From Fr. Tom,
Have you ever witnessed somebody being raised from the dead? I have!
Well, sort of. It happened almost 35 years ago when I was still playing a lot of
softball on several teams. I received a recorded message on the parish
answering machine from a team mate from one of the teams informing me
that another team mate of ours had been hit by a car and killed as he was
trying to cross a highway in St. Louis ON FOOT of all things. I was immediately
taken aback and just couldn’t believe it and asking myself why he would do
such a thing. Suicide came to mind, but I knew him and he appeared to be
a really happy man. Keep in mind, this was well before the days of internet
and the instant information possibility we have now. The funeral was held
very quickly within a couple days and I remember arriving at the church just
as the hearse pulled up to the curb. I quickly changed into vestments to
concelebrate the mass and watched the pallbearers bring the casket into
church. THEN…I caught sight of one of the pallbearers and there was my
friend…ALIVE…carrying the body of his BROTHER. The last name on the
answering machine was correct, but not the first. I never figured out what
happened there, but I was overjoyed at seeing my friend that I thought was
dead and, in my own confused world, come back to life again. I wanted to
yell out, “Mike, buddy you’re alive!!” I didn’t, though because it was, indeed,his brother who was deceased. As I recall it now, I was both sad and extremely
happy almost simultaneously, and then I felt stupid. How could I make such a
mistake? That is the closest I have ever come to experiencing someone being
raised from the dead.
The readings for this Sunday are: First Reading, Ezekiel 37: 12-14. Responsorial
Psalm, Psalm 130:1-8. Second Reading, Romans 8:8-11. Gospel Reading, John
11: 1-45.
Human beings are the only creatures on earth who know at a relatively young
age that they are going to die someday. Can you recall the first time you
went to a funeral parlor? For most people, it was probably as a child perhaps
for some elderly relative who passed away. I can remember a time when the
deceased were “laid out” for two consecutive nights instead of the usual one
night we do now. It is very important for the living to actually see their
deceased love one laying in the casket. Some parents don’t like to bring their
small children to funeral parlors for fear of traumatization. But to see and
realize the finality of life on earth, however young, is extremely important in
understanding the concept of eternal life later on. In today’s Gospel from
John, the event of raising Lazarus from the dead is told truthfully but also with
an abundance of human emotion and feeling. There is obvious sadness on
the part of Martha and Mary. There is also some anger directed toward Jesus
for being late, and Jesus’ anger at the crowd for thinking Lazarus was dead.
Then one of the most famous quotes in sacred scripture, “And Jesus wept,”
appears showing the sadness of Jesus Himself! Finally we see the rest of the
Jews admiring Jesus’ love for Lazarus. Do we not go through the exact same
things when someone close to us dies? We are sad and maybe even angry
that our loved one has died. Then we feel the concern of others when they
say words of consolation to us. Our thoughts at this time turn to thoughts of
God and our own mortality and what exactly eternal life means. These are all
critical and necessary things to go through before we can grasp any notion
of resurrection. The raising of Lazarus from the dead foretells our being raised.
As our hymn says: “And I will raise you up on the last day!” After Lazarus comes
out of the tomb, he was tied hands and feet. Jesus orders him to be untied
and set free.

This not only means our resurrection in the end, but also our freedom from
sin in this life. Sin binds us from being the person God wants us to be and
keeps us from being totally happy now. May we all be untied from sin to
live freely and happily in this life until we meet our Savior face to face!
One final question: What would be the first thing you’d do if you were
Lazarus and was raised from the dead?

Universal Prayer of the Church:
1. For our Pope, Bishops, religious, and lay leaders of our church, that
they fully realize the joyful message of life they proclaim. We pray
to the Lord.
2. For those who have passed away, that the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting be theirs, we pray to the Lord.
3. For families who have lost loved ones, that their sadness give way
to the great promise of the resurrection, we pray to the Lord.
4. In our world today, let us ask God’s blessing upon the efforts of
physicians and caregivers in response to this corona virus, we pray
to the Lord.
5. For the unemployed and working poor, that prosperity come their
way with hope and blessings, we pray to the Lord.
6. For a united country and a united world, we pray to the Lord.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, may we all experience the joy in realizing
our own resurrection, just like Lazarus, and may our lives demonstrate that
very same reality. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.