Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings

“I Am The Resurrection And The Life”

Our readings for this Fifth Sunday of Lent focus our attention on the promise of new life in the resurrection of the body. It is a promise not to be taken lightly. It is a central point of our faith.

Our first reading (Ezekiel 37:12-14) is an excerpt from the prophet Ezekiel’s “vision of the valley of bones”, prophesied during the time of Judah’s exile in Babylon. It was a time when all hope seemed lost. In Ezekiel’s vision, God commanded that he prophesy of a time when Israel would be restored and the “dry bones” would be raised from their graves, and given flesh and sinew and breath. “Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!“ We await that same promise in Jesus Christ.

In our Epistle reading (Romans 8:8-11), St. Paul draws a sharp contrast between those who live in Christ and those who are still "in the flesh". For those believers who are living "in the Spirit", they will know the resurrection through the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead.

In our Gospel reading (John 11:1-45), we hear the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. Jesus did this "so that the crowd may believe that you (the Father) sent me". He 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.” This was a foretaste of the bodily resurrection that will come to us all at the final judgement and similar to Paul’s words in our Epistle reading. This is not unlike our first reading from Ezekiel when the Lord will “open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!“

This Sunday’s readings along with the previous two Sundays (The Woman at the Well and the Healing of the Man Born Blind) were traditionally used by the early Church as instruction and insight for catechumens in preparation for Baptism. May their reflection be a source of renewal of our own Baptism as our Catechumens prepare for their Baptism in Christ and we all prepare for the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.