5th Sunday of Lent, A March 22, 2026
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
Usually, when a person shows immediate understanding or great faith, Jesus responds with joy, even exclaiming “what great faith!” We see this with the Canaanite woman, the roman centurion, the woman with a hemorrhage… And yet, when Martha says “I know [my brother] will rise in the resurrection on the last day,” Jesus doesn’t just affirm her, he pushes for more: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Why?
In part, because he’s planning to do something much sooner than the “last day.” He will raise Lazarus today. Yet there’s still more. Despite the astounding miracle of a man walking out of a tomb four days after dying, it is something of a moot point. Lazarus just dies again later on. What’s the difference for Lazarus if he still ends up dead?
The answer to that is what Jesus is getting at. When dealing with miracles and salvation, Christians tend to focus mostly on one of two approaches. Either they speak almost exclusively the hope of heaven and the final resurrection or they sensationalize the power of God to heal, cast out demons, and do miracles here and now. You’ll find plenty of Christians who talk like all of life is a waiting game for the good stuff at the end. You’ll also find plenty of Christians who focus so much on the power of faith to do amazing things right now that you wonder if they really want heaven or just want wealth and superpowers.
The truth, of course, is that our faith encompasses both realities. Salvation and heaven are indeed far more important than miracles here and now. Yet, Jesus did spend a lot of time healing people and doing miracles. Miracles are not just evidence for our faith in God, they are acts of love and expressions of God’s desire for our happiness. It’s the Catholic “both-and.” Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead because he loves him and to teach us about salvation and final resurrection.
There is, however, a third thing at play here that might get missed in the tension between present-day miracles and end-of-the-world salvation. That third thing is, on the practical level, the one we most deal with on a day-to-day basis. When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, he proves his claim that, “whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” Yet, by then saying, “everyone who lives and believes in me will never die,” he raises a new question. Since Lazarus is raised from the dead, we could say he “lives and believes” in Jesus now, right? He’s done the “even if he dies, [he] will live” part of Jesus’ promise. What about the “never die” part? He lives again, but he also dies again, right?
Wrong. The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead is both proof of God’s love and a reminder of the final resurrection. It is also a lesson in what truly living means for a Christian right now. When Lazarus is raised from the dead, it is not only his body that is given new life, but his soul. His body will die again, but the new life of the soul will never die.
This is what St. Paul is talking about when he says, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit.” Our faith not only produces miracles here and now – it does do that. Our faith not only promises eternal life in the future – it does that too. Beyond those, our faith starts eternal life here and now. Those without Christ and without grace are already dead. They have life in the body – for now – but they are spiritually dead. Those who receive Christ and his grace gain new life, which is why we make such a big deal out of baptism: it raises the dead!
Lazarus being raised from the dead is both a literal, historical miracle and a metaphor for baptism. Like Lazarus, the baptized will still die physically one day, but the new life begun in baptism continues uninterrupted into heaven. We already have a supernatural life worth living. That very dynamic is at play in the strange conversation Jesus has with his apostles before he goes to Bethany.
When Jesus says he wants to go to Judea to help Lazarus, the apostles remind him that Judean leaders “were just trying to stone you.” Rather than saying “don’t worry about it, I’ve got miraculous powers…” and rather than saying “don’t worry about it, the goal is to die and go to heaven anyway,” Jesus says this cryptic line: “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble.”
What does he mean? Besides being astronomically correct – daylight in Jerusalem (and here) lasts 12 hours at this time of year – it’s a reference to the 12 tribes and 12 apostles, a symbol of his followers. He also means that daylight is the time for work. Because it is “daylight,” he’s going to do his job while it is the time to do it. And he’s not worried about “stumbling,” not worried that the Judeans want to kill him because he’s walking “during the day” of true faith.
Thomas doesn’t really understand but, to his credit, he trusts Jesus enough to say “let us also go to die with him.” This is the third thing I mentioned that comes between present-day miracles and end-of-the-world salvation: the life of grace here and now. As St. Paul says, “the Spirit of God dwells in you,” so you can now “please God.”
This is what Jesus pushes for with Marha’s act of faith. It’s not enough that she believes in the final resurrection. It’s not enough that she believes Jesus can do miracles here and now. What Jesus wants from her is the faith to live the life of grace now so that, when she dies, her spiritual life continues uninterrupted… that she can “believe and live” in Jesus and so “never die.” When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, he doesn’t just give physical life to Lazarus, he gives spiritual life to Lazarus and to Martha and to Mary and even to many of the Jews who witnessed it all. Those who keep that faith “will never die.”
So, how do we receive this spiritual life? How do we keep the Spirit dwelling in us so that we live and believe in Jesus and therefore never die? First, by being baptized with faith. And then by remembering there are twelve hours in a day. Jesus is resolute in doing good while it is metaphorically “daylight” despite the risk of death. How do I know if the spirit of God dwells in me? Or in anyone? By our willingness to do the right thing even when we might suffer for it. That’s what Jesus means when he says, “If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.” In other words, so long as you consciously choose to do the right thing, you do not need to be afraid if that choice puts you at risk of suffering, rejection, or even death. Thomas the apostle doesn’t get it completely, but he gets it enough to say, “let us also go to die with him.”
Will you make the words of St. Thomas your own? You may not always receive visible miracles. You cannot yet see the final resurrection. But can you respond with enough faith to see the light of the world right here and now? To “walk during the day” by doing the right thing regardless of the cost? To persevere in good deeds, works of mercy, and acts of love that cost you something? If not, then you are no better than Lazarus laying dead in the tomb, “tied hand and foot.”
As Jesus called Lazarus, hear him call you: “come out” of the tomb of unbelief! Hear him when he commands the Church to untie you, to set you free from the bonds of sin through baptism and confession, to release you from the grip of the fear of death. Believe in him by taking to heart his word, live in him by doing good even at cost to yourself… live and believe in him and you will never die.