Readings:
Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45 45 (Short form 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45)

Our God is the God of Life!

In the first reading, Ezekiel proclaims these prophetic words of God for the Israelites and for us. “O my people! I will open your graves and have you rise from them . . . . I will put my spirit in you that you may live . . . .” (Ezk 37:12, 14). This passage follows the well-known vision of the valley of dry bones where Ezekiel announces,

Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you will live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live; and you shall know that I am the Lord (Ezk 37:5-6).

Ezekiel is declaring that God is the God of life, first with the vision of the dry bones, and then with the direct reference to those who are hearing these words. In contrast to the physical signs of death, the prophet proclaims that there is life, God’s life.  This is the annunciation aspect of prophecy[1] —announcing that the Life, Spirit, and Reign of God is present even though people don’t recognize it. The message of life and hope in the face of barrenness and despair is a very prophetic word. Radio waves are present around us right now, but we need a radio as an instrument to “tune in” to the music or the message.  Ezekiel is inviting us to “tune in” to acknowledge God’s presence and life. The second reading from Romans also confirms that the one who raised Christ from the dead “will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you” (Rm 8:11).

This vision is fulfilled in the gospel account of a very divine and human event with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In terms of the divine nature of Christ, Jesus went to the tomb, prayed to Abba Father, and cried out, “Lazarus, come out!” (Jn 11:43). And Lazarus came out.  This can be considered the greatest miracle of Jesus’ ministry.

In this gospel account, we also see the clearest expression of the human nature of Jesus.  First, we hear of the friendship of Jesus with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (Jn 11:5). However, secondly, we see evidence of the depth of this human friendship: “And Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35). In the original Greek, dakruo means “he burst into tears.” Jesus was “perturbed and deeply troubled” (Jn 11:38). The sorrow of Jesus was so profound that the bystanders said, “See how he loved him” (Jn 11:36). Jesus was of one heart and mind with the grieving family and friends.

As Ezekiel had prophesied that, instead of seeing dry bones and graves with human eyes, we can see the fullness of God’s life with the eyes of faith.  The raising of Lazarus was also an act of the annunciation aspect of prophecy. “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he [Jesus] had done began to believe in him” (Jn 11:45).

Often, we are in situations, in which we find ourselves amidst the “dry bones”—sickness, death, betrayal, broken relationships, chaos, and wounds and losses of many types.  During the Lenten season, we are reminded to breathe in the breath (Ezk 37:6) of God, and to “tune in” to the hope coming from the presence/Spirit of God.  At Easter, we celebrate the words of Jesus to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25).

Roger Schroeder, SVD
Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD Chair of Mission and Culture

[1] The other aspect of prophecy is denunciation, speaking against what is contrary to God’s Reign.  See: Roger Schroeder, “Prophetic Dialogue and Interculturality,” in: Mission on the Road to Emmaus: Constants, Context and Prophetic Dialogue, Cathy Ross and Stephen B. Bevans, eds. (London: SCM Press, 2015), 221; Bevans and Schroeder, eds. Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011), 42-48.