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| The Raising of Lazarus by James Tissot |
This Sunday’s Gospel is the conclusion of John - Chapter 11; it picks up after the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus’ gift of life to Lazarus did not bring Jesus friends and followers but was the trigger point that brought his enemies to move against him. The unbelieving Jews do not accept the signs that Jesus had worked in their midst. They refuse to let themselves be drawn in to the life which Jesus wants to share with them and which he invites them to share with others. They refuse to hear the Good News. They choose to be alone rather than unite themselves with life. They prefer to do as much as they can to hold on to their land, their power, their greed, their fear, their resentment. This Jesus is too much for them.
This is the season of the unfolding story of the mystery of the God who spoke – “My dwelling will be with you, and I will be your God” - it is a truth so large that we can only touch one part of it at a time. We have to let ourselves encounter it piece by piece, grace by grace without expecting that we will comprehend the whole picture. “We can never grasp this mystery; we can only allow ourselves to be grasped by it.” So let us pray throughout this coming week to be open to the graces of the readings, and do as much as we can to let “God love us tenderly, tenaciously, and totally.”
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