5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A


1st Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14

The dry bones
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[12] ["]Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold,
I will open their graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will
bring you home into the land of Israel. [13] And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14] And
I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own
land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, says
the Lord." 

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Commentary: 

This remarkable vision of the bones being brought back to life sets the scene for
the climax of the resurgence of Israel, the unification of the two kingdoms (cf. 37:
15-28). The dramatic contrast drawn here between death and life, bones and spi-
rit, shows that the revitalization that God will bring about goes much further than
material reconstruction or simply a return to the promised land; it implies, rather,
a new beginning, both personal and social.

The vision itself (vv. 2-10) takes place on an immense plain (cf. 3:22-23) and it
addresses the exiles' profound concern about their future: "Our bones are dried
up, and our hope is lost" (v. 11). It is one of Ezekiel's most famous and most
commented-on visions because it is very vivid and easy to understand. The pro-
phet himself explains it as having to do with the destruction-restoration of Israel
(vv. 11-14), though the Fathers of the Church see in it veiled references to the re-
surrection of the dead: "The Creator will revive our mortal bodies here on earth;
he promises resurrection, the opening of sepulchers and tombs, and the gift of
immortality […]. And in all this, we see that he alone is God, who can do all
things, the good Father who from his endless bounty will give life to the lifeless"
(St Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, 5, 15, 1). St Jerome writes in similar terms:
"The image of the resurrection would not have been used to describe the resto-
ration of the people of Israel if the future resurrection of the dead had not been
foreseen, because no one can be led to draw a conclusion from an idea that
has no basis is reality" (Commentarii in Ezechielem, 27, 1ff.

"I will put my Spirit within you" (v. 14). The spirit of the Lord is, at least, the po-
wer of God (cf. Gen 2:7) performing an act of creation. It is also the principle of
life causing man to "become a living being" (Gen 2:7); and, certainly, it is the
principle of supernatural life. The same God that created all things can revitalize
his demoralized people in Babylon and can allow humankind to partake of his
own life. This promise, like others found in the prophets (cf. 11:19; Jer 31:31-34;
Joel 3:1-5) will find its complete fulfillment at Pentecost, when the Spirit de-
scends on the apostles: "According to these promises, at the 'end time' the
Lord's Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will
gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the
first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace" (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 715).
　

2nd Reading: Romans 8:8-11

Life in the Spirit
-----------------------
[8] And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[9] But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really
dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong
to him. [10] But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of
sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. [11] "If the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the
dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you."
[12] So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the
flesh--[13] for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you
put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Christians Are Children of God
-------------------------------------------
[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you did not
receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit
of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" [16] it is the Spirit himself bearing wit-
ness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that
we may also be glorified with him.

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Commentary:

1-13. After original sin man is pulled in two different directions: either he seeks
God above all things and contends, with God's grace, against the inclinations
of his own concupiscence; or else he lets himself be overwhelmed by the disor-
dered passions of the flesh. The former lifestyle is "life in the Spirit", the latter,
life "according to the flesh". "There are only two possible ways of living on this
earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life" (St. J. Escriva,
"Friends of God", 200).

Sanctifying grace is the source of life "according to the Spirit". It is not a matter
of simply being in the state of grace or of performing a number of regular pious
practices. Life according to the Spirit--spiritual or supernatural life--means a
living-according-to-God which influences everything a Christian does: he is cons-
tantly trying to bring his thoughts, yearnings, desires and actions into line with
what God is asking of him; in everything he does he tries to follow the inspira-
tions of the Holy Spirit.

Life according to the flesh, on the other hand, has its source in the triple concu-
piscence which is a consequence of original sin--"all that is in the world the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 Jn 2:16). In this pre-
sent life it is not possible to kill concupiscence at its root: it is forever producing
new growths. The Christian is freed from original sin through Baptism (chap. 6);
the coming of Christ has set aside the ritualistic precepts of the Mosaic Law
(chap. 7); but his life in Jesus Christ is threatened by concupiscence even after
Baptism, which places him under the Law of the Spirit. "We need to submit to
the spirit, to wholeheartedly commit ourselves and strive to keep the flesh in its
place. By so doing our flesh will become spiritual again. Otherwise, if we give in
to the easy life, this will lower our soul to the level of the flesh and make it car-
nal again" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Rom", 13).

10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently
hopes in his future resurrection; Christ Himself lives in him (cf. Galatians 2:20;
1 Corinthians 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a
consequence of Original Sin (cf. Romans 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, con-
cupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after Baptism; it is some-
thing which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all
commentators interpret the expression "your bodies are dead because of sin" as
referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure
is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as "already dead".

St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Chris-
tian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him.
If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the
wrath of God, rejection of His laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our
Guest. And he adds: "But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking?
With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses Him, one vies for honor
with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of
an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on
the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death" ("Hom. on
Rom.", 13).
　

Gospel: John 11:1-45

The Raising of Lazarus
---------------------------------
[1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her
sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped
his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to
him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it he
said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son
of God may be glorified means of it."

[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard
that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. [7] Then
after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." [8] The disciples
said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you
going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?
If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of
this world. [10] But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light
is not in him." "Thus he spoke, and the he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has
fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." [12] The disciples said to him
"Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his
death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told
them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not
there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] Thomas, called the
Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him.

[17] Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb
four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] and many
of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their bro-
ther. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him,
while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. [22] And even now I know that whatever
you ask from God, God will give you." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will
rise again." [24] Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resur-
rection at the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the
life, he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and whoever
lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to
him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, he who is co-
ming into the world."

[28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly,
"The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she rose
quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was
still in the place where Martha had met him. [31] When the Jews who were with
her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed
her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Then Mary,
when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him,
"Lord, if you.had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus
saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply
moved in spirit and troubled; [34] and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They
said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, "See
how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the
eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

[38] Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a
stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of
the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has
been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would
believe you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And
Jesus lifted his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
[42] I knew thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people
standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." [43] When he had
said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44] The dead man
came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with
a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and Let him go."

The Sanhedrin Decides on the Death of Jesus
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[45] Many of Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did,
believed in him.

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Commentary:

1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles. The
Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus' power over death, which the
Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mt
9:25 and par.) and of the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:12).

1-45. 이 장은 예수님의 가장 두드러지는 기적들 중의 한 개를 다룹니다. 이 기적을 
포함함으로써, 네 번째 복음서는 죽음에 대한 예수님의 힘/권능(power)을 입증하는데, 
이 힘은 공관 복음서들이 야이로(Jairus)의 딸의 소생을 [마태오 9,25 및 병행 절들(par.)] 
그리고 나인(Nain)의 과부의 아들의 소생을 (루카 7,12) 보고함으로써 보여주었습니다.

The evangelist first sets the scene (vv. 1-16); then he gives Jesus conversation
with Lazarus' sisters (vv. 17-37); finally, he reports the raising of Lazarus four
days after his death (vv. 38-45). Bethany was only about three kilometers (two
miles) from Jerusalem (v. 18). On the days prior to his passion, Jesus often visi-
ted this family, to which he was very attached. St John records Jesus' affection
(vv. 3,5,36) by describing his emotion and sorrow at the death of his friend.

이 복음사가는 우선적으로 배경을 설정하며(제1-16절), 그러고나서 그는 라자로
(Lazarus)의 여동생들과 예수님의 대화를 제시하고(제17-37절), 최종적으로, 그는 
라자로의 소생시킴을, 그의 죽음 이후 나흘 째 되는 날에, 보고합니다(제38-45절). 
베타니아(Bethany)는 예루살렘으로부터 단지 약 3킬로미터(2 마일) 밖에 되지 
않았습니다(제18절). 당신의 수난 이전의 날들에서, 예수님께서는 바로 이 가족을 
자주 방문하셨는데, 이 가족에게 당신께서는 대단히 애착을 갖게 되셨습니다. 
성 요한(St. John)은, 당신의 친구의 죽음에서 당신의 감정과 슬픔을 서술함으로써, 
예수님의 애정(affection)을 기록합니다(제3절, 5절, 36절).


By raising Lazarus our Lord shows his divine power over death and thereby gives
proof of his divinity, in order to confirm his disciples' faith and reveal; himself as
the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews, but not the Sadducees, believed in the
resurrection of the body. Martha believed in it (cf. v. 24).

라자로를 소생시킴으로써 우리의 주님께서는 죽음에 대한 당신의 거룩한 힘/권능
(power)을 보여주시며 그리하여 바로 그것에 의하여, 당신의 제자들의 믿음을 굳게 
하고자(confirm), 그리고 당신 자신을 거룩한 부활(the Resurrection) 및 거룩한 생명
(the Life)으로서 드러내시고자, 당신의 신성(divinity)에 대한 증거(proof)를 제시하십니다. 
그리고(but) 사두가이파 사람(Sadducees)들이 아닌, 대부분의 유다인들은 몸의 부활을 
믿었으며, 마르타(Martha)는 이 부활을 믿었습니다(제24절을 참조하라).

Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a sign our future
resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ, by his glorious resurrection through
which he is the "first-born from the dead" (1 Cor 15:2; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), is also
the cause and model of our resurrection. In this his resurrection is different from
that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead will never die again" (Rom
6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly, later to die again.

한 개의 실제의, 역사적 사건 이외에, 생명으로 라자로의 되돌아감은 우리의 미래의 
부활에 대한 한 개의 표징(a sign)이며, 그리하여 우리도 또한 장차 생명으로 되돌아갈 
것입니다. 그리스도께서는, 그것을 통하여 당신께서 "죽은 이들 가운데에서 맏이" 
(1코린토 15,2; 콜로새 1,18; 요한 묵시록 1,5) 가 되시는 당신의 영광스러운 부활에 
의하여, 또한 우리의 부활의 원인(cause) 및 모범(model)이 되십니다. 바로 이 점에 
있어 당신의 부활은 라자로의 소생과는 다른데, 이는 "그리스도께서 죽은 이들 가운데에서 
되살아나시어 다시는 돌아가시지 않으시나" (로마 6,9), 이와는 달리 라자로는, 이후에 
또다시 죽는, 세속으로(earthly) 돌아갔기 때문입니다. 

2. There are a number of women in the Gospels who are called Mary. The Mary
here is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus (v.2), the woman who later anoin-
ted our Lord, again in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper (cf. Jn 12:1-8; Mk
14:3): the indefinite or aorist "(she) anointed" expresses an action which occurred
prior to the time of writing, but the anointing took place after the resurrection of
Lazarus.

Were Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the "sinful" woman who anointed
Jesus' feet in Galilee (cf. Lk 7:36) one, two or three women? Although some-
times it is argued they are one and the same, it seems more likely that they
were all different people. Firstly, we must distinguish the Galilee anointing (Lk
7:35) by the "sinner" from the Bethany anointing done by Lazarus' sister (Jn
12:1): because of the time they took place and particular details reported, they
are clearly distinct (cf. note on Jn 12:1). Besides, the Gospels give us no posi-
tive indication that Mary of Bethany was the same person as the "sinner" of
Galilee. Nor are there strong grounds for identifying Mary Magdalene and the
"sinner", whose name is not given; Mary Magdalene appears among the women
who follow Jesus in Galilee as the woman out of whom seven demons were cast
(cf. Lk 8:2), and Luke presents her in his account as someone new: no informa-
tion is given which could link her with either of the two other women.

Nor can Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene be identified, for John differentiates
between the two: he never calls Lazarus' sister Mary Magdalene, nor does he in
any way link the latter (who stays beside the Cross--Jn 19:25--and who goes to
the tomb and sees the risen Lord) with Mary of Bethany.

The reason why Mary of Bethany has sometimes been confused with Mary Mag-
dalene is due (1) to identification of the latter with the "sinner" of Galilee through
connecting Magdalene's possession by the devil with the sinfulness of the woman
who did the anointing in Galilee; and (2) to confusing the two anointings, which
would make Lazarus' sister the "sinner" who does the first anointing. This was
how the three women were made out to be one, but there are no grounds for that
interpretation. The best-grounded and most common interpretation offered by
exegetes is that they are three distinct women.

4. The glory which Christ speaks of here, St Augustine says, "was no gain to
Jesus; it was only for our good. Therefore, Jesus says that this illness is not un-
to death, because the particular death was not for death but rather for a miracle,
which being wrought men should believe in Christ and thereby avoid the true
death" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49, 6).

8-10. Stoning was the form of capital punishment applying to blasphemy (cf. Lev
24:16). We have seen that people tried to stone Jesus at least twice: first, when
he proclaimed that he was the Son of God and that he existed from eternity (by
saying that he "was" before Abraham lived)--Jn 8:58-59; second, when he
revealed that he and the Father were one (cf. Jn 10:30-3 1).

These attempts by the Jewish authorities failed because Jesus' 'hour' had not
yet arrived--that is, the time laid down by his Father for his death and resurrection.
When the Crucifixion comes, it will be the hour of his enemies and of "the power
of darkness" (Lk 22:53). But until that moment it is daytime, and our Lord can
walk without his life being in danger.

16. Thomas' words remind us of the Apostles saying at the last Supper that they
would be ready to die for their Master (cf. Mt 26:31-35). We have seen how the
Apostles stayed loyal when many disciples left our Lord after his discourse on
the Bread of Life (Jn 6:67-71), and how they remained faithful to him despite their
personal weaknesses. But when, after Judas Iscariot' s betrayal, Jesus lets him-
self be arrested without offering resistance--in fact, forbidding the use of weapons
(cf. Jn 18:11)--they become disconcerted and run away. Only St John will stay
faithful in Jesus' hour of greatest need.

18. Fifteen stadia, in Greek measurement: three kilometers (two miles).

21-22. According to St Augustine, Martha's request is a good example of confi-
dent prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who knows better
than we what we need. Therefore, "she did not say, But now I ask you to raise
my brother to life again. [...] All she said was, I know that you can do it; if you
will, do it; it is for you to judge whether to do it, not for me to presume" ("In Joann.
Evang.", 49, 13). The same can be said of Mary's words, which St John repeats
at v. 32.

24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives himself, and
which St John faithfully passes on to us (cf. Jn 10:9; 14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the
Resurrection and the Life. He is the Resurrection because by his victory over
death he is the cause of the resurrection of all men. The miracle he works in
raising Lazarus is a sign of Christ's power to give life to people. And so, by faith
in Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is sure that
he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:23; Col 1:18). Therefore, for the
believer death is not the end; it is simply the step eternal life, a change of
dwelling-place, as one of the Roman Missal's Prefaces of Christian Death puts
it: "Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our
earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain everlasting dwelling place in heaven".

By saying that he is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life which begins
beyond the gave, but also to the supernatural life which grace brings to the soul
of man when he is still a wayfarer on this earth.

"This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in Jesus Christ,
his eternal and only Son, who 'when the time had fully come' (Gal 4:4), became
incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary, is the final fulfillment man's vocation.
It is in a way the fulfillment of the 'destiny' that God has prepared for him from
eternity. This 'divine destiny' is advancing, in spite all the enigmas, the unsolved
riddles, the twists and turns of 'human destiny' in the world of time. Indeed, while
all this, in spite of all the riches of life time, necessarily and inevitably leads to
the frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body, beyond
that goal we see Christ. 'I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me
...shall never die.' In Jesus Christ, who was crucified and laid in the tomb and
then rose again, 'our hope of resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immor-
tality' ("Roman Missal", Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man,
through the death the body, shares with the whole of visible creation the neces-
sity to which matter is subject" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 18).

33-36. This passage gives us an opportunity to reflect on the depth and tender-
ness of Jesus' feelings. If the physical death of his friend can move him to tears,
what will he not feel over the spiritual death of a sinner who has brought about his
eternal condemnation? 

33-36. 바로 이 단락은 예수님의 감정(feelings)의 깊이와 부드러움(tenderness)에 
대하여 숙고하는 기회를 우리들에게 제공합니다. 그분의 친구의 육체적 죽음
(physical death)이 그분을 눈물을 흘리도록 움직일 수 있다면, 이미 자신에 
대한 영원한 단죄(eternal condemnation)를 초래한 한 죄인의 영적 죽음
(spiritual death)에 대하여 그분께서 느끼지 못할 것이 무엇일까요? 

"Christ wept: let man also weep for himself. For why did Christ weep, but to teach 
men to weep" (St Augustine, "In Joann. Evang.", 49, 19). 

"그리스도께서 눈물을 흘리셨는데: 사람도 또한 자신을 위하여 눈물을 흘리도록 
합시다. 이는 그리스도께서 눈물을 흘리신 이유가 오로지 사람들에게 눈물을 흘릴 
것을 가르치기 위하여서였기 때문입니다" [성 아우구스티노(St. Augustine), "In 
Joann. Evang.", 49, 19].

We also should weep--but for our sins, to help us return to the life of grace
through conversion and repentance. We should appreciate our Lord's tears: he is
praying for us, who are sinners: 

우리는 또한, 오로지 우리의 죄들 때문에, 회심(conversion)과 회개(repentance)를 
통하여 은총의 삶으로 되돌아 가는 것을 돕기 위하여, 마땅히 눈물을 흘려야 합니다. 
우리는 우리의 주님의 눈믈들을 마땅히 감사하여야 하는데, 그분께서는 죄인들인 
우리를 위하여 기도중이시기 때문입니다:

"Jesus is your friend. The Friend. With a human heart, like yours. With loving eyes 
that wept for Lazarus. And he loves you as much as beloved Lazarus" (St. J. 
Escriva, "The Way", 422).

"예수님께서는 여러분들의 친구이십니다. 유일하신 거룩한 친구(The Friend). 우리의 
것과 마찬가지인, 한 개의 인간의 심장(a human heart)을 가지셨습니다. 나자로
(Lazarus)를 위하여 눈물을 흘리셨던 애정있는 눈들을 가지셨습니다. 그리고 그분께서는, 
라자로를 사랑하셨던 만큼 여러분들을 사랑하십니다" [성 호세마리아 에스크리바(St. J. 
Escriva), "The Way", 422].

41-42. Through his sacred humanity Jesus is expressing himself as the natural
Son of God, that is, he is the metaphysical Son of God, not adopted like the
rest of men. This is the source of Jesus' feelings, which helps us understand
that when he says "Father" he is speaking with a unique and indescribable in-
tensity. When the Gospels let us see Jesus praying, they always show him
beginning with the invocation "Father" (cf. note on Lk 11:1-2), which reflects his
singular trust and love (cf. Mt 11:25 and par.). These sentiments should also in
some way find a place in our prayer, for through Baptism we at joined to Christ
and in him we became children of God (cf. Jn 1:12; Rom 6: 1-11 8:14-17), and
so we should always pray in a spirit of sonship and gratitude for the many good
things our Father God has given us.

The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, which really is an extraordinary miracle, is
a proof that Jesus is the Son of God, sent into the world by his Father. And so it
is, that when Lazarus is brought back to life, people's faith in Jesus is increased
--the disciples' (v. 15), Martha's and Mary's (vv. 26,40) and the of the people at
large (36, 45).

43. Jesus calls Lazarus by name. Although he is really dead; he has not thereby
lost his personal identity: dead people continue to exist, but they have a different
mode of existence, because they have changed from mortal life to eternal life.
This is why Jesus states that God "is not God of the dead, but of the living", for
to him all are alive (cf. Mt 22:32; Lk 20:38).

This passage can be applied to the spiritual resurrection of the soul who has
sinned and recovers grace. God wants us to be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); therefore
we should never lose heart; we should always desire and hope to reach this goal:
"Never despair. Lazarus was dead and decaying: 'Iam foetet, quatriduanus enim
est. By now he will smell; this is the fourth day', says Martha to Jesus.

"If you hear God's inspiration and follow it--'Lazare, veni foras!: Lazarus come
out! '--you will return to Life" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 719).

44. The Jews prepared the body for burial by washing it and anointing it with
aromatic ointments to delay decomposition and counteract offensive odors; they
then wrapped the body in linen cloths and bandages, covering the head with a
napkin--a method very like the Egyptians', but not entirely extending to full em-
balming, which involved removing certain internal organs.

Lazarus' tomb would have consisted of a subterranean chamber linked to the
surface by steps, with the entrance blocked by a slab. Lazarus was moved out
to the entrance by a supernatural force. As happened in the case of the raising
of Jairus' daughter (Mk 5:42-43), due to their astonishment no one moved until
our Lord's words broke the atmosphere of silence and terror which had been
created.

St Augustine sees in the raising of Lazarus a symbol of the sacrament of
Penance: in the same way as Lazarus comes out of the tomb, "when you con-
fess, you come forth. For what does 'come forth' mean if not emerging from what
is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God's doing; he calls
you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man
came out still bound, so you go to confession still guilty. In order that his sins
be loosed, the Lord said this to his ministers: 'Unbind him and let him go'. What
you will loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven" (St Augustine, "In Ioann.
Evang.", 49, 24). Christian art has used this comparison from very early on; in
the catacombs we find some one hundred and fifty representations of the raising
of Lazarus, symbolizing thereby the gift of the life of grace which comes through
the priest, who in effect repeats these words to the sinner: "Lazarus, come out."

45-48. Once again, as Simeon had predicted. Jesus is a sign of contradiction
(cf. Lk 2:34; Jn'7:12, 31,40; 9:16; etc.): presented with the miracle of the raising
of Lazarus some people believe in Jesus (v. 45), and some denounce him to his
enemies (cf. vv. 46-47)--confirming what is said in the parable of the rich man:
"neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (Lk 16:31).


*********************************************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.


[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 
출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다. 그리고 본문 중의 우리말 번역문에 
대한 저작권은 엮은이에게 있으며, 본문 중의 우리말 번역문들을 복사하여 가져가는 것을
허락하지 않습니다.]