The Nexus

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“Do not fear those who deprive the body of life but cannot destroy
the soul.”

For the gospel this Sunday, June 22, we will be led to learn what it really
means to follow Jesus.  The passage excerpted from the gospel of Matthew
is part of the discourse of Jesus - urging and telling His apostles to
go forth and spread the Good News, even amidst an opposing or persecuting
force. So Jesus encourages His apostles not to fear any opposing force
that may destroy their physical life but not the soul wherein the life
from God dwells.  And Jesus assures His apostles strongly that as they
acknowledge Him before all people, so shall He acknowledge them before
His Father in heaven.

All the apostles of Jesus, with the exception of John, died a martyr’s
death - the same way as their Master, Teacher and Risen Lord. Tradition
also tells us that St. Peter was crucified upside down, while St. Andrew
was crucified in an X-shaped cross.  Not only did the apostles shed
their blood for God like Jesus, but they also inspired many others to
this gift of martyrdom - with numerous martyrs witnessing to Christ
many generations thereafter.  This truth makes us aware that like Jesus,
and the apostles, our following of Christ, the Christian ideal, and
the Catholic vision, may entail some physical suffering and other manner
of afflictions in our life at one time or another.

Jesus asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to encourage all His
apostles and disciples, to share in His ministry and mission.  The
Holy Spirit, of which Christian tradition speaks of as the “Soul’s-
hardening for the fight”, will help all the failings of our flesh
and supply it with never failing power.  But the fight which the
Spirit is helping us, so that we may share in Christ’s victory, is a
spiritual fight - one that resists the temptation to sin and to do all
manner of good amidst adversity and difficulty.  We know that not all
are called to have the gift of martyrdom, but all are called to share
in the Cross of Christ.  And sharing in Christ’s Cross may mean, in
the world of family and work, opposing or resisting any spirit that
seeks to destroy the Christian soul of the family, or the Christian
spirit in which we work and earn our living.  It is by a life of prayer
and union with the Spirit that we shall obtain the strength and the
power to resist and oppose sin - in ourselves and among us.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/10th-sunday-a.html

“I have come to call not the self-righteous, but sinners.”

The gospel for the 10th Sunday of the Year tells the story of the call of
Matthew.  Matthew was a tax collector, and tax collectors at the time of
Jesus were considered outcasts of the Jewish society - together with other
sinners.  Tax collectors were outcasted because they work for the Roman
Empire, and obtain income by taxing their fellow Jews.  But in this gospel
passage, it tells us that Jesus was moving about until he saw Matthew
at his post collecting taxes.  Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow Me”. At
this call, Matthew got up and followed Jesus.  Since Jesus accepted
Matthew as one of His own, Matthew invited Jesus to his home and there
was a celebration together his fellow tax collectors.  The Pharisees
saw this and took it against Jesus for dining and associating with such
people.  But Jesus replied: “People who are in good health do not need
a doctor; sick people do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘It
is mercy I desire and not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the self-
righteous, but sinners”.

The majority of Jesus’ followers were fishermen: ordinary people who
found in Jesus the hope of Israel and the salvation of their life. And
many who believed in Jesus were simple folks who found in the words and
teachings of Jesus the very Truth from whom they found light, love and
life.  Sometimes, although not in all cases, a lot of knowledge and
status and power may blind people from knowing the ultimate truth about
God and life.  But when people, and this means also the learned, the
rich, the powerful, the influential, together with the simple and those
who are unlettered, suddenly discover their sinful nature and the wisdom
of seeing themselves as creatures before an all-powerful, all-merciful
and all-saving God, they realize that all hope and salvation lies in
the God of life in Jesus of Nazareth.  That is why Jesus told the
Pharisees in this gospel passage that it is not the self-righteous that
He calls, but sinners.  Jesus knew human nature in its very essence and
is certain that when He calls sinners to Himself and lead them to His
saving and merciful help, they will at once follow Him.  Matthew is a
very good example of this because he was well aware that the society
he lives in looks down on his sinful social status.  Jesus thus became
his hope, his salvation, and his future.

In our life journey, there were many times we probably heard the call
of Christ but did not heed it because we were so immersed in a life in
which our hearts were filled with riches and material things.  The
inordinate desire for these has crowded out the spirit from our hearts
and souls in a way that we become blinded by the reality that we will
never bring all our material possessions and treasures with us to our
death.  It is not bad to have wealth or to possess many material sources
of comfort and ease.  But when it becomes the sole love and treasure of
our heart, we become deaf to the call of Christ to share our wealth with
others.  We can have material possessions and wealth without loving them.
Instead, if we become charitable with what we have, we bring the Spirit
of Christ within our hearts and we safeguard our soul from the works of
the flesh: envy, jealousy, competition, dissension, disunity, anger,
pride, greed, lust, and so on.  When we heed the call of Jesus and strive
to live more in charity, like Matthew, we will find our treasure not so
much in our possessions or our status, but in Christ Himself - the One
who is the source of all that we need in life: for ourselves, our family
and our loved ones.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/4th-sunday-easter-a.html

“I came that they might have life and have it to the
full.”

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday.  And the gospel
for this Sunday is taken from the gospel of John. In
John, Jesus speaks of Himself as the “sheepgate”, the
“gate”, and as the “shepherd of the sheep”. He contrasts
Himself to the thief and the marauder - to the stranger
whom the sheep do not recognize.  These the sheep will
flee from as they do not know him and his voice. They
know that these come only to steal and slaughter and
destroy.  But the sheep will follow only the voice of
the shepherd who calls each of the sheep by their names.
The shepherd will lead them as they follow him and
recognize his voice.  Since the sheep recognize the
voice of the shepherd, they will be safe and find
pasture.  Through the shepherd, the sheep are able to
have life as they follow the shepherd and his voice.

With this teaching, Jesus teaches a leadership that
is different from other styles of leadership.  What
He teaches is a leadership that leads its followers
to life and to have it to its fullness.  As we just
celebrated the Easter Triduum several weeks ago, we
can have a glimpse of what this leadership entails:
self-sacrifice to the point of giving one’s very life
for one’s followers.  That is why Jesus is a Good
Shepherd.  By his very word and life, He has taught
many to believe and trust in the Father - who will
reward all who follow His Son with the fullness of
life, eternal life.  And the more we follow in the
steps of the Son, the more the fullness of God’s very
own life will be ours to inherit.

Many of us would probably shirk at the idea of
leadership, saying to ourselves, that is only for
those in politics.  But in our pursuit of Christian
holiness, we exercise a form of Christian leadership
in our ordinary life.  By our simple words and deeds,
we can witness to the truth that there is hope for
all of us - even those who have committed grave
sins or errors or those who have lossed something
very valuable in life.  By making Christ as the
source of our Christian leadership, we make His
light shine through us so that it may also shine
to others.  The more we are rooted in Christ as
our Good Shepherd, the more our Christian leadership
will truly lead others to the very life that Christ
has promised for all of us - eternal life.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/blog7/2007/04/07/easter-vigil-year-c/

[note: all the readings for the Easter Vigil
of Year A are the same as that of Years B and C,
with the exception of the gospel given below]

“A Reading From the Holy Gospel According
to Matthew [Matthew 28:1-10]”

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week
was dawning, Mary Magdalene came with the other
Mary to inspect the tomb. Suddenly there was a
mighty earthquake, as the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven. He came to the stone,
rolled it back, and sat on it. In appearance
he resembled a flash of lightning while his
garments were as dazzling as snow. The guards
grew paralyzed with fear of him and fell down
like dead men. Then the angel spoke, addressing
the women: “Do not be frightened. I know you
are looking for Jesus the crucified, but he is
not here. He has been raised, exactly as he
promised. Come and see the spot where he was
laid. Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
‘He has been raised from the dead and now goes
ahead of you to Galilee, where you will see
him.’ That is the message I have for you.”

They hurried away from the tomb half-overjoyed,
half-fearful, and ran to carry the good news
to his disciples. Suddenly, without warning,
Jesus stood before them and said, “Peace!”
The women came up and embraced his feet and
did him homage. At this Jesus said to them,
“Do not be afraid! Go and carry the news to my
brothers that they are to go to Galilee, where
they will see me.”

“…Jesus stood before them and said,
‘Peace!’”

The story of the resurrection of Jesus has
several versions, depending on the gospel that
narrates it.  Here in the gospel of Matthew,
we find dramatic events that herald the rising
from the dead of Jesus: a mighty earthquake,
the appearance of an angel of the Lord - who
looked like a flash of lightning and his
garments as dazzling as that of snow, and the
guards who became paralyzed with fear at all
these which they saw.  And then, the first to
hear the news of Jesus rising from the dead
were two women: Mary Magdalene with another
‘Mary’. When the angel told the two women to
announce to the others of the rising from the
dead of Jesus, they immediately bolted -
hurrying in both joy and fear. And as they
were on their way, Jesus appeared to them and
said, “Peace!”. Now, it is Jesus Himself who
enjoins them to go and carry the good news of
His resurrection.

Easter is a very special season in the Church.
It tells us of the great hope we can inherit
from Catholic tradition when we enter into the
very mysteries of the Holy Week, the Easter
Triduum and the whole fifty days of the Easter
season. As we see in this resurrection narrative
from Matthew, Jesus says to the women, “Peace!”.
And in the many other resurrection narratives
wherein He would appear to His disciples, He
says “Peace” many times over.  From this message
of the Risen Christ, we can see that the message
of peace is a message very important for faith
in Christ Jesus as the Risen Lord and the One
who has conquered death and sin. From our human
perspective and context, we can say that the
message of “Peace” that the Risen Lord gives is
a message that conquers the spirit of violence
that put Him to death on the Cross. The gift of
the Resurrection thus is a gift of peace to all
the apostles and disciples of Jesus who lost
their sense of peace when they experienced the
violence of the Cross.

As we celebrate the Easter Vigil tonight and
discover anew the gift of life that we receive
from God, let us thank Him for the gift of His
Son, the Prince of Peace.  Jesus has taught us
a very great lesson in life: faith and obedience
to the Father, who has the power to conquer all
evil - even death and sin.  Through the power of
the Holy Spirit, God has raised Jesus from the
dead and sent Him to share the gift of the Holy
Spirit so that we may receive the peace that
only God can give.  As we thank the Lord for
all His goodness and His mercy, let us also
renew our commitment to serve Him and all our
brothers and sisters by the renewal of our
baptismal promises.  Our renewal of our vows
at baptism is a union with the whole family of
God, a people of peace - a people of hope -
a people of Easter joy!

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/blog7/2007/04/06/good-friday-year-c/

“My kingdom does not belong to this world.”

The passion narrative from the gospel of John
is unique from the other gospels as there are
some passages that are solely in this gospel
(whereas it is not present in the other gospels
- which often share many similar passages). 
One such passage that is unique to John’s
gospel is the presence of the three “Marys”
at the foot of the cross: Mary, the mother of
Jesus, Mary the wife of Clopas, & Mary Magdalene. 
Also at the foot of the cross is the beloved
disciple of Jesus, whom tradition ascribes to
be John.  It is also in this passion narrative
of John that we find the Lord telling His mother,
“Woman, this is your son.” And then to His beloved
disciple, “There is your mother.” Spiritual
tradition reflects on this moment in the gospel
as Mary symbolizing the Church and the beloved
disciple symbolizing the members of the Church. 
Mary, therefore, plays a more significant role
in this passion narrative of John - being given
a role as the Mother of the Church.

One of the reasons why Christ was put to death
without any worldly help is the answer given
by Jesus Himself: “My kingdom does not belong
to this world.”  This statement of Jesus is an
echo of what He said also during His preaching
ministry when He said, “the kingdom of heaven
is within you”.  That is the reason why Christ
is “hated” by the world - because He represents
the values of a kingdom that runs counterculture
to the values of the world.  And those who follow
Him often live counterculture to the values of
the world (especially those who follow Him fully
and radically like priests and religious). Those
who follow Jesus totally and who are outspoken
in their following of His teachings create a
situation where they are at loggerheads with the
system or culture they are denouncing. And so,
like Jesus, they either suffer or die the same
martyr’s death and by their sacrifice, strengthen
the faith of those they have left behind.

Not all of those who follow Jesus receive the
gift of martyrdom.  The majority live very simple
lives of sacrifice, humility, abandonment to
God’s Providence, obedience, poverty, chastity,
service, celibacy, heroic suffering, silence,
solitude, contemplation, apostolic ministry,
preaching, teaching, healing, sanctifying the
family, sanctifying the world of work and so
many more “activities” and “values” of Christ’s
kingdom which lie hidden from the public eye.
Like Jesus, they too share in His passion through
the daily sufferings and stresses that go with
their state of life.  And like Jesus, they also
express their faith in a God who will in the
end reward them with eternal life after all the
sufferings and pains they have experienced in
this life.

We who are also called to follow Jesus, are
especially given the gift of this Holy Week to
remember how great is the love of God for us
through the very obedience that Jesus expressed -
an obedience that led Him even to an ignominious
death on the Cross. This Good Friday is an
opportunity for us to reflect on how faithful
is our following of Jesus. For certain, given
the graphic example of how Jesus literally was
bruised, bled, was beaten, was mocked, was
scourged, was crowned with thorns, was crucified
and was pierced with a spear, we will discover
how really little is our faith, our hope, and
our love for God.  And more certainly, we will
see how we pale in comparison to His sacrifice
and His strength in resisting the temptation to
give up the challenge of the cross and death.
When we discover this in our reflections, then
it is a call for us to renew our commitment to
follow Jesus and to pray for more strength that
we may, in our own little way and states of life,
follow Jesus more seriously in our lives.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/blog7/2007/04/03/holy-wednesday-year-c/

“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray
Me.”

The gospel passage for Holy Wednesday is from
the gospel of Matthew. It recounts details on
the betrayal of Judas Iscariot - one of the
apostles of Jesus.  Judas betrayed Jesus to the
chief priests for thirty pieces of silver. When
he received the money, he then looked for an
opportunity to hand Jesus over to them. As the
gospel relates, Judas still attended the Passover
meal that Jesus and his companions were celebrating.
It was there that Jesus revealed to His apostles
that “one of you will betray Me.” The apostles
were greatly distressed.  Jesus revealed it to
them who this betrayer was through a sign: “he
who has dipped his hand into the dish with me.”

Some modern bible scholars and interpreters have
the opinion that it was not really the physical
pain of the crucifixion that was really distressing
to Jesus.  They believed that more than the pain
of the scourgings, crowning of thorns, the beatings,
and the crucifixion itself, was the greater pain
of betrayal (combined with the denial of Peter
and the abandonment Jesus felt first from His
apostles and then from the Father).  These scholars
who are of the modern school believe that the
psychological pain of betrayal is of greater
suffering than physical pain.  And there is some
truth to what they say because when we are hurt
physically, when the pain goes away and the wound
heals, everything is as before.  But for the wounds
inflicted on our human psyche - many believe that
this takes a long time because of the very deep
pain it causes.

This gospel account on the betrayal by Judas
again teaches us a lesson. What Judas did was a
destruction of the trust Jesus placed on him.
Destroying this trust destroys the very foundation
of a relationship.  And moral theologians teach
us that sin destroys our relationship with God.
Therefore, the more we sin, the more we weaken
and eventually destroy our relationship with God.
Sin, is therefore, like our “betrayal” of that
trust God places on us as His children - a trust
that is made in great love and goodness and
mercy.  Judas teaches us a lesson by his bad
example.  Let us always pray and do what is
necessary so that we do not “betray” God by our
sinful actions and eventually destroy our
relationship with Him through this sinfulness.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/blog7/2007/04/02/holy-tuesday-year-c/

“Will you lay down your life for me?”

The gospel passage for Holy Tuesday comes from
the thirteenth chapter of John and relates the
story of Jesus reclining at table with His
disciples.  Jesus then foretold to them that one
of them will betray Him.  Simon Peter was curious
and he told the disciple whom Jesus loved to ask
who it was. And Jesus answered, “the one to whom
I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” And
the gospel account makes the prophecy known in
the person of Judas. So Judas took the morsel
under Satan’s power and left to arrange the arrest
of Jesus.  With Judas gone, Jesus again foretold
that He was to be glorified by the Father; but
only after His great Passion.  Simon Peter then
expressed to Jesus that He would lay down his
life for Him.  But since Jesus knew that Peter
would deny Him three times, He told Peter, “Will
you lay down your life for me?”

Three apostles are acting in this gospel account:
Simon Peter, the disciple whom Jesus loved (who
in Tradition is known to be the apostle John), and
Judas Iscariot.  Since these three apostles were
followers of Jesus, their loyalty to Him was
tested when Jesus was now to be handed over to
the Jewish religious authorities.  The apostle
John, like the other apostles fled when Jesus was
arrested. But he soon followed his Master up to
the foot of the Cross together with the mother of
Jesus.  Simon Peter expressed his loyalty to Jesus
by saying, “I will lay down my life for you.” But
when Jesus was taken and arrested, when he was
pointed at by the people, he denied Jesus three
times.  Judas was the treasurer of the group.
Yesterday, we saw him protesting at Mary’s gesture
of extravagance.  Now, we see him actually acting
on his decision to betray Jesus. 

Three apostles and a grueling test of loyalty. One
eventually was brave to express his discipleship by
being with Jesus at the foot of His crucifixion.
Another denied Jesus three times, but repented and
was restored to his relationship with Jesus after
the Resurrection.  A third betrayed Jesus but
finally saw the evil that he had done.  He however
despaired and hanged himself.  From this gospel
account, we can see that the apostles are also
people who are not perfect - though they have been
chosen by Jesus and are called to a mission of
building His Church.  We can learn from them what
strengths God gives us so that we can undo whatever
wrongs we have done in our relationship with Christ.
The disciple whom Jesus loved simply expressed his
fidelity to Jesus. From him, we can learn that
faithfulness to Jesus wins eventually in the end.
From Simon Peter, we see the value of repentance
and of the openness to renew bonds and ties of
loyalty once again.  In Judas, we are taught a
very serious lesson: to hope in the gift of
repentance and of being restored back to Christ.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/blog7/2007/04/01/holy-monday/

“Mary…anointed the feet of Jesus and dried
them with her hair…”

The gospel account for Holy Monday tells the story
of Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus
(whom Jesus raised from the dead), who took a
liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine
aromatic nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and
then dried them with her hair. With this gesture,
Judas protested telling Jesus that the money could
have been given to the poor. Jesus however took
the side of Mary and told Judas that “the poor
will always be with you, but you do not always
have Me.” Then the gospel account ends with the
large crowd of Jews who followed Jesus because
they wanted to see Lazarus whom He had raised
from the dead.  The chief priests then plotted
how to kill Lazarus also because the people were
turning away from their leadership and believing
in Jesus because of His miracle with Lazarus.

This gospel account helps us to reflect on where
we really set our hearts on.  There is a contrast
between Mary of Bethany, who sets her heart on the
person of Jesus; and there is the other person of
Judas, who sets his heart on the money and making
it appear that he was concerned for the poor. Once
a year, we are called to really assess our hearts
and see what treasures we place in it.  Do we place
Jesus in our hearts by caring for our families and
our loved ones and working hard so that the companies
we serve can help many people? Or do we set our
hearts on material things, most especially on money
more than our relationships with others and with
God?  We can see where our heart is onto when we
enter into the gospel scene and see how we react
to Mary’s gesture and to Judas’ statement.

Throughout the year, as we work for our family and
household, we sometimes get tempted to set our
hearts on money and material things. Though this
is to be expected in our very modern world, we can
however strengthen ourselves to resist the tempting
of the Evil One to set our hearts on money and
material things alone.  We need not wait for a Holy
Week to reset our center in God and to reprioritize
our values: setting God as foremost, and with family
and the rest of our concerns along the line.  We
can do this by deepening our spiritual life, more
particularly going to confession regularly and
attending a Eucharistic celebration during a weekday
- if not daily. Reading the Bible, spiritual books,
and taking time for solitude - like visiting the
Blessed Sacrament - are also one of the spiritual
activities we can perform to help set our hearts
on God and keep Him as the center of our life.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/passion-sunday-a.html

“Clearly this was the Son of God!”

After journeying five Sundays into Lent, we now
arrive to the holiest time of the Lenten season:
Holy Week. And Holy Week begins with Passion
Sunday or Palm Sunday.  The gospel reading for
Passion Sunday is from the gospel of Matthew.
It tells the story of Christ’s passion beginning
with the betrayal of Judas up to the account where
Pilate ordered that guards be set on the tomb
where Jesus was laid - to prevent added conflict
between the followers of Jesus and the Pharisees.
The gospel reading spans from verse 14 to verse
27 of chapter 26.  In many parishes, they often
dramatize this reading with several people taking
the role of the important characters in the account
of the Passion.  The whole presentation of the
Passion of Jesus reminds us very well of the great
sacrifice God has made [giving His only Son] in
order for us to be redeemed from our sins.

While Christ was performing His ministry among
His people, those He had healed or helped believed
in Him.  But those who were scrupulous in obeying
the Jewish law of the Sabbath took it against Him
for doing good on a day which states that no work
must be done.  So, even while performing His healing,
teaching and preaching ministry, people were already
divided among themselves: those who believed in
Jesus and those who do not believe in Him.  The
majority of those who do not believe in Jesus were
the Scribes and the Pharisees, while the majority
of those who believed in Jesus were the simple and
unlearned people.  Because of this division among
the people, there came a point when the political
conflict veered towards wanting the life of Jesus
as a solution to prevent a bloodbath among the
Jewish people.  And one of those who was tempted
to give Jesus away to His enemies was Judas. It
was Judas who led the military arm of the Pharisees
to arrest Jesus.

When Jesus was arrested, He underwent heavy
interrogation and questioning by Pilate.  Then
even though Pilate did not want to have a hand in
the execution of Jesus, Pilate had to give in to
the demands of the crowd and let the people have
their hand in crucifying Jesus.  So Jesus was led
to carry His cross up to the spot of His execution.
He was treated unjustly by the soldiers until His
death on the cross. But when Jesus gave His final
breath on the cross, suddenly the curtain of the
sanctuary was torn in two, the earth quaked,
boulders split, and tombs were opened. Many bodies
of saints who died were raised. The centurion and
his men who were keeping watch over Jesus were
terror-stricken at seeing the earthquake and all
that was happening.  They exclaimed, “Clearly
this was the Son of God!”

The passion of Jesus helps us to examine the
degree of our faith in Jesus.  If we ask ourselves,
how really do I believe in Jesus as the Son of God?
Our response either puts us on the side of the
people who wanted Jesus crucified, or on the side
of those who believed in Him even up to the site
of the crucifixion: Mary and the beloved disciple
John.  Our lack of faith in Jesus makes us aware
of how much this has contributed to the pain and
suffering of His crucifixion.  Our drive towards
self-serving needs alone and the quest for success
and material gain creates our idolization of these
realities and again contributing to the pain and
suffering of Jesus on the cross.  Let us once
again, repent of our sins, and like Mary and the
beloved disciple John, be faithful in our following
of the Lord.  Let us also pray for the gift of
fear of the Lord so that we may discover the
wisdom of God and exclaim like the centurion:
“Clearly this was the Son of God!”

Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love archives

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Lectionary Readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent, Year A

http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/5th-sunday-lent-a.html

“Whoever believes in Me, though he should
die, will come to life.”

In this fifth Sunday of Lent, we find the gospel
passage that tells of Jesus raising his friend
Lazarus back to life again.  The story related
in the gospel of John is very moving, colors our
imagination, and is filled with highly emotional
undertones.  Particularly moving is the part when
Jesus speaks with Martha, the gesture of Mary who
fell at the feet of Jesus, and the phrase which
tells us about how Jesus wept for His friend
Lazarus.  Equally dramatic is the account when
Jesus ordered the men to move the stone so that
Lazarus could come forth.  The men replied to
Jesus that there would be a stench since Lazarus
had already been four days in the cave. Jesus
however assured the men that if they had faith
they would see the glory of the Lord.  And true
to His word, Jesus called out for Lazarus to
come out and the dead man came out bound hand
and foot with linen strips and his face wrapped
in a cloth.  Jesus then ordered the men to untie
him and let him go free.

If one is keen on watching films about Jesus of
Nazareth, there is one movie which depicts this
scene very gloriously and triumphantly.  The movie
raises the emotions of its watchers towards a
suspenseful moment when Lazarus went out of the
cave and his risen form witnessed by many people.
Two witnesses then ran as fast as they could [from
Bethany] to the city to excitedly tell the news
to others about this miracle.  While the two
witnesses were running, the background music
becomes louder and the drums beat more soundly
until the two witnesses were at the gate of
Jerusalem to tell about the miracle that Jesus
performed!  And indeed we know how dramatic this
scene was in real life when Jesus actually raised
Lazarus back to life again.  Jesus indeed showed
by His action that He is the real hope of all who
suffer from the clutches of death.

Many of us have already experienced a death or
a loss of a loved one.  These experiences bring
us much sorrow and pain and grief.  In our time
of sorrow, we find consolation, comfort and hope
when we look to Jesus as the source of life. In
our pain and grief, we are purified from our sins
and in this purification, we regain a new lease
on life again.  In a way, it is like being born
again - starting once more and living life as it
usually goes on.  The gospel account tells us and
gives us a glimpse of what will happen to us at
the resurrection of the dead.  Like Lazarus, we
will be raised by God from the dead and live once
more in a resurrected state.  This is the mystery
that is to come when the day of the Lord arrives.
But however, we can live this mystery of life in
our everyday experiences.  Through our daily life
and work in the family and our professions, we
encounter problems and hardships that call us to
die to our self and rise again to new life in
Christ.  We will especially understand how this
mystery unfolds when we become conscious of our
sins, go to the sacrament of reconciliation, do
our penance, and receive the new life in Christ
again.