Dear friends,
I am fundamentally amazed by the reaction Jesus gives to Martha at the grave of Lazarus, his friend. The sister of the deceased tells him that her brother has been in the tomb for four days, and “there will be stench.” But love for and of a friend does not care about facing every kind of challenge. This is what we look at today. Mary and Martha love their brother, but can they carry out that love to the extent of facing him after being in the grave for four days?
Saint Paul declares it more powerfully: “nothing will separate us from the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord.” It is exactly to free us from the stench of sin and death that he came and gave his life. It is for you and for me that He accepted suffering and death. Jesus does not shy away from the stench of our sin and weakness. He calls us out the grave where we are held hostage by sin to afford us the true freedom of God’s children and to let us go to bear him witness.
Martha thought of the still far off resurrection and life. Jesus on the contrary is telling her that life is already there. All it takes is faith and trust. Like Martha, we are tempted to think that God delays his mercy and forgiveness to us because of how far we have been or are from him. No. God never delays his mercy for his children who come to him to cry out their sins and ask for forgiveness.
Four days in the grave, that’s a long time. For us it signifies a lifetime journey. Everyone of us might see in these four days something different. For some, it might be the whole time they have been away from the Church, and they may think that there is a stench and God will think twice before offering them his mercy. For others it might be the time we have neglected to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation where God gives us a spiritual shower to cleanse us from our sins. Still, for others it might be the time we have been struggling with addiction of any kind. Today, Jesus is calling you and me out our graves to come to life.
The Eucharist we celebrate together is the sacrament of our resurrection with the Lord. Jesus shares with us his life, reassuring us that his love for us cannot be deterred by our sinfulness. No matter where we are on this journey of faith, there always is a place for us to experience his love and to grow. Lazarus, dead in the human eye, heard the call from the Lord to come out of the grave. It is our turn today, to listen to the voice of the Lord calling us to come out of every bondage to newness and fulness of life.
Let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Fr. Emery