March 22, 2026

5^th Sunday of Lent (A)

The Raising of Lazarus—A Sign for All the Baptized

Msgr Thomas Gervasio   

 
Today we gather with our parish candidates who will be confirmed this Saturday. They have prepared in many ways and we are delighted to bring them together at Mass before they receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. We thank them for the “yes” they will make to the Lord to live our Catholic faith in a stronger, more committed way.
 
The red color of their gowns signifies the fire of the Holy Spirit. They are not graduation gowns, in the sense that their formation is over. Their mission is just beginning. Pope Francis once said, how sad he was that so many people see Confirmation as the Sacrament of Goodbye. Don’t say goodbye to the faith, the faith whose truths guide us and whose sacraments strengthen us, whose saints inspire us!
 
Let’s consider today’s Gospel passage.
 
Jesus truly loved his friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany and yet St. John tells us that when Jesus was told, “The one whom you love (Lazarus) is ill, he waited two days before setting out for Bethany. Why didn’t Jesus drop everything and rush to his friend’s bedside? He could have healed Lazarus by just saying a word. But he didn’t. When he got to Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days!
 
Our Lord knew what he was doing. This delay had a purpose. He intentionally delayed his visit so that Lazarus’ death would be a sign of God’s power and glory. “This illness is not to end in death, he said, “but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” He would raise Lazarus from the tomb as a sign that pointed to his Resurrection. Lazarus would die again, but at Easter, Jesus would rise never to die again. 
 
The raising of Lazarus was also a sign to strengthen Martha and Mary in their grief, a reminder that Jesus had the power over the dark and cruel mystery of death. And this gives us hope as well. We say in the Creed that “we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We have to live with that goal in mind.
 
The Church also sees in this event, a lesson about Baptism, which is the Sacrament of new life. Lazarus emerges from the tomb, bound hand and foot with burial bands and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus commands, “Untie him and let him go!” Those bands and wrappings that bound Lazarus in darkness and death are our sins and the grace of baptism removes them. We then can see and move in a new light and life. Baptism is a dying to sin and a rising to new life.
 
Just as Lazarus’ life was never the same, so is the life of one who is baptized. Pope Benedict reminds us that Christians do not live “just like everybody else,” and that those who have hope, live differently.
 
Confirmation reinforces the graces received at Baptism. The gifts of the Holy Spirit strengthen us to live differently. Those to be confirmed will renew the vows that were made for them when they were baptized. They will be saying: I reject Satan and all his empty show…I reject the values of the world and I embrace Christ. We shall be saying to all…this is my identity. They will be saying, my Catholic faith forms the values I hold and the choices I make throughout my life. This is an important commitment, the beginning of a mission to defend and share the truths of our faith with everyone we meet.
 
After being in your company, I hope people could say, I have met someone who knows Christ, who loves Christ, and serves Christ, I’ve met someone who did not make Confirmation the Sacrament of Goodbye!