To the Band of Brothers: March 23, 2021

Good morning!

 

Last Sunday we celebrated the fifth week of Lent. We are in the homestretch of our 40 days and are quickly approaching Holy Week and the greatest celebration of all, Easter. While our eyes are on the prize of the resurrection, we cannot skip over the readings that the Church provides for us as we march along the way to that glorious Sunday. This past Sunday was no exception.

 

The gospel reading was from St. John (11:1-45) and told the story of the death of Lazarus, the very close and personal friend of Jesus. It was Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary who lived in a house in Bethany where Jesus would go often for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Their home was Jesus’ happy place. He would go there to rest from his public ministry, eat a good meal, and basically let his hair down, kick off his sandals, and just be.

 

John tells us first that Lazarus is sick. When Jesus is made aware of his illness and that he can possibly die, he oddly waits a couple of days. Then, the news arrives that he passed away. It is then that Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him” (v.11). Concerned about the repercussions of the visit, his disciples decide to go with him to make sure Jesus is safe and out of harm's way. What happens next is nothing short of amazing. Being in the tomb four days, Jesus has the rock removed, and orders his friend to come out. Lazarus does, wrapped in ceremonial linens (for dramatic effect I’m sure) and Jesus orders him unbound.

 

This is powerful stuff. It is a clear testament that Jesus, as the Son of God, has power even over death itself. I have often wondered how Lazarus must have felt. Think about it. Dead and at the gates of heaven, seeing paradise on the other side, he gets called back to an earthly life. Let’s be clear, it is not a resurrection, but a reanimation. Lazarus does not get brought back with a glorious body like Jesus will get when he leaves the tomb on Easter Sunday. No, Lazarus comes back to his original, bodily state.

 

There are actually several other examples in the Scriptures about reanimation. There is the widow’s son in the town of Nain found in the gospel of St. Luke (7:11-17) and then the daughter of Jairus, an official of the synagogue of Galilee, in the gospels of St. Matthew (9:18-26), St. Mark (5:21-43), and St. Luke (8:40-56). The Bible tells us of a few of these incredible stories and even has those stories retold in not one, but various gospels, kind of emphasizing their importance.

 

So, if Jesus has the power to bring the dead back to life, why doesn’t he do it for everyone? I mean, St. Joseph was his foster father, why not reanimate him? St. John the Baptist was his cousin and the guy who was sent by God to be the precursor, the one who would go before and announce the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Why didn’t he reanimate him after he was martyred? Actually, I am sure there were hundreds of people Jesus knew and loved who probably died during his lifetime, why didn’t he reanimate them?

 

I think the answer may have to do with mission. We are all called to a particular vocation and mission in life. God, from the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb, calls us to a particular role to live and serve. No one is born into the world simply for the sake of being alive. We are born into the world for a purpose, to make it better, holier, and richer. When that role is fulfilled, we are called “home” to be with the Father in paradise. The words in the parable of the talents found in the gospel of St. Matthew apply: “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (25:21). Those are the words we want to hear from God as He welcomes us into heaven after fulfilling our mission on earth. It is God who determines not only our mission, but when it is done.

I can only imagine St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist were not reanimated because their mission ended and it was time to come home. Lazarus, the widow’s son, and the daughter of Jairus had something more they needed to do. Tradition tells us, for example, Lazarus went on to become bishop of Cyprus, appointed by Sts. Paul and Barnabas. Who knows, maybe the widow of Nain’s son needed to fulfill his mission of taking care of his poor mother who would have lived destitute and alone with no one to take care of her. Maybe Jairus’s daughter needed to fulfill her mission of being one of the great evangelizers of Galilee, a living testament to the power of Jesus Christ.

 

The same seems to hold true even today. During this whole pandemic we know of people who have gotten sick. Some have recovered and some have not. It is baffling. Maybe the answer lies in the fact that those who have died fulfilled their mission on this earth and those who didn’t still have something more they need to do. It’s the fulfillment of that mission that I think is important.

 

Anthony Parodi, my grandfather, Mr. del Dago, and the mothers of Mr. de Armas and Mr. Martínez, fulfilled their mission and God welcomed them home. Like Lazarus, they got to the gates of heaven and saw paradise on the other side. Unlike Lazarus, the gate was opened to them and they heard the words we hope to all hear one day, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

 

Auspice Maria,

Fr. Willie ‘87