Homily
for the 5th Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)
Based on (Gospel), (First Reading) and
(Second Reading)
From
the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
LAZARUS
‘Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and
the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live”’ (Jn 11:23).
The Gospel narrative for this 5th
Sunday of Lent (CycleA) is from Jn 11:1-45 under the title “Resurrection
of Lazarus”.
Verse 1
says: There was a man named Lazarus who lived in a village of Bethany
with the two sisters, Mary and Martha, and he was ill.
Parallel
text is Jn 12:1-8 that says: Anointing at Bethany. Six days before the
Passover,a Jesus went to
Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead (v. 1). They gave
a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at
table (v. 2). Mary brought a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with
it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was full of
the scent of the ointment (v. 3). Then Judas Iscariot – one of his disciples,
the man who was to betray him- said (v. 4), ‘Why wasn’t this ointment sold for
three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor? (v. 5)’ He said this,
not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge
of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions (v. 6). So
Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my
burialb (v. 7). You have the poor with you always, you will not
always have me (v. 8). Footnote a says “The last week of Christ’s life is as carefully punctuated as the first,
12:12; 13:1; 18:28; 19:31; cf. 2:1+ Each of the two weeks culminates in the
manifestation of Christ’s glory, but the time for ‘signs’ (cf. Cana, 2:4,11) is
now over; ‘the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’, 12:23;
13:31f; 17:1,5.”; and Footnote b
says “Christ sees Mary’s acts as a
gesture of respect offered to his dead body before the time; it is a symbol of
his actual burial, 19:38f”
Verse 2
says: It was the same Mary, the sister
of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet
with her hair.a Footnote a says “It is unlikely that this is ‘the woman who was a sinner’ of Lk 7:37.”
Parallel
text is Lk 10:38fthat says: In
the course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha
welcomed him into her house.
Parallel
textis Jn 2:11 that says :This was the first of the signsf
given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. Footnote f says “For
credentials, every true prophet must have ‘signs’, or wonders worked in God’s
name, Is 7:11, etc.; cf. Jn 3:2; 6:29-30; 7:3,31; 9:16,33; of the Messiah it
was expected that he would repeat the Mosaic miracles, 1:21+. Jesus, therefore,
works ‘signs’ in order to stimulate faith in his divine mission, 2:11,23;
4:48-54; 11:15,42; 12:37; cf.3:11+. And indeed his ‘works’ show that God has
sent him, 5:36; 10:25,37, that the Father is within him, 10:30+, manifesting the
divine glory in power, 1:14+; it is the Father himself who does the works,
14:10; 10:38. But many refuse to believe, 3:12; 5:38-47; 6:36,64; 7:5; 8:45;
10:25; 12:37; and their sin ‘remains’,
9:41; 15:24. Cf. Mt. 8:3+.“
Verse 4
says: On receiving the message, Jesus
said, “This sickness will end not in death but in for God’s glory
and through it the Son of God
will be glorified.b Footnote bs ays “A double meaning here: Jesus will be
glorified by the miracle itself, cf. 1:14+, but the miracle will bring about
his death, 11:46-54, by which also he will be glorified, 12:32+.”
Parallel
text is Jn 1:14 that says:The word was made flesh, m he
lived among us, n and we saw his glory,o the glory that
is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Footnote m
says “The ‘flesh’ is man considered as a
frail and mortal being, cf. 3:6, 17:2, Gn 6:3, Ps. 56:4, Is 40:6,see Rm 7:5+.”;
Footnote n says “Lit.
‘pitched his tent among us’. The incarnation of the Word makes God personally
and visibly present to mankind; it is no longer a presence unseen and
awe-inspiring as in the Tent and Temple of the old regime, Ex. 25:8+; Cf. Nb.
35:34, nor merely the presence of divine wisdom enshrined in Israel’s Mosaic
Law, Si. 4:7-22; Ba. 3:36-4:4.”; and Footnote o says “The ‘glory’ is the manifestation of God’s
presence, Ex. 24:16+. No one could see its brilliance and live, Ex 33:20+, but
the human nature of the word now screens
this glory as the cloud once did. Yet at times
it pierces the veil, as the transfiguration, for instances, cf. Lk 9:32,
35 (alluded to in Jn 1:14?) and when Jesus works miracles –‘signs’ that God is
active in him, 2:11+, 11:40;cf. Ex. 14:24-27 and 15:7, 16:7f. The resurrection will reveal the glory fully,
cf. Jn 17:5+.”
Verses 5 to
8 say: Jesus loved Martha and her sister
and Lazarus yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying
to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea.’c The disciples said, ‘Rabbi,
it is not long since the Jews wanted to stone you, are you going back again?” Footnote
c says “Add. ‘again’.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 8:59
- At this they picked up stones to throw
at him;s but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple. Footnotes
says “The claim of Jesus to live on the
divine plane (v. 58) is for the Jews, blasphemy, for which the penalty is
stoning, Lv. 24:16).”
2.
Jn 10:31 - The
Jews fetched stones to stone him.
Verses 9,
10 and 11 say: Jesus replied: ‘Are there not twelve hours in a day? A man can
walk I the daytime without stumbling because he has the light of this world to
see by; but if he walks at night he stumbles, because there is no light to
guide him.’ He said that and then added, ‘Our friend Lazarus is resting, I am
going to wake him’.
Parallel texts for verse 9 are:
1.
Jn 9:4 -
‘As long as the day lasts I mustb
carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no
one can work.c Footnote b says “Var.
‘we must’”; and Footnote c
says “The life of Jesus is
compared to a day’s work, 5:17, ending with the night of death. Cf. Lk 13:32.”
2.
Jn 8:12 - When
Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: ‘I am the light of the world; anyone
who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of
life’.
Verse 12 says: The disciples
said to him, ‘Lord, if he is able to rest he is sure to get better’.
Parallel
text is Jn 2:19 that says: Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and
in three days I will raise it up’.h
Verses 13 and 14 say: The
phrase Jesus used referred to the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by
‘rest’ he meant ‘sleep’, so Jesus put it plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead;
Parallel text for verse 13 is Mt
9:24p that says: ‘Get out
of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep’. And they laughed at him.
Verse 15
says: And for
your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe.d Let
us go to him.” Footnote d
says “Had Lazarus not died, there
would have been no miracle to confirm their faith.”
Parallel
textis Jn 2:11 that says: This was the first of the signsf
given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. Footnotef says “For credentials, every true prophet must
have ‘signs’, or wonders worked in God’s name, Is 7:11, etc.; cf. Jn 3:2;
6:29-30; 7:3,31; 9:16,33; of the Messiah it was expected that he would repeat
the Mosaic miracles, 1:21+. Jesus, therefore, works ‘signs’ in order to
stimulate faith in his divine mission, 2:11,23; 4:48-54; 11:15,42; 12:37;
cf.3:11+. And indeed his ‘works’ show that God has sent him, 5:36; 10:25,37,
that the Father is within him, 10:30+, manifesting the divine glory in power, 1:14+;
it is the Father himself who does the works, 14:10; 10:38. But many refuse to
believe, 3:12; 5:38-47; 6:36,64; 7:5; 8:45; 10:25; 12:37; and their sin ‘remains’, 9:41; 15:24. Cf. Mt.
8:3+.”
Verses 16
and 17 say: Then Thomas-known as the Twin- said to the other disciples, “Let us
go too, and die with him.”On
arriving, Jesus found that
Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already.
Parallel texts for verse 16 are:
1.
Jn 14:5
- Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know
the way?”
2. Jn 20:24-29 - Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them
when Jesus came (v. 24). When thek disciples said, ‘We have seen the
Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands
and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand
into his side, I refuse to believe’ (v. 25).
Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was
with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace
be with you’, he said (v. 26). Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here;
look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side.l
Doubt no longer but believe (v. 27).’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (v.
28). Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those
who have not seen and yet believe’m(v. 29). Footnote k
says “Add. ‘other’”; Footnote l says “In
the closing words of his gospel, John again calls the Christian reader’s
attention to the wound in Christ’s side, cf. 19:34+.”; and Footnote m
says “ On the apostles’ witness, cf. Ac 1:8+.”
Verses 18 and 19 say: Bethany
is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many of the Jews had come to Martha
and Mary to sympathize with them over their brother.
Parallel texts for verse 18 are:
1.
Jn 11:45
- Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed
in him…
2.
Jn
12:9-11, 17-19 - Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and
came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised
from the dead (v. 9). Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well
(v. 10), since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them
and believing in Jesus (v. 11). All who had been with him when he called
Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were telling how they had
witnessed it (v. 17); It was because of this, too, that the crowd came out to
meet him: they had heard that he had given this sign (v. 18). Then the
Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see, there is nothing you can do; look, the
whole world is running after him!’
Verse 20 says: When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained
sittingin the house.
Parallel
text is Lk 10:39 that says: She had a
sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him
speaking
Verse 21 says: Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been
here,e my brother would not have died.
Footnote e says “Add, ‘Lord’.”
Parallel
text is Mk 11:24p that says: I tell you
therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already,
and it will be yours.
Verses 22
and 23 say: but I know that, even now,
whatever you ask of God, he will grant you’.f ‘Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Footnote f says “Martha has faith in Jesus but she stops short as if about to ask an
impossibility.”
Parallel
text for verse 22 is Mk 11:24 that
says: I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe
that you have it already, and it will be yours.
Verse 24 says: Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the
last day.’
Parallel
text is Jn 2:19 that says: Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise
it up’.h Footnote h
says “In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus
frequently uses terms which, in addition to their obvious meaning appreciated
by the audience, possess a metaphorical and higher sense; cf. 2:20 (Temple); 3:4
(new birth); 4L15 (living water); 6:34 (bread of life); 7:35 (to depart); 11:11
(to awaken); 12:34 (to lift up); 13:9 (to wash); 13:36f (to depart); 14:22 (to
show oneself). Consequent misapprehensions
provide an opportunity for explanatory developments, cf. 3:11+.”
Verse 25
says: Jesus
said, ‘I am the resurrection.g If
anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live,h. Footnote g says “Add ‘ and the life’.”; and Footnote h
says “The man of faith has conquered
death once and for all; the resurrection of Lazarus is the sign of this
victory, cf. 3:11+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 8:51 - I
tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.
2.
Mt 22:23 - That day some Sadducees - who deny that there is no resurrectione
- approached him and they put this question to him… Footnote e says “This sect, 3:7+, adhered rigidly to the
written tradition, especially as contained in the Pentateuch; its members were
confident that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, cf. 2 M 7:9+, was
not to be found in that tradition. On this point the Pharisees were opposed to
the Sadducees. Cf. Ac 4:1+; 23:8.”
3.
Jn 5:24 - I
tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one
who sent me, has eternal life; without being brought to judgment he has passed
from death to life.
Verse 26 says: and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?”
Parallel
text is 1 Jn 3:14 that says: …we have passed out of death and into
life, and of this we can be sure because we love our brothers.
Verses 27-32
say: ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are
the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’ When she had said this, she went and called
her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, ‘The Master is here and wants to see
you.’ Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come
into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the
Jews who were in the house sympathizing with Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed
her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to Jesus,
and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, “Lord, if you
had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Parallel texts for verse 27 are:
1.
Jn 10:34 - Jesus
answered: ‘Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods?r Footnote r says “The words were addressed to magistrates
whose function made them, in a sense, ‘gods’ because ‘judgment is God’s’, Dt
1:17; 19:17; Ex 21:6; Ps 58. Christ’s argument is a rabbinic a fortiori, te
conclusion being that blasphemy is a surprising charge to bring when it is
God’s consecrates envoy who calls himself Son fo God. On this title, ‘Son of
God’, v. 36, cf. 5:25; 11:4,27; 20:17,31. Christ’s fate is henceforth to turn,
cf. 19:7. See Mt 4:3+.”
2.
Jn 1:9,10+ - The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming
into the world (v. 9).f He was in the world that had its being
through him, and the world did not know him (v. 10).g Footnote f says “Other possible translations ‘The true light,
that which enlightens every man, was coming into the world’, or ‘He (the Word)
was the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world’.”;
and Footnote g says “The ‘world’ variously means: the cosmos or
this earth, the human race, those hostile to God who hate Christ and his
disciples, cf. 7:7; 15:18,19; 17:14. This last sense coincides with the
contemporary Jewish distinction between ‘this world’, 8:23 and passim,
dominated by Satan, 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 Jn 5:19; and ‘the world to come’
which possibly corresponds to John’s ‘eternal life’, 12:25. The disciples are
to remain in this world for the present, though not of it, 17:11,14f.”
Verses
33-37 say: At the sight of her tears,
and those of the Jews who
followed her, Jesus said in great
distress, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, ‘Where have you put
him?” They said, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept; and the Jews said, ‘See how
he loved him!’ But there were some who remarked, ‘He opened the eyes of the
blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 11:21, 38 – Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you
have been here,e my brother would not have died…” Footnote e says “Add, ‘Lord’.”
2.
Jn 13:21 - Having
said this, Jesus was troubled and declared, “I tell you most solemnly, one of
you will betray me…
3. Jn
12:27 - Now my soul is troubled.f What shall I say: Father, save me
from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour… Footnote f says “This
episode and Gethsemane have many details in common; the anguish of the ‘hour’
draws near, the appeal to the Father’s pity, the acceptance of death, the
comfort from heaven (cf. Lk.). But we should note the dissimilarities: in Jn,
Christ’s prayer for pity remains unuttered; nor does he ‘fall to the ground’
(Mt. Mk.) or ‘kneel’ (Lk). Cf. Jn
18:4-6; 10:18+.”
Verses 38
and 39 say: Still sighing, Jesus reached
the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, ‘Take
the stone away’. Marthai said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will smell;
this is the fourth day.” Footnote i says “Add. ‘the dead man’s sister’.”
Parallel text is Jn
11:33 that says: At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who followed her, Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that
came straight from the heart…
Verse 40 says: Jesus replied, “Have I not told you that if you believe you will
see the glory of God?”
Parallel
texts for verse 40 are:
1. Jn
1:14 - The word was made flesh, m
he lived among us, n and we saw his glory,o the glory
that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Footnote
m- The ‘flesh’ is man considered as a frail and mortal being,
cf. 3:6, 17:2, Gn 6:3, Ps. 56:4, Is 40:6,see Rm 7:5+.”; Footnote n says “Lit.
‘pitched his tent among us’. The incarnation of the Word makes God personally
and visibly present to mankind; it is no longer a presence unseen and
awe-inspiring as in the Tent and Temple of the old regime, Ex. 25:8+; Cf. Nb.
35:34, nor merely the presence of divine wisdom enshrined in Israel’s Mosaic
Law, Si. 4:7-22; Ba. 3:36-4:4.”; and Footnote o says: “The ‘glory’ is the manifestation of God’s
presence, Ex. 24:16+. No one could see its brilliance and live, Ex 33:20+, but
the human nature of the word now screens
this glory as the cloud once did. Yet at times
it pierces the veil, as the transfiguration, for instances, cf. Lk.
9:32, 35 (alluded to in Jn 1:14?) and when Jesus works miracles –‘signs’ that
God is active in him, 2:11+, 11:40;cf. Ex. 14:24-27 and 15:7, 16:7f. The resurrection will reveal the glory fully,
cf. Jn 17:5+.”
2.
Jn 2:11 - This was
the first of the signsf given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in
Galilee. Footnote f says “For
credentials, every true prophet must have ‘signs’, or wonders worked in God’s
name, Is 7:11, etc.; cf. Jn 3:2; 6:29-30; 7:3,31; 9:16,33; of the Messiah it
was expected that he would repeat the Mosaic miracles, 1:21+. Jesus, therefore,
works ‘signs’ in order to stimulate faith in his divine mission, 2:11,23;
4:48-54; 11:15,42; 12:37; cf.3:11+. And indeed his ‘works’ show that God has
sent him, 5:36; 10:25,37, that the Father is within him, 10:30+, manifesting
the divine glory in power, 1:14+; it is the Father himself who does the works,
14:10; 10:38. But many refuse to believe, 3:12; 5:38-47; 6:36,64; 7:5; 8:45;
10:25; 12:37; and their sin ‘remains’,
9:41; 15:24. Cf. Mt. 8:3+.”
Verse 41 says: So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted
up his eyesj and said, ‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. Footnote j says “Add ‘upwards’, ‘to heaven’, ‘upwards to heaven’.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 17:1 - ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son
so that your Son may glorify you…b
Footnote b says “When Jesus asked to be ‘glorified’, it is
not in his own interests, cf. 7:18; 8:50, but the glory of Son and father are
not one, cf. 12:28; 13:31.”
2.
Mt 14:19 - He gave orders that the people were to sit
down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his
eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to
his disciples who gave them to the crowds.d Footnote d says “ This miraculous bread, though not the Holy Eucharist, clearly
prefigures and leads up to it. This is the view of the Fathers and indeed of
the evangelists before them; cf. v. 19 with 26:26, and cf. Jn 6:1-15, 51-58.”
Verse 42 says: I knew indeed that you always hear me, but I speak for the sake of
all these who stand around me, so that they may believe it was you who sent
me.’
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 1:1+ - In the
beginning was the Word,a the Word was with God and the Word was God
(v . 1).He was in the beginning with God (v.2). Footnote a says “The
O.T. speaks of the Word of God, and of his wisdom, present with God before the
world was made, cf. Pr. 8:22+; Ws. 7:22+, by it all things were created, it is
sent to earth to reveal the hidden designs of God; it returns to him with its
work done, Is. 58:10-11, Pr. 8:22-36, Si. 24:3-22, Ws. 9:9-12. On its creature role, cf. also Gn. 1:3,6
etc.: Is 40:8,26, 44:24-28; 48:13, Ps. 33:6, Jdt. 16:14, Si.42:15; on its
mission, cf. Ws. 18:14-16, Ps.107:20; 147:15-18. For John, too, 13:3, 16:28, the Word existed
before the world in God, 1:1-2, 8:24+, 10:30+. It has come on earth, 1:9-14,
3:19, 12:46, cf. Mk 1:38+, being sent by the Father; 3:17,34,5:36, 43, 6:29,
7:29, 8:42, 9:7, 10:36, 11:42, 17:3,25,cf. Lk 4:43, to perform a task, 4:34+,
namely, to deliver 3:11+, 8:21, 12:35, 13:3, 16:5, 17:11, 13, 20:17. The incarnation enabled the N.T. and
especially John, to see this separately and eternally existent Word-Wisdom as a
person.”
2.
Jn 12:30 - Jesus
answered, “It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.h
Footnote h says “Christ’s coming death is divinely and
publicly sanctioned.”
Verse 43 says: When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, here! Come
out!”
Parallel
text is Jn 5:27-29 that says: …and, because he is the Son of Man, has
appointed him supreme judge (v. 27). Do not be surprised at this, for the hour
is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice (v.
28):i those who did good will rise to life; and those who did evil,
to condemnation (v. 29). Footnote i
says “The reference is to the
resurrection of the dead at the last day, cf. Mt 22:29-32.”
Verse 44
says: The dead man came out, his feet and hand bound
with bands of stuff and a cloth round
his face. So Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, let him go free.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 19:40 - They
took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloth, following
the Jewish burial custom.
2.
Jn 20:5-7…he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying
on the ground, but did not go in (v. 5)b. Simon Peter, who was
following came up, went right into the
tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground (v. 6),and also the cloth that had
been over his head; this was not with the linen cloth but rolled up in a place
by itself (v. 7). Footnote b
says “The disciple acknowledges that
Peter has some title of precedence. Cf. 21:15-17.”
Verse 45 says: Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did
believed in him.
Parallel texts are:
1. Jn
11:19 - and many of the Jews had come to
Martha and Mary to sympathize with them over their brother.
2. Jn
12:10 - Then
the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well
The First Reading is taken from Ez 37:12-14.
Verses 12,
13 and 14 say: So prophesy. Say to them, The Lord Yahweh says this: I am going
to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead
you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open
your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my
spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil;
and you will know that I, Yahweh, have said and done this — it is the Lord
Yahweh who speaks.”’
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ez 39:29 - I
shall never hide my face from them again, since I shall pout out my spirit on
the House of Israel – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.’
2.
1 Th 4:8 - in other words, anyone who objects is not
objecting to a human authority but to God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.e
Footnote e says “Ezekiel
foretold that the Spirit would be given to the messianic people: this reference
draws attention to the continuity between the church of Thessalonica and the
giving of this gift to the early Christian community, Ac. 2:16f, 33,38, etc. On
the gift of the Spirit to the spirit of each believer, cf. Rm. 5:5+.”
The Second Reading is taken Rm 8:8-11.
Verse 8 says: People who are
only interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God.
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 Jn 2:15-16 - You must not love this passing
world or anything that is in the world. The love of the Father cannot be in any
man who loves the world (v. 15), because nothing the world has to offer – the sensual body,
the lustful eye, pride in possessions - f could ever come from the
Father. Footnote f
says “Lit. ‘the ostentation of living’.”
2.
Rm 7:5-6 - Before
our conversions our sinful passions, quite unsubdued by the Law, fertilized our
bodied to make them give birth to death (v. 5). But now we are rid of the Law,
freed by death from our imprisonment, free to serve in the new spiritual way
and not the old way of a written law (v. 6).
Verses 9
and 10 say: Your interests, however, are
not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made
his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would
not belong to him. Though your body may be
dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then spirit is life
itself because have been justifiedf.
Parallel texts for verse 9 are:
1.
Ps 51:11…do not banish me from your presence, do not
deprive me of your holy spirit.g Footnote g says “Here
considered as the principle (within man but given by God) of moral and
religious activity, whether of the individual, 143:10; Ws 1:5; 9:17, or of the
nation as a whole, Is. 63:11; Hg 2:5; Ne 9:20.”
2.
Jn 3:5-6 - Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,c he cannot enter the kingdom of God (v. 5).
What s born of flesh is flesh; what is born of spirit is spirit (v. 6). Footnote c says “Allusion
to baptism and its necessity, cf. Rm. 6:4+.”
Verse 11
says: And if the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his
Spirit living in youg. Footnoteg says “The
resurrection of the Christian is intimately dependent on that of Christ, 1 Th
4:14; 1 Co 6:14; 15:20f; 2 Co 4:14; 13:4; Rm 6:5; Ep 2:6; Col 1:18; 2:12f; 2 Tm
2:11. It is by the same power and the same gift if the Spirit, cf. Rm 1:4+,
that the Father will raise them to life their turn. This operation is already being prepared: a
new life is making the Christians into sons (v.14) in the likeness of the Son
himself, 8:29+, and they are being incorporated into the risen Christ by faith,
1:16+, and baptism, 6:4+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 6:4+ -In other words, a when we were
baptized we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, b
so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might
live a new life. Footnote a
says “Lit. ‘therefore’; var. ‘for’”;
Footnote b says “Baptism is not separated from faith but goes
with it, Ga. 3:6f, Ep. 4:5, Heb. 10:22, cf. Ac. 12f,37, 16:31-33, 18:8, 19:2-5,
and gives it outward expression by the operative symbolism of the baptismal
ceremonial. For this reason, Paul ascribes to faith and to baptism the same
effects (cf. Ga. 2:16-20 and Rm. 6:3-9). The sinner is immersed in water (the
etymological meaning of ‘baptize’ is ‘dip’) and thus ‘buried’ with Christ, Col.
2:12, with whom also he emerges to ‘resurrection’, Rm. 8:11+, as a ‘new
creature’, 2 Co. 5:17+, a ‘new man’, Ep. 2:15+, a member of the one Body
animated by the one Spirit, 1 Co. 12:13, Ep. 4:4f. This resurrection will not
be complete or final until the end of time, 1 Co. 15:12+ (but cf. Ep. 2:6), but
is already taking place in the form of a new life lived ‘in the Spirit’, vv.
8:11,13, 8:2f, Ga. 5:16-24. The death-resurrection symbolism of baptism is
particularly Pauline, but this initial rite of Christian life, Heb. 6:22, is
also spoken of in the NT, as a cleansing bath, Ep.5:26, Heb. 10:22, cf. 1 Co.
6:11, Tt. 3:5, a new birth, Jn. 3:5, Tt. 3:5, cf. 1 P. 1:3, cf. Ep. 5:14. On
the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit, cf. Ac. 1:5+; these two aspects of the consecration of the
Christian are apparently the ‘anointing’ and the seal’ of 2 Co. 1:21f.
According to 1 P. 3:21, the ark of Noah is an antetype of baptism.”
2.
Ezk 37:10 - I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the
breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a
great, an immense army.d Footnote d says “Here, as in Ho 6:2, 13:14 and Is 26:19, God
announces, vv. 11-14, the messianic restoration of Israel after the sufferings
of the Exile, cf. Rv 20:4+. But also, by the imagery chosen, he is already
preparing minds for the idea of an individual resurrection of the body, vaguely
perceived in Jb 19:25+ and explicitly stated in Dn 12:2; 2 M 7:9-14,23-36;
12:43-46; cf 2 M7:9+. For the NT, see Mt 22:29-32 and especially 1 Co 15.”
3.
Rm 1:4 - It is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the
order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimedc
Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.d Footnote c says “Vulg.
‘predestined’”; and Footnote d
says “For Paul Christ rose only
because God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm.
4:24; 10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4;
Rm. 6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16; and because God raised him to life through
the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11. Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph
2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic
work, the name he had from eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf.
Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”
4.
Rm 6:8-11 - Butd we believe that having died
with Christ we shall return to life with him (v. 8): Christ, as we know, having
been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him
anymore (v. 9).When he died, he died, once and for all, to sin,e so
his life now is life with God (v. 10). And in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but
alive for God in Christ Jesus (v. 11)f. Footnote d says “Var ‘For’’; Footnote e says “Christ was sinless, 2 Cor. 5:21, but having
a physical body like our own, Rm. 8:3, he belonged to the order of sin; when he
became ‘spiritual’, 1 Co. 15:45-46, he belonged only to the divine order.
Similarly, though the Christian remains in the flesh for a time, he already
lives in the spirit.’; and Footnote f says “Text.
Rec and Vulg. ‘Christ Jesus our Lord’.”
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