Homily Fifth Sunday of Lent 2020
5th Sunday of Lent (A Time to Grow in Faith)
Lazarus spent four days in a tomb. He was then resuscitated by Jesus. Perhaps this was the Lord’s greatest miracle in the Gospel besides the resurrection. Many of us might feel like we are in the tomb today. We have spent weeks distancing ourselves from each other. Because of our present situation, the story of Lazarus might hold lessons for us that we have never thought about before.
When we think of this story, we might consider Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Martha and Mary have become symbols of two ways of living the spiritual life. We all remember the story about them from Gospel of Luke. Jesus comes to visit their home. Mary sits at his feet listening to his teaching while Martha runs around the house serving all the guests. Mary is the contemplative believer. Martha is the activist.
We see that dynamic played out this Gospel story. When Jesus comes to their home to offer his condolences on the death of Lazarus Martha runs out to meet him. Mary sits at home. Mary only goes out to converse with Jesus when Martha prods her. The women process their grief in different ways. Martha actively engages the mourners at the door as they come to her home. Mary lets the grieving friends come to her. She would rather reflect in private.
The two sisters teach us that we have moments for action in our life. We have moments meant for quiet reflection. Most of our society would identify with Martha. Most of our lives we have been on the go. In our society most of us live busy lives. Many people jet all over the world if they can afford it. We like to go to sporting events, movies, exercise classes, plays, and myriad of other activities. We can escape from the unpleasantness of life for a moment or for days on end. Now the brakes have been slammed on. We have been forced to be like Mary. What have others done in such a situation?
In 1942 a thirteen-year-old girl went into hiding in Amsterdam with her family. The girl’s name was Ann Frank. Ann was a Jew. The Nazis had come to power in Europe. And they were exterminating the Jews. Somewhere around 7 million Jews died in what is know as the Holocaust.
Ann’s father had a secret apartment built at the business he managed where he could conceal his family. Ann’s family went into hiding in 1942. The Franks remained in the little apartment for two years never leaving it. The Franks knew that if they were found they would be murdered because of their race. In 1944 the Franks were informed on. The Franks were arrested. Ann, along with her family, was sent to a concentration camp where she eventually died. The exact date of her death is unknown. Her body was never found.
Ann’s diary is one of the best-known writings of all time titled The Diary of a Young Girl. The book shows how Ann Frank spent her time in hiding. She examined her deepest feelings. She tried to deal with her sinfulness. Ann became aware of her strengths. She used her time in hiding to grow in virtue. If she would have survived, she probably would have been a self-assured young woman who might have done great things.
She wrote once in her diary:
“I see the world slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet when I look up in the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.”
We are forced to be more like Mary than Martha in our present circumstance. What can we use these days of social distancing for in our lives? We can use it to strengthen our moral fiber. We can do a fearless examination of conscience.
When a house is constructed the foundation is laid. The frame is nailed together. Great care is used to make sure that the house is structurally sound. When we see an old house deteriorating, we notice how the house first rots on the outside. Usually, it still stands if the infrastructure is sound.
Now is a moment in our life when we need to do our inner work. Can we realize that we are powerless without God’s help? Will we confront our sins? Can we call out to God for mercy? Will we recognize that Jesus weeps with us over the evil that has befallen us? Do we trust in God’s plan for humanity?
Oh, how hard it is to be quiet, to abandon ourselves to our God, to contemplate the meaning of all that is happening! But If we can be contemplative during these gray days, we will be ready for the stone to be rolled away. Our life can be like the resuscitated Lazarus. We can anticipate being signs of God’s faithfulness in a world that will need a new wave of Christian charity.
Dear Parishioners,
Holy Week begins next Sunday. We will by trying to livestream most of the services. Palm Sunday services will be on the internet next Saturday at 4 p.m. On Holy Thursday we will have services at 7 p.m. Good Friday we will be streaming at 3 p.m. On Easter Sunday we will streaming Mass at 9 a.m. These will be simplified services due to the circumstances. There will be no congregation. Only Fr. Matthew and Deacon Pat, a musician and the technical people will be in attendance.
You can watch the Easter Vigil at the Peoria Diocese’s Facebook page. We are not allowed to have Easter Vigil anywhere, but in a church building according to the liturgical directives we have received. Since we do not have internet coverage in our church and since it would take a lot more equipment to try and stream there, we will not be broadcasting that service. The vigil is supposed to be done with great solemnity and that would be hard this year.
This certainly will be the strangest Holy Week that any of us have ever been through, but this does not mean that it cannot be a Holy Week that is full of meaning for us. I encourage everyone to read the scriptures at home and reflect each day of Holy Week on the Paschal Mystery.
The Good News is that Jesus walks with us in this time of sadness. We are asked to embrace this cross. Jesus went through his passion alone. He certainly felt abandoned, but he continued to trust in the divine plan. He never lost faith. If we continue to love the Lord and talk to our God, we will make through the passion our world is enduring right now.
May the Angels watch over you,
Fr. Mark