Christ the Cornerstone
Let God’s spirit dwell in us and lead us to eternal life
[Jesus] cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
(Jn 11:43-44)
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in him, even if he dies, will live. This is a great mystery. Each of us will die. There is no escaping this essential truth. And yet, our faith assures us that, as St. Paul says in the second reading for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Rom 8:8–11), if the Spirit of God’s dwells in us, we will live forever.
We are made in God’s image and likeness, and we are both flesh and spirit. We have in us the capacity for life eternal. We profess this belief every time we recite the Nicene Creed and say, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
The great miracle worked by Jesus in the town of Bethany, the home of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus, illustrates the truth of Jesus’ profound, but provocative, statement: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (Jn 11:25).
Death exists, but it has lost its power. The Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) has far more power than death does. The story of Lazarus, which is related in the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Jn 11:1-45), gives us some insights into this truth.
When he first learns about Lazarus’ condition, Jesus says, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (Jn 11:4). This is true of every illness and every form of human suffering. God’s glory supersedes every evil, including the tragedy of death.
The Gospel tells us that Lazarus does indeed succumb to death. In fact, by the time Jesus arrives four days later, his friend has already been embalmed, tied hands and feet with burial bonds, and wrapped in a shroud. By all earthly standards, Lazarus is dead and will never rise again.
But Jesus is not bound by the laws of human nature. His compassion as a man, and a friend, is boundless, and his power as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity transcends all suffering and death. St. John describes the intense exchange between Jesus and his friend Martha:
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” (Jn 11:20-27)
Jesus is consistent. Lazarus will rise—and not simply “on the last day.” In order to give glory to God, and to affirm Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, the brother of Martha and Mary will be released from the bonds of death, not permanently, but for now. For the rest of his earthly life, Lazarus will be a sign that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and that anyone who believes in him will live.
Jesus performs this great miracle in communion with his heavenly Father. When he stands before his friend’s tomb, his eyes wet with tears, he cries out: “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me” (Jn 11:41-42).
All of Jesus’ miracles are performed to give glory to God and to increase our faith. That’s why St. John’s Gospel concludes: “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him” (Jn 11:45).
Lent is a time to prepare ourselves once again for the greatest miracle of all—the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. May we use this holy season to increase our faith in the power of God to overcome suffering and death and to bring us all to life everlasting. †