29 March 2020
Fifth Sunday of Lent
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn. 11:21). Words that are nearly unbearable to hear today. Lazarus has been stricken ill, as so many now have been. Like Lazarus, many have died. Mary of Bethany’s lament becomes our own. Mary wonders where Jesus was while her brother was dying. We may ask the same question as our own brothers and sisters die.
This week begins to answer the question as we move to the end of Lent, and transition into Holy Week. During this week, the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin close in on Jesus, and the darkness encircles Him more and more. Jesus could run from the threats, cease teaching, cease healing, yet He does not. He could call upon the angels of heaven to save Him, yet He does not. He calls out evil for what it is, but accepts His plunge deeper and deeper into the evils of our world. By the end of this week, He will begin His final plunge, and experience the fulness of sin and evil one may find in this world.
Ultimately, this is the answer to Mary’s lament. Where is Jesus in all of this? Surrounded by the darkness, just as we are. Standing next to us in our loss, as He stood next to Martha and Mary. Weeping over his lost friend, as we have cause to weep. Embracing the grave, and calling us out of it, as He called His friend Lazarus out of the grave. Jesus will remain with us, surrounded by evil, reminding us that the last word is not our death, but God’s glory.