Sunday March 22nd 2026

First Reading: (Ezekiel 37:12–14) 

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 130)

Second Reading:  (Romans 8:8–11)

Gospel: (John 11:1-45) 

Reflection:

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the final Sunday before we enter into Holy Week, the Church places before us one powerful theme: from death to life, from the grave to the glory of God.

All the readings today speak one message: God brings life where there is death.

In the First Reading, God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will open your graves and raise you.” This was not only about physical death. It was about a people in exile, broken, humiliated, and without hope. Their suffering felt like a grave. Their despair felt like death. Yet God promised: “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live.”

The Psalm echoes this cry: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.” These depths are not just physical, they are the depths of sorrow, fear, anxiety, and pain. And yet, even from the deepest darkness, God hears.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul teaches us something deeper: there is a kind of death that happens even while we are physically alive. When we live according to the flesh, when we are trapped in sin, we are spiritually dead. But when the Spirit of God lives in us, we are made alive again. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is at work within us.

Then we come to the Gospel, the raising of Lazarus.

Lazarus is not just dead. He is four days dead. The situation is beyond hope. Martha herself says, “Lord, by now there will be a stench.” In other words, it is too late. It is finished.

But Jesus declares:
“I am the resurrection and the life.”

Not I will be. Not I can be.
But I am.

And then He calls into the tomb: “Lazarus, come out.”
And death obeys Him.

What Does This Mean for Us?

My dear friends, this Gospel is not only about Lazarus.
It is about you and me.

Because we all experience different kinds of “death”:

• Physical death, the loss of loved ones

• Emotional death, heartbreak, trauma, depression

• Spiritual death, sin that separates us from God

• Moral death, when we lose our sense of right and wrong

• Situational death, poverty, sickness, failure, despair

Sometimes we feel like Lazarus, buried, stuck, and forgotten.

But today, Jesus stands before your “grave” and says:
“Come out.”

The Condition: Faith

Before the miracle, Jesus asks Martha one question:
“Do you believe this?”

And she responds:
“Yes, Lord, I believe.”

That faith opened the door to the miracle.

God can raise anything in our lives, but we must believe.

Even when:

• It looks finished

• It smells like failure

• It feels too late

God is not limited by time, decay, or human logic.

A Glimpse of Easter

This miracle points forward to something greater:

Just as Lazarus came out of the tomb,
Jesus Himself will rise from the dead.

And through His Resurrection:

• Death will be defeated

• Sin will be conquered

• Life will be restored

As He says in John 10:10:

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

So I ask you today:

• What grave are we in?

• What part of our lives feels dead?

• Where have we lost hope?

Bring it to Jesus.

Because our stories are not over.
Our lives are not finished.
Our grave are not our end.

God is still able to call us out.

Amen

Happy Sunday, and

God bless you 🙏