Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 29, 2020

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14


As we watch from worried isolation in a time of social distancing, Holy Week and Easter are drawing near. This week’s readings begin to tantalize our spirits with promises of victory over death through resurrection.

The Raising of Lazarus, after Rembrandt (1890), oil painting on canvas by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. (Click image to enlarge.)

Last week we walked with God through the valley of the shadow of death. Sunday we will remember the prophet Ezekiel’s musing on another valley, this one full of dry bones. Then in the Gospel we will go to Lazarus’ stone tomb. First, Ezekiel’s vision, an eerie and frightening sight. Was this the scene of a battle? A massacre? Through God’s power the dry bones are restored to life, revealing God’s promise to restore Israel from exile in its own land.

Psalm: Psalm 130

Psalm 130 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 await the resurrection. We wait “more than watchmen for the morning,” the Psalmist sings, as in night’s darkest hours we watch for the first morning light.

Second Reading: Romans 8:6-11


The short second reading gives us a quick look at Paul’s evolving understanding of the difference between flesh and spirit. All of us live embodied lives, and that even includes Jesus, who lived as fully human as 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 dwelling within us through the action of Jesus, Paul says, we gain the hope of life, peace and resurrection.

Gospel: John 11:1-45


Jesus’ dear friends, Mary and Martha, devastated by the death of their brother Lazarus, each confront Jesus in turn with the words, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” To bold, brash Martha, Jesus utters the beloved words, “I am the resurrection and the life. … everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then, when he sees quiet Mary crying, Jesus simply weeps. And then he calls Lazarus back from death. But there’s more to this story. Jesus thanks God that the amazed crowd that witnessed Lazarus rising will now believe that Jesus is the Messiah. But then, in the verses that follow today’s reading, things take an ominous turn as John’s Gospel pivots toward the Passion and the Cross: The temple authorities, fearful about the uproar that Jesus is causing, decide that he must die.