Today is the 5th Sunday of Lent, and the last week of Lent. This will be followed by ‘Passion Sunday,’ (Palm Sunday) and finally ‘the Holy Week’ that will reach its peak on ‘Easter Sunday.’ The central theme of today’s Scripture Readings is the resurrection and the life. The three readings of today fit beautifully together as they tell us of death yielding to a new way of life. Life and death; hope and despair are the key phrases that sum up the message of this Sunday. The prophet Ezekiel in the First Reading urges the exiled Israelite people in Babylon to look beyond the siege and destruction of Jerusalem to a new future, when God’s Spirit will restore their nation. God promises them a new life and they will be filled with the Spirit of God. The prophet Ezekiel offers hope for them who believe in the God of life. In the Gospel Reading of today from St. John we have the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, to bring him back to life, symbolizing that “Jesus himself is the resurrection and the life.” This miracle leads us to believe in resurrection and new life which exists in Jesus through the Holy Spirit. St. Paul in the Second Reading reminds the Roman Christians of the power of God’s Spirit that will give life to their mortal bodies. He implies that this new life is not something that will start only on the last day, but is taking effect in their lives now. For this reason he encourages them to live now, according to the Spirit.
