HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A.

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Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130:1-5. 7-8; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45.

“LENT: MOVING FROM DEATH TO LIFE”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today the church celebrates the 5th Sunday of Lent. By this celebration, our journey with Jesus in the wilderness (Lent) is almost over. This should naturally fill us with joy and excitement because where we are going to is closer to where we are coming from therefore we must learn the lessons and imbibe the discipline for better Christian living.

·      In today’s reading, God shows us his power over physical death with a firm assurance of a new life that has no end in the new world he will inaugurate. Hence the season of lent at this stage should be a period of preparing ourselves to move from a temporality (death) to live (eternal life).

·      Dear friends in Christ, Jesus expects us during this season, to constantly learn how to die to sin and its inclinations, so that we can rise with him on Easter Sunday where he will transform our mortal bodies into his glorified body (Phil. 3:25).

·      Jesus is gradually edging close to the purpose for which he came which is his passion and death in order that we may be saved. The conspiracy against Jesus is getting worse by the day for daring to speak out against the status quo – the scribes and Pharisees.

·      Jesus uses the death of Lazarus his friend in the gospel reading (John 11:1-45), to show us his power as the resurrection and the life. Meaning that even if the scribe and Pharisees succeed in crucifying him to death, he will surely rise again, and he showcased with Lazarus.

·      Lazarus being his friend and yet he died caused Jesus to weep (Jn. 11:35) but this is to show us that being friends with Jesus or being intimately connected to him does not insulate us from difficulties. Yes, we may die a physical death but that is not the end because Christ will raise us up again. His coming is not to prevent physical death, but to give us another life that has no end. For this new life to come, the old life must give way.

·      The response of Jesus to Martha that “this sickness will not end in death; but it is for the glorification of God” (Jn. 11:4), gives us great hope in our present travail. He assures us that no matter what we are going through, no matter our troubles and temptations, no matter our sicknesses and infirmities, one thing is sure, that it will not lead to death, but it is for the glorification of God so hang in there and keep the faith.

·      In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus shows he is the Resurrection and life. He is assuring us that in our own daily Christian struggles of renouncing sin and temptations, even if we die, we have a sure place with him in Heaven.

·      In the first reading (Ezekiel 37:12-14), which is about the Prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the people of Israel, that God will inaugurate for them a new kingdom where he will inject new life into things that they might have been considered dead. And he will resettle them from captivity back to the Promised Land.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, there are a lot of things we too consider dead in our lives, today God promises to inaugurate a new order meaning that he will inject new life into us. Hence, he will inject new life into our failed marriages, new life into our failed relationships, new life into our life of sin and recklessness, new life into our stagnated businesses, new life into our fears and anxieties, etc. 

·      The second reading (Romans 8:8-11), makes us to. understand that if we must be part of the Resurrection which God promises, then we must have our interest in spiritual things because God is not pleased by unspiritual things.

·      We must also realise that being interested in spiritual things qualifies us to participate in the life of the spirit which Christ brings. Being a participant in spiritual things fill us with the spirit which is the driving force for the life of the resurrection.

·      Dear friends in Christ, no matter what a lot of us are presently going through, no matter what may have held us captive, a lot of bad news may have oppressed us and made us sad to the extent that some of us have even preferred physical death to life, today Jesus says to you just like Lazarus “come out” (Jn. 11:43).

·      Today there is no better assurance than that God is committed to our course to make us whole again and bring us back to life, to heal our world and restore it again. This fact is captured vividly in the words of the Psalmist that “with the Lord, there is mercy and fullness of redemption” (Ps. 130:7). If the Lord is full of mercy then he is always ready to give us an opportunity to make a fresh start. We can start again, we will come out of all we are going through stronger and better.

·      We pray today that our encounter with Jesus will inject new life into us and may this Sunday’s encounter bring us an abundance of his mercies and guaranteed redemption through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!

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