Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for April 2, 2017
The Vision of The Valley of The Dry Bones, engraving by Gustave Doré, 1866.
Our readings change in tone this Sunday as Holy Week and Easter draw near. We turn from metaphorical reflections on temptation, faith and sight toward explicit ideas of victory over death through resurrection. The prophet Ezekiel imagines a valley filled with dry bones, an eerie and alarming sight. In poetic verses, God instructs Ezekiel to prophesy, and as he does so, the dry bones become connected, covered with skin, and then breathed to life as a vast multitude. Ezekiel’s prophetic vision reveals God’s promise to restore Israel from exile in its own land.
This is one of the half-dozen psalms explicitly suggested for use in the liturgy for burial of the dead. Familiarly known as “De Profundis” (“out of the depths”), its solemn cadences remind us that even when we are lost in deep grief, pain, and despair, our souls wait in hope for God’s love and grace. Even in death we wait, “more than watchmen for the morning,” for the new morning light of resurrection and redemption from our sins.
Second Reading: Romans 8:6-11
Today’s short second reading gives us a quick look at Paul’s understanding of the difference between flesh and spirit. All of us live embodied lives, and that even includes Jesus, who lived as fully human like us. But Paul sees the flesh as subject to death and ultimately displeasing to God, while the spirit of God living in us leads us to eternal life through righteousness. When we accept God’s spirit within us through Jesus, Paul says, we gain the hope of life, peace and resurrection.
Gospel: John 11:1-45
Why didn’t Jesus hurry back home when he got word that his friend Lazarus was ill? Mary and Martha, devastated by the death of Lazarus their brother, each confront Jesus separately with identical words: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus assures Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. … everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then, when Mary weeps, Jesus weeps, too. And then he raises Lazarus from the dead. The people are amazed. But the verses that follow today’s Gospel reveal that the priests and temple authorities, fearful that Jesus’ bold acts will bring Roman retribution, decide that Jesus has to die; and John’s Gospel turns toward the Passion and the Cross.