5th Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Victor Feltes
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus that their brother was gravely sick, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” It appears that Jesus already knew what would happen and what he was going to do; a path probably not what Lazarus, Martha, or Mary would have chosen for themselves from the outset, but Jesus had a plan. Today’s Gospel contains this curious pairing of lines: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.” It says Jesus knowingly remained where he was until Lazarus had died because he loved them. And then Jesus says, “Let us go back to Judea… Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” And when the disciples misunderstand what he means, Jesus makes it absolutely clear: “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”
When Jesus reaches Bethany, he encounters Martha and then Mary, and both sisters say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They both love Jesus but likely wonder in their minds and hearts why he did not prevent this evil from occurring. Perhaps they had heard the stories of Jesus even healing people at a distance, so why didn’t he save their brother, his friend? “When Jesus saw [Lazarus’ sister] weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled… And Jesus wept.” So the Judeans said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them remarked, “‘Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?’ So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.”
This Gospel speaks three times of Jesus’ love for his friends at Bethany: The sisters’ message to Jesus was, “Master, the one you love is ill.” St. John the narrator tells us, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” And some of those who saw Jesus weep said, “See how he loved him.” But amidst these lines witnessing to his love there are three times people then seem to wonder why his love did not protect his friends from undergoing this evil: Martha laments, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary laments, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And then some of the fellow mourners say, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
Why did Jesus become perturbed, deeply troubled, and weep? I don’t think it was merely from mourning for his friend—whom he knew would be alive and well again in less than an hour or two. Jesus saw the pain and scandal caused by evils like death. He sensed peoples’ questions concerning his love and care for others. So Jesus came to the tomb. Jesus ordered the stone be removed, prayed to God the Father in their hearing, commanded Lazarus to exit the tomb, and revealed he had resurrected his friend. And “many of the Jews who had come…and seen what he had done began to believe in him.”
Why had Jesus done all this? Partly, it was to instill saving faith in him, so that they may believe that the Father sent him. It was also for God’s glory, for when the news of Lazarus’ illness first reached Jesus he said, “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.” But this trial was also for his friends’ greater good, for as St. Paul wrote, “We know that in everything, God works for good for those who love him.”
Divine providence often takes us down paths we would not have chosen for ourselves. The Lord, all-knowing and all-powerful, permits trials in our lives far more challenging than we prefer to crown us with a glory far greater than we can imagine. As St. Augustine wrote: “God would never allow any evil if he could not cause good to emerge from it.” And as we will recall in the Holy Week fast approaching, Jesus cares so much for us that he underwent the evils of his Passion, Crucifixion, and death for our salvation and glory. Jesus loved his friends Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and though we may suffer, he loves us as well. Look at Jesus Christ on his Cross and see how he loves us.
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