5th Lent A

Welcome to our Bible
Study
5th
Sunday of Lent A
2 April 2017
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielito R. Almazan, OFM

1st
reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14
 12 Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I
will open your graves and have you rise from
them, and bring you back to the land of
Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the
LORD, when I open your graves and have
you rise from them, O my people! 14 I will
put my spirit in you that you may live, and I
will settle you upon your land; thus you shall
know that I am the LORD. I have promised,
and I will do it, says the LORD.
The focus is on bringing the dead back to life.

1st
12 Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people,
 I will open your graves and have you rise from them,
 and bring you back to the land of Israel.
 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
 when I open your graves and have you rise from
them, O my people!
 14 I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
 and I will settle you upon your land;
 thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
 I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
The reading is re-indented for easier understanding.

1st
 12 Thus says the Lord
GOD: O my people, I
will open your graves
and have you rise from
them, and bring you
back to the land of
Israel. 13 Then you
shall know that I am the
LORD, when I open
your graves and have
you rise from them, O
my people! 14 I will put
my spirit in you that you
may live, and I will
settle you upon your
land; thus you shall
know that I am the
LORD. I have
promised, and I will do
it, says the LORD.
Commentary
 Ezekiel is a prophet of the Babylonian
Exile (586-539 BC).
 He speaks on behalf of God to the
Israelites in exile.
 Using a figure of speech, God
promises:
 “I will open your graves…” (vv.12 and 13).
 His purpose is indicated in vv.13 and 14.
 “You will know that I am the Lord.”
 Opening of graves and having them
rise from them means bringing them
back to the land of Israel.
 To settle in Israel is the dream of each
Israelite in exile. God concurs with that
dream.
 The last line of the reading indicates God’s
determination to fulfill his promise. He will do it.

Reflections on the 1st
reading
 God desires life.
 He wants us to live in freedom, not in exile.
 God wants us to settle down in our own homeland.
 God wants us to live where we can practice our faith
and culture without tiptoeing, without being subjected
to the restrictions of a dominant power.
 God destroys structures that entomb us (kill us),
immobilize and paralyze us from rendering what is
due to God and to our fellow human beings.

Resp. Ps 130:1-2. 3-4 5-6. 7-8
R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
2 Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
3 If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
4 But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
5 I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
6 More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
7 For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.

Resp. Ps 130:1-2. 3-4 5-6. 7-8
 R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and
fullness of redemption.
 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O
LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
2 Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
 3 If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
4 But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
 5 I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
6 More than sentinels wait for the
dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
 7 For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
Commentary
 The psalm is a psalm of
lament.
 In vv.1-2, the psalmist prays
to God that he may listen to
him.
 In vv.3-4, we come to know
what the psalmist is asking
for: forgiveness of his
iniquities.
 In vv.5-6, the psalmist
expresses his high quality
trust in the Lord.
 Vv.7-8 affirm God as
merciful and kind, also a
redeemer, a forgiving God of
Israel.

Reflections on the Psalm
 God is a forgiving and merciful God.
 We can trust in him.
 God has a big capacity to forgive.
 He can forgive us, provided we humbly
approach him, out of the depths (of our
hearts).

2nd
reading: Romans 8:8-11
 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9
But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are
in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not
belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although
the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive
because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of the one
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the
one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to
your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that
dwells in you.
The focus is living in the Spirit of God.

2nd
reading: Romans 8:8-11
 8 Those who are in the flesh
cannot please God. 9 But
you are not in the flesh; on
the contrary, you are in the
spirit, if only the Spirit of God
dwells in you. Whoever does
not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him. 10
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead
because of sin, the spirit is
alive because of
righteousness. 11 If the
Spirit of the one who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells
in you, the one who raised
Christ from the dead will give
life to your mortal bodies
also, through his Spirit that
dwells in you.
Commentary
 The reading is about living in the Spirit
of God.
 At the outset, the topic seems to be how
to please God as announced in v.8.
 In v.9, the author identifies his audience
as living in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
 These are Christians in Rome, who
have learned how to live according to
their baptismal vows.
 They belong to Christ because they
have his Spirit.
 His Spirit is alive in them because Christ
is in them. v.10
 They will also resurrect like Christ, who
once was dead. v.11
 The Spirit brings us back to life,
although we die because of sin (living in
the flesh).

Reflections on the 2nd
reading
 With the Spirit of God, we can please God.
 St. Paul declares that we can please God because
the Spirit of God lives in us.
 The opposite of living in the Spirit is living in the
flesh, which is living in sin. We can never please
God if we live in the flesh.
 The Spirit of God makes possible our future
resurrection.
 Are we living in the Spirit of God? Are our lives
pleasing to God (and to people)?

Gospel reading: John 11:3-7.17. 20-27. 33-45
 3 The sisters of
Lazarus sent word
to Jesus, saying,
"Master, the one
you love is ill." 4
When Jesus heard
this 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."
Commentary
 The gospel reading revolves around the
death of Lazarus.
 But first, in v.3, Lazarus gets sick. His
sisters inform Jesus of his condition.
 The attentive reader will make a
conclusion that Lazarus and Jesus are
good friends.
 “The one you love is ill.”
 For Jesus, Lazarus is not just an
ordinary man out there.
 Jesus has special feelings for Lazarus.
 In v.4, Jesus interprets the illness of
Lazarus.
 The illness is not to end in death, but for
God’s glorification and that of the Son
of God.
Please read the text along with the commentary, slide by slide.

 5 Now Jesus loved
Martha and her
sister and Lazarus.
6 So when he heard
that he was ill, he
remained for two
days in the place
where he was. 7
Then after this he
said to his disciples,
"Let us go back to
Judea."
 V.5 indicates the special
relationship and affection of Jesus
to Lazarus and his 2 sisters.
 In v.6, Jesus buys time. He does
not go to Lazarus right away.
 He waits for two days to pass
before he acts on his plan (which
he announced in v.4)
 In v.7, Jesus now acts. He invites
his disciples to go with him.
 The house of Lazarus is in Judea
(as if Jesus is somewhere in Galilee or
Samaria). The preceding verses
indicate that Jesus was just in
Jerusalem, which is part of Judea.

 17 When Jesus arrived,
he found that Lazarus
had already been in the
tomb for four days. 20
When Martha heard
that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
21 Martha said to
Jesus, "Lord, if you had
been here, my brother
would not have died.
22 (But) even now I
know that whatever you
ask of God, God will
give you."
 V.17 indicates the length of time
Lazarus stays in the tomb (to
highlight the miracle of Jesus).
 V.20 portrays two contrasting
reactions to the coming of Jesus.
 Martha goes to meet him. (active)
 Mary sits at home. (passive)
 They are still mourning.
 In vv.21-22, Martha converses
with Jesus and expresses her
belief in his extraordinary powers,
through his prayers.

 23 Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
24 Martha said to him, "I
know he will rise, in the
resurrection on the last
day." 25 Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and
the life; whoever believes
in me, even if he dies, will
live, 26 and everyone
who lives and believes in
me will never die. Do you
believe this?" 27 She
said to him, "Yes, Lord. I
have come to believe that
you are the Messiah, the
Son of God, the one who
is coming into the world."
 In v.23, Jesus assures Martha of
the resurrection of his brother.
 Martha has no difficulty with this.
She believes in the resurrection
on the last day. V.24
 In vv.25-26, Jesus reveals
something new:
 “I am the resurrection and the
life.”
 “Everyone who believes even if
he dies, will live.”
 In v.27, Martha affirms her belief
in Jesus, not just as the
resurrection and the life, but also
as
 The Messiah
 The son of God
 The one coming into the world
(son of man)

 33 When Jesus saw
her weeping and the
Jews who had come
with her weeping, he
became perturbed and
deeply troubled, 34
and said, "Where have
you laid him?" They
said to him, "Sir, come
and see." 35 And
Jesus wept. 36 So the
Jews said, "See how
he loved him."
 In v.33, Jesus is touched
at the weeping of Martha
and the Jews.
 He is affected by their
crying and mourning.
 In v.34, Jesus asks where
they buried him.
 The response: “Come and
see.” (his own response in
John 1,39, when he was asked
where he was staying).
 In v.35, Jesus weeps.
 The Jews interpret his
weeping correctly. V.36

 37 But some of them
said, "Could not the one
who opened the eyes of
the blind man have done
something so that this
man would not have
died?" 38 So Jesus,
perturbed again, came to
the tomb. It was a cave,
and a stone lay across it.
39 Jesus said, "Take
away the stone." Martha,
the dead man's sister,
said to him, "Lord, by now
there will be a stench; he
has been dead for four
days." 40 Jesus said to
her, "Did I not tell you that
if you believe you will see
the glory of God?"
 In v.37, other people, who had
witnessed him heal the blind
man, ask a question. They
expect him to do another
miracle.
 At this, Jesus again feels
something inside. So, he goes
to the tomb. V.38
 Now, Jesus begins to perform a
miracle by asking that the stone
be taken away. V.39
 Martha reacts. There is no need
to open it. It is smelly by now.
 Jesus insists on what he is
going to do and Martha must
now see the glory of God
because she herself has
believed in him. V.40
 Jesus does not forget what he
has promised her upon his
arrival.

 41 So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and
said, "Father, I thank you for
hearing me. 42 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." 43 And when he had
said this, he cried out in a loud
voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44
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." 45
Now many of the Jews who had
come to Mary and seen what he
had done began to believe in
him.
 The people obey him. V.41
 In vv.41b-42, Jesus prays to his
Father in the hearing of the
crowd.
 Previously, Martha expressed
her belief that God listens to his
prayer (v.22).
 Now, finally, Jesus performs a
miracle by crying out aloud
commanding Lazarus to come
out. V.43
 The dead man obeys. V.44
 His physical appearance is
described and Jesus
commands that he be untied.
 V.45 indicates people’s
response:
 they began to believe in him.

Commentary/Reflections on the gospel reading
 Jesus is powerful. He can bring the dead to life.
 It is also a movement of the people from non-belief, (they
were just bystanders without expectations), to belief in
Jesus.
 The gospel reading is an invitation for us to believe that
Jesus is our savior, he is the messiah and the one
through whom we can give glory to God.
 We should not be threatened by his presence.
 Jesus has the ability to make friends with us.
 He can also be emotional, when people are in grief.
 Jesus is also a human being, not just a powerful divine
being.

Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 The first reading talks about the coming back to life
of the Israelites (back to the land of Israel).
 The psalm affirms God’s forgiveness to a trustful
and humble contrite heart.
 The second reading talks about the Spirit of God
giving life to us.
 The gospel readings talks about Lazarus coming
back to life, made possible by Jesus.

How to develop your homily / sharing
 Fr. Fernando Suarez is known to be a faith healer
who can bring the dead to life.
 True or not, the dead coming back to life is
something unusual.
 This imagery, whether taken literally or figuratively,
is used by Ezekiel to portray God’s plan to bring the
exiles back to the promised land.
 It is also used by the evangelist to solicit faith in
Jesus to glorify God.

 In this season of Lent, we are asked to rise from our
own deaths.
 We die when we live in sin.
 In the Old Testament, the Israelites die because they
abandon their monotheistic faith and go after
wooden and molten idols.
 They are entombed in the Exile, as punishment,
unable to serve God in the Temple of Jerusalem.
 This is how Ezekiel looks at the whole situation of
Israel during the Exilic Period.
 Through the exilic prophet Ezekiel, God announces
the end of their punishment.

 When we live in sin (we die), we cannot do anything.
 We cannot live to the full.
 We are entombed and paralyzed. We are confined
to our own fears and apprehensions.
 We are afraid people will come and get us for the
injustices we have done to them.
 Sin is unfaithfulness in relationships, forgetfulness in
fulfilling obligations, making people wait (justice
delayed, justice denied) for a long time, being
inconsiderate, insensitive, greed, pride, etc.

 The second reading defines sin as living in the flesh.
 Living in the flesh is a satisfaction of our
inordinate and earthly desires, base instincts,
unable to transcend vanity.
 Living in the flesh is a life of vices, compulsions,
addictions, and uncontrolled emotions.
 Living in the flesh brings us to death.
 Living in the Spirit makes us live, even if we die
physically, we will live.

 Living in the Spirit makes our lives pleasing to God.
 It is being faithful to our vocation as baptized
children of God, turning away from sin and living in
the Spirit of Christ.
 It is living out our dignity as redeemed human
beings.

 The gospel does not attribute sin to the death of
Lazarus.
 The whole story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus portrays
that they are good friends of Jesus.
 Jesus is emotionally attached to them, who are not just
ordinary disciples and believers.
 Out of their developed friendship, Jesus brings Lazarus
back to life.
 In doing so, Jesus exerts tremendous energy to call on
God.
 In a loud voice and deep emotions, Jesus addresses
himself to the dead man, who now comes back to life.
 The miracle is performed to make us listeners and
readers to believe in Jesus and to glorify God.

 In this season of Lent, we must focus our attention to
Jesus who calls us to life.
 He exerts a lot of effort to invite us to join in his inner
circle of friends and to praise God always.
 In this season of Lent, our conversion must be to
move from thinking only of the self (selfish desires),
to a deeper communion (friendship) with Jesus.
 We move from sin (living in the flesh) to grace (living in the
Spirit).
 We move from living like dead, to a life dedicated to
giving life to others.

 The eucharist is a life-giving sacrament.
 In the eucharist, Jesus infuses his Spirit upon
us, his friends, to give us life.
 The eucharist is a tangible sign that Jesus is
giving himself totally to us in order to bring us
to life.

Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Vices: drinking, smoking,
compulsive buying
 Worldly
 Sexual abuse
 Rape
 Graft and corruption
 Manipulation
 No accountability
 Bribery
 RH Law
 Pro-Life Movements
 Care for the Environment
 Spiritual renewals, retreats
 Seminars on family life,
child rearing, parenting
 Decent burial of the dead

 You may
use this for
your homily.

 Dear sisters and brothers,

 There is life after this life. It is Jesus who
gives us this life, but only after dying.

 Fr. Cielo

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