer trying to say about the raising of Lazarus from the dead?  Is it resuscitation or a metaphor for something else?  Where is God when people feel dead, when human hope seems foolish?  Jesus calls each of us out of our particular graves, and offers us a second chance.  Do you see a situation in your life to which this might apply?   Speaking to Jesus, resolve to live your “second life” in particular ways that reflect your hope in your own personal growth and your hope I God’s ability to renew us each day.

CONSIDERATION:

Read John 11: 1-44 again.  Imagine the various scenes in this story.  Try to picture Mary and Martha coping with the desperate illness of their brother.  Imagine the scene on the far side of the Jordan where Jesus is hiding out to avoid arrest.  What is Jesus actually doing when he receives the message about Lazarus?  Try to put yourself in Mary and Martha's shoes as they see Jesus after Lazarus has died.  Would you react the same way?  How does Jesus react?  What does that tell you about his feelings for Lazarus and for Mary and Martha?  Have you ever felt that God was a little too slow in reacting to a crisis in your life?  Reflect on the final outcome and see if you can detect the presence of God in good times and in bad times.  Imagine a dialogue with the risen Lazarus.  What do you think he would say to you?

by Anne Greenfield from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford

ACTION:

“Take away the stone”, says Jesus to each of us; “Unbind him and let him go free”.  If the stone we need to remove is the fear of death, we all have a part to play in the life of someone who is paralyzed by fear of failure, fear of the dark times, fear of being hurt (or even fear of actually dying). Try to think of someone who is in the dark and who is isolated from fully living because of personal mistakes, personal tragedy, or other paralyzing situations, and offer your presence, your comfort, your life –giving hope and love.  We, it is said, live in a culture of death, a culture of denial, a culture of fear.  How can we sustain our hope in the midst of this atmosphere, and what is one concrete way we can counter it by making a sort of resurrection happen all around us?

RELATIONSHIP:

Read the selection from Ezekiel (37:12-14) as if God were speaking to you directly.  Reflect on what grave you need to be returned from.  What is the situation (land) you want to be brought back to?  Is it possible to return to things as they were?  What, exactly, is the spirit of God that you want to reside in you, and what soil do you consider your native soil?  When you have answered these questions, write a response to this selection, using your own hope, disappointments, dreams and fears.  Talk to God as Mary and Martha talked to Jesus.