April 6, 2014 – The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Ez 37:12-14; Ps 130; 1-8; Rom 8: 8-11; Jn 11: 1-45
“I will put my spirit in you that you may live.” With those words, God speaks to us through the prophet Ezekiel in the first reading for this Fifth Sunday in Lent. In fact, all of the readings for this Sunday reflect the importance of the Spirit living within us.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, the second reading, asks us to understand that the spirit dwells within us, and that is what is important; not our flesh or our bodies, but what God has placed in us — the Holy Spirit. What is important is that Spirit, for that is truly the key to truth and life.
Of course, in the Gospel story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, this idea of body and spirit is reinforced. As our Lenten journeys continue, we need to continue to acknowledge the presence of Christ and the Spirit within us, and strive to fulfill that manifestation. Furthermore, we need to connect a key part of the Lazarus story with our own lives. Just as Jesus tells them in that story to “Take away the stone,” the Lord is commanding us to remove the stones in our lives; the obstacles that prevent our spirits to live in Him and with Him. It is time to roll our personal stones back and to pursue stewardship and discipleship as a way of life.
