Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 21 March 2021, the Fifth Sunday in Lent

New ends and the promise of new beginnings … sunset at the Rectory in Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday next [21 March 2021] is the Fifth Sunday in Lent and the beginning of Passiontide. The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:

The Readings: Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Psalm 51: 1-13 or Psalm 119: 9-16; Hebrews 5: 5-10; and John 12: 20-33.

There is a direct link to these readings HERE.

‘But this is the covenant that I will make … and I will write it on their hearts’ (Jeremiah 31: 33) … hearts decorating a bar in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Introducing the Readings:

Throughout the Sundays in Lent, the RCL Old Testament readings this year (Year B) focus on covenantal relationships with God:

● On the First Sunday in Lent (21 February 2021), Genesis 9: 8-17 told the story of God’s covenant with Noah, his descendants and ‘every living creature of all flesh.’

● On the Second Sunday in Lent (28 February 2021), the reading (Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16) looks at God’s covenant with Abraham and his ‘offspring after you throughout the generations … an everlasting covenant.’

● On the Third Sunday in Lent (7 March 2021), the reading (Exodus 20: 1-17) looks at the Ten Commandments, the symbol of that Covenant given in the Sinai wilderness.

● On the Fourth Sunday in Lent, yesterday (14 March 2021), we heard the story of the rebellion against that covenant and the serpent of bronze which we interpret as a symbol of the promise of Christ’s coming (Numbers 21: 4-9).

● On the Fifth Sunday in Lent (21 March 2021), next Sunday, we hear of the promise to Jeremiah of a new covenant that will be like the covenant between a husband and wife and that shall be written in the hearts of the people (Jeremiah 31: 31-34).

● On the Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday, 28 March 2021), the theme of rebellion against God is addressed once again, with the promise of a new covenant ushered in by the suffering servant (Isaiah 50: 4-9a).

Jeremiah (right) and Isaiah (left) in a window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in Saint Michael’s Church, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

So, next Sunday (21 March 2021), the Fifth Sunday in Lent, the Old Testament reading (Jeremiah 31: 31-34) follows those readings about Covenant and rebellion against Covenant with the promise of a true Covenant.

After the fall of Jerusalem in the year 587 BC, God now promises to ‘make a new covenant’ with the whole people, both Israel and Judah. It will be unlike the covenant made at Sinai, which they broke (verse 32), even though God was their ‘husband.’

The law, once written on stone tablets, will be written ‘on their hearts’ – the people will be faithful, and following the Law will now be a matter of conscience. All will know the Lord, for each will recognise God in all actions, and each will approach God in a godly way. God will forgive them for turning against him and forget how they have strayed from his way.

‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 8) … snow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 51: 1-13:

This psalm speaks of rebuilding Jerusalem (verse 18), so we know that it was written during, or shortly after, the Exile. The emphasis is on an individual’s sin, and prayers for personal pardon and restoration. The psalmist seeks cleansing from ‘iniquity’ (verses 2 and 9) and ‘sin[s].’

The idea of life-long sinfulness (verse 5) is also found in Genesis 8: 21: ‘… for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth’ (although the psalmist may simply be confessing that he has been thoroughly sinful). In verse 6, he knows that God will seek truth in his very being; this is where he will receive understanding (‘wisdom’).

Perhaps verse 8b says the Psalmist is ill – because of his sin. He even asks God to hide his face from his sins (verse 9), to be so gracious and compassionate as to turn a blind eye.

May God restore him, bring him back to godliness, give him a clear conscience, a ‘clean heart’ (verse 10), a ‘new’ and a ‘right’ (God-oriented) ‘spirit.’ Only God can purify. May God give him joy and sustenance, through his ‘holy spirit’ (verse 11).

‘Do not let me stray’ (Psalm 119: 10) … street signs in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

or

Psalm 119: 9-16

This is the second stanza (of 22, one for each consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet) of the longest psalm. Each of the eight verses of this stanza begins with beth (ב), the second letter. The whole psalm is in praise of the Law, the expression of God’s covenant with humanity in the Old Testament, and of keeping it. The emphasis is on the love and desire for the word of God in Israel’s law, rather than on legalism.

As in other stanzas, various words are used for law. Here they are ‘word,’ ‘commandments,’ ‘statutes,’ ‘ordinances,’ ‘decrees,’ and ‘precepts.’ Cleansing (verse 9), joy (verses 14 and 16) and meditation (verse 15) are key notions. Knowledge and wisdom are more to be desired than ‘riches’ (verse 14). The psalmist seeks to avoid sin, and to live in God’s ways.

‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek’ (Hebrews 5: 6) … Melchizedek (right) and Aaron (left) in a window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in Saint Michael’s Church, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hebrews 5: 5-10:

The author has spoken of the Jewish high priesthood. Earlier, he has said that a (human) high priest was ‘put in charge of things pertaining to God’ (verse 1), on behalf of the people, to offer sacrifices for their sins. Since he himself from time to time offended God by sinning unintentionally, ‘he is able to deal gently’ (verse 2) with others who commit such sins, and ‘must offer sacrifice for his own sins’ (verse 3) as well. Further, one could only become a high priest when called by God – ‘one does not presume to take this honour’ (verse 4).

Now the author tells us how Christ, whom he sees as a high priest, is like (and unlike) a Jewish high priest. Christ too was called by God (verse 5). Some manuscripts of Luke 3: 22 record that, at his baptism, the ‘voice’ speaks the words quoted here. But Christ, as in Psalm 110: 4, is different: he is a priest ‘forever’ (verse 6).

Melchizedek figures in Genesis 14: 17-20, where he brings bread and wine, and blesses Abram. In Hebrews, he resembles the Son of God and lives for ever. He is a supernatural figure foreshadowing the eternity of the Son of God (see 7: 2-3).

During Christ’s earthly life (‘the days of his flesh,’ verse 7), he prayed to God, to the one who could deliver him from death. But, although he was already God’s ‘Son’ (verse 8), he ‘learned obedience.’ He obeyed the will of the Father and submitted reverently (verse 7), which involved suffering and death.

But the Father heard his plea, and he rose again from death. He was then ‘made perfect’ (verse 9). His priesthood was completed in his sacrifice for the sins of us all, and he was raised to be with the Father. In this way, he brings salvation to all who follow him. This salvation is forever (unlike the limited duration of that brought by the Jewish high priests in the Temple. He is the high priest for ever.

‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ … a carving of Saint Philip on the pulpit in Saint Philip’s Church, Leicester (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 12: 20-33:

In this Gospel reading, we are in the days before Palm Sunday, and the days before Passover. The Sabbath immediately preceding Passover is known as Shabbat HaGadol (שבת הגדול), the ‘Great Sabbath.’ (This year, this Sabbath falls on Saturday 20 March 2021.) The haftarah or prophetic portion read on that Sabbath (Malachi 3: 4-24) speaks of the ‘great day’ of God on which the Messiah will appear.

Malachi is an anonymous prophet – the name Malachi simply means – my messenger. But in this passage, he also says:

You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts? Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape’ (Malachi 3: 14-15).

Whether that portion had already become established as a reading by the time Saint John’s Gospel was written, the Sabbath before the Passover was already one that was imbued with expectations of the appearance of the Messiah, and the readers of this Gospel, at this stage, would expect to hear Jesus speaking about those who have turned away from serving God.

At the time of the Passover (‘the festival’), some Gentiles (‘Greeks’) travel to Jerusalem, probably because they believe in God. Their request ‘to see Jesus’ (verse 21) to understand his message, is conveyed to him by ‘Andrew and Philip’ (verse 22), the two disciples with Greek names.

Christ takes this opportunity to announce that his ‘hour’ (verse 23), his time of self-revelation, determined by God, has come. He can now tell what it means for the Son to be glorified. When Christ is glorified, then all people will truly be able to see him. But this is not the time for interviews.

He uses an example from nature to speak of the significance of his death: the paradox that a ‘grain of wheat’ (verse 24) only bears fruit after it seems to have died and has been buried. Christ’s death makes possible salvation for others.

That the meaning of life eludes those who live it up is also a paradox; self-centeredness ends up destroying a person. (‘Hate,’ verse 25, is a Semitism for love less.)

Serving Jesus involves following his example; this will be honoured by the Father (verse 26).

In verse 27, Christ struggles with his impending death: should he ask the Father to free him from the need to suffer and die?

No, he says: such avoidance would negate his mission; his death is God’s will (verse 28a). The voice from heaven reassures: his lifework and teaching have been signs of God’s glory, of his power and presence; God will act again in raising him.

The crowd misses the point of the message (verse 19), so Christ tells them that God has spoken so that they may believe that he comes from God; he already knows this (‘not for mine,’ verse 30).

This is when (‘now,’ verse 31) those who wilfully turn away from him (‘this world’) are condemned (it is they who are judged, not him), and when the devil (‘the ruler of this world’) ceases to have power over people.

When he is ‘lifted up from the earth’ (verse 32), when he is crucified and exalted in glory, the salvation of all will be possible.

This is the paradoxical ‘kind of death’ (verse 33) he will endure.

New beginnings … sunrise over the Slaney Estuary at Ferrycarrig, Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)

Some thoughts for consideration:

In these last days of Lent, as we start looking ahead to Holy Week and to walking with Christ on his way to the cross, the Gospel readings talk about what is going to happen and what he is going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we see the Disciples at a point where they realise that this is a solemn time, but they are unsure about what is going to happen, and they are anxious and afraid.

But these are days of anxiety and fear for many in our world today. At home in Ireland today, we are living through a major pandemic crisis and one long lockdown after another. Nor should we allow this to distract us from the reality that we also have a major housing crisis, the figures for homelessness and child poverty and neglect are at a distressing level, hospital waiting lists that were growing longer have grown even longer due to the pandemic demands on hospital beds, many refugees and asylum seekers find no hope and many are forgotten and unseen in ‘direct provision.’

Looking further afield, street violence in America cities that has abated only mildly, the continuing wars in Syria and Yemen, unrest in Myanmar, the crisis facing Europe following ‘Brexit,’ and the rise of the far right across Europe are chilling. Indeed, the forgotten economic crisis in Greece could still be a reminder that the bad times could still return to Ireland at some time in the future.

Nor should we forget that this too is a world troubled by wars, the climate crisis, natural disasters and famines too, a world where those seeking democracy are treated as enemies in their own countries, a world where human rights are being eroded once again, and a world where people are martyred for their religious beliefs and slaughtered because of their nationality or ethnicity.

In this time of flux and change, there are plenty of would-be prophets of doom telling us how afraid we ought to be, that if we do not conform and fall into line something even worse may befall us … joined, paradoxically by the pedlars of conspiracy theories on the far-right telling those who are easily-duped that fear is being created through the pandemic to control society

But what if Christ is right this morning? If he is right, then we have no need to fear. We need to follow. When Christ is lifted up, he draws all people to him: the Greeks who are telling the Apostles Philip and Andrew that they want to see Christ, but are put on hold; the Pharisees who fear Christ is stirring up the people; the prophets of doom; and the peasants just trying to get by.

The God who Christ proclaimed, the God who created the universe, is still drawing the universe toward the justice for which it aches. That God is calling. The days are surely coming. God wants to inscribe God’s just and liberating word on our hearts, and for all, from the least to the greatest, to know it, to experience it, and to celebrate it.

‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ … Saint Philip (left) in a stained-glass window in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 12: 20-33 (NRSVA):

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say — “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30 Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

New ends and the promise of new beginnings … sunset at Balcarrick Beach in Donabate (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical resources:

Liturgical colour: Violet.

The canticle Gloria may be omitted in Lent.

Traditionally in Anglicanism, the doxology or Gloria at the end of Canticles and Psalms is also omitted during Lent.

With Passiontide, which begins today, many of the liturgical provisions, including the Penitential Kyries, Introduction to the Peace, Preface, and Blessing, move from those for Lent to those for Passiontide:

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you sent your Son to reconcile us to yourself and to one another.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you heal the wounds of sin and division.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
through you we put to death the sins of the body – and live.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day (the Fifth Sunday in Lent):

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
Grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross,
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect of the Word:

O God,
our Redeemer,
in our weakness we have failed
to be your messengers of forgiveness and hope:
renew us by your Holy Spirit,
that we may follow your commands
and proclaim your reign of love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood; for he is our peace. (Ephesians 2: 17)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who, for the redemption of the world,
humbled himself to death on the cross;
that, being lifted up from the earth,
he might draw all people to himself:

Post Communion Prayer:

God of hope,
in this Eucharist we have tasted
the promise of your heavenly banquet
and the richness of eternal life.
May we who bear witness to the death of your Son,
also proclaim the glory of his resurrection,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing:

Christ draw you to himself
and grant that you find in his cross a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven:

‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 8) … snow in Cloister Court, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested hymns:

Jeremiah 31: 31-34:

125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
382, Help us, O Lord, to learn
638, O for a heart to praise my God

Psalm 51: 1-13:

397, Alleluia! Alleluia! Opening our hearts to him
297, Come, thou Holy Spirit, come
614, Great Shepherd of your people, hear
208, Hearken, O Lord, have mercy upon us
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
305, O Breath of life, come sweeping through us
638, O for a heart to praise my God
557, Rock of ages, left for me

or:

Psalm 119: 9-16:

383, Lord, by thy word my rule
384, Lord, thy word abideth
638, O for a heart to praise my God

Hebrews 5: 5-10:

259, Christ triumphant, ever reigning
226, It is a thing most wonderful
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
228, Meekness and majesty
291, Where high the heavenly temple stands

John 12: 20-33:

668, God is our fortress and our rock
43, Holy is the seed-time, when the buried grain
484, Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim
227, Man of sorrows! What a name
656, Nearer, my God, to thee
278, Now the green blade rises from the buried grain (omit verse 3)
237, O my Saviour, lifted
241, Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle
473, Síormoladh is glóir duit, a Athair shíorai (All glory and praise to you, Father, above)

‘Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim’ (Hymn 484) … the cross above the beach in Laytown, Co Meath (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 29 March 2020, the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Passion Sunday)

‘De Profundis’ (1943), the haunting Holocaust tour de force by Arthur Szyk (1894-1951), draws on Psalm 130: ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord’

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 29 March 2020, is the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Lent V).

The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:

The Readings: Ezekiel 37: 1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8: 6-11; John 11: 1-45.

There is a link to the readings HERE.

Passion Sunday:

This Sunday is often known as Passion Sunday, marking the beginning of the two-week period known as Passiontide, which is still observed in some traditions in many Churches.

In Anglican churches that follow the Sarum Use, crimson vestments and hangings are used from the fifth Sunday of Lent, replacing the Lenten array (unbleached muslin cloth) – and vestments are crimson until (and including) Holy Saturday. Reflecting the recent shift away from the observance of Passiontide as a distinct season in the Church of Ireland and the Church of England, the liturgical resources in both the Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship suggest red for Holy Week only, with the exception of the Maundy Thursday Eucharist, when the liturgical colour is white.

One tradition associated with Passiontide was the practice of covering crosses and images from the Fifth Sunday in Lent onward. Crucifixes remain covered until the end of the Good Friday celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

Lazarus is raised from the Dead … a fresco in the Analpsi Church in Georgioupoli on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Introducing the readings:

The present crisis created by the Corona Virus or Covid-19 pandemic is creating communal angst that may well find a voice or find resonances in the cry from the depths in Psalm 130 (De Profundis), and many people may worry that soon they are going to identify with Martha’s cry in our Gospel reading, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’ (John 11: 21).

These heart-breaking cries may be heard in the most uncomfortable situations over the coming weeks. Where are we going to help people to find God’s presence in this crisis, where are we going to offer them hope, and how are we going to help them to show and share the love of Christ? For we know too that ‘Jesus wept.’

These readings offer hope in the midst of death, and the experiences of the Prophet Ezekiel, the Psalmist in De Profundis, the Apostle Paul in the New Testament reading, and Mary and Martha at their home in Bethany, offer hope to people who face the pains of life and death at this time.

‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ (Ezekiel 37: 3) … skulls in the ossuary in Arkadi Monastery from a battle in 1866 during the Turkish occupation of Crete, when hundreds of people died (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Ezekiel 37: 1-14:

Ezekiel may have been among the people who were deported when Babylon first captured Jerusalem in 598 BCE. He opposed a political solution to Judah’s problems, instead advocating that Israel is a community faithful to God in religious observance and obedience.

In this reading, verses 1-10 recall a dream or a prophecy, and verses 11-14 are the interpretation of this vision.

The valley is probably in Mesopotamia or the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Here the spirit of God shows the Prophet Ezekiel a dry place that may be the site of a battle. The bones are very dry, long and lifeless. They symbolise the exiles, who have no hope of the kingdom of Israel being brought back to life (see verse 11a).

The contrast to the dead bones is the ‘breath’ and ‘spirit’ – both ruach (רוּחַ) in Hebrew (see especially verse 9).

In verses 12-13, the image shifts to graves. God will renew the covenant, restoring Israel, probably spiritually rather than literally. Verse 13 may have developed the Jewish notion of the resurrection of all at the end of time.

‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord’ (Psalm 130, ‘De Profundis’) … in the depths of a cave on the Greek island of Paxos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Psalm 130:

Psalm 130 is known as De Profundis from its opening words in Latin in the Vulgate. The psalm has been set to music by composers such as Franz Lizst, John Rutter and Arvo Pärt, and has inspired a famous work by Oscar Wilde, and poems by Federico García Lorca, Alfred Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Rossetti, CS Lewis, Georg Trakl, Dorothy Parker and José Cardoso Pires.

This is one of the Penitential psalms, recited during the Ten Days of Repentance. It is a prayer for deliverance from personal trouble, but it ends with a message to all people.

The psalm opens with a call to God in deep sorrow, from ‘out of the depths’ or ‘out of the deep,’ a graphic phrase signalling closeness to despair or death, used only in one other psalm, Psalm 69. These depths are the chaotic waters, symbolising separation from God, as in Jonah’s prayer from the stomach of the great fish (see Jonah 2: 2). May God be attentive to my pleas.

God forgives, so he shall be revered. The psalmist makes the powerful and paradoxical point that God is to be held in awe not because he punishes but because he forgives. If God were to record all our misdeeds, how could anyone face him? He is merciful by nature, so I eagerly await his help, his word. I wait for him as watchmen guarding a town from enemy attack.

Perhaps the psalmist has now received a message for the people:

O Israel, wait for the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy;
With him is plenteous redemption
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also’ (Romans 8: 11) … crosses and graves in Saint Ailbe’s churchyard, Emly, Co Tipperary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Romans 8: 6-11:

The Apostle Paul has told his readers that God’s love has shown in Christ’s death and resurrection. Because of this, we can live a new life that is freed from sin and from death.

Now Saint Paul explains the difference between what he calls living in the Spirit and living according to the flesh. Someone whose mind is set on the flesh, whose view is limited to the natural world, is at enmity with God. That person is unable to obey God’s law, lacks the power to transcend inner conflicts, and cannot please God.

Christians, on the other hand, live in the Spirit and the Spirit lives in them. Our faith in Christ is only possible in this kind of relationship, in which Christ and the Spirit come together.

Saint Paul says if Christ is in you, then the Spirit brings the promise of life, even if all you have done in the past means you may have been dead, for you are now alive because of the Spirit. If God’s Spirit is in you, God will give you new life through the Spirit, and raise you to new life at the end of time.

Lazarus is raised from the dead … a stained-glass window in Holy Trinity Church, Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)

John 11: 1-45:

Introducing the Gospel reading:

The Gospel reading on Sunday morning is one of the best-known passages in the Fourth Gospel for a number of reasons:

1, In the Authorised Version or King James Bible, it contains what is popularly known as the shortest verse in the Bible: ‘Jesus wept’ (verse 35). Later translations fail to provide the same dramatic impact as these crisp, short two words, ‘Jesus wept.’

2, The command, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ has given rise to a number of childish, schoolboy jokes about athletic performance and not even winning a bronze medal. There is hardly the same potential in the NRSV’s: ‘Lazarus, come out!’

3, Lazarus himself is an interesting dramatic persona. He is often confused with the Lazarus in Saint Luke’s Gospel, the poor man at the gate, who is the only character to be named in any of the parables. But he has also given his name to hospitals and isolation units. He has inspired a corpus of mediaeval songs and poetry. Some years ago, this corpus inspired Paul Spicer’s great modern composition, Come out, Lazar, commissioned by Bishop Tom Wright when he was Dean of Lichfield Cathedral.

Lazarus is raised from the dead … a fresco in the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Reading the Gospel reading:

It is difficult to consider any Gospel story without bringing to our reading a whole repository of cultural baggage. But the first readers of this story in the Early Church also had their expectations, built up slowly but thoughtfully, with care and with dramatic intent.

The name Lazarus means ‘God helps,’ the Greek Λάζαρος (Lazaros) being derived from the Hebrew Eleazar, ‘God’s assistance,’ or: ‘God has helped.’ So, already the name of the principal character in the story introduces us to expectations of God’s actions, God’s deliverance.

Jesus tarries. He waits four days – like the children of Israel wait forty years in the wilderness before reaching the climax of their liberation.

But then this is an Exodus story. Lazarus is called forth with the word: Exo (ἔξω), and he goes out (ἐξῆλθεν, exelthen, verse 44). Exodus leads to true liberation, to the fulfilment of God’s promise. And so, when Christ commands the onlookers to ‘let him go!’ (verse 44), it has the same force as Moses telling Pharaoh: ‘Let my people go!’ (see Exodus 9: 1, &c).

Jesus tarries. He waits four days – like the forty days he spent in the wilderness. He resists the temptation to be merely a miracle worker, to put on a show, to convince by sleight of hand.

But when Christ calls for the rock to be rolled back, like the rock that is struck in the wilderness, new life comes forth.

And so, looking at this Gospel story, it might be worth asking three questions:

1, What is unique about this story?

2, Why do we have this story at this time in Lent?

3, What does it say about Christ, and his call to us?

1, So, what is unique about this story?

This story is not in the other three, synoptic Gospels. In Saint John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus from the dead is the last – and the greatest – of the seven Signs performed by Christ.

This seventh Sign is the crowning miracle or Sign in Saint John’s Gospel, what John Marsh calls the crux interpretationis of the whole Gospel, for it reveals Christ as the giver of life, holding together his two natures, his humanity and his divinity.

This reading also contains the fifth of the ‘I AM’ sayings: ‘I AM the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live’ (John 11: 25).

2, Then, why do we have this story at this time in Lent?

The Saturday before Palm Sunday is known in the Orthodox Church as Lazarus Saturday, with Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday marked as days of joy and triumph between the penitence of Great Lent and the mourning of Holy Week, but looking forward to Christ’s resurrection on Easter Day.

This Sign is the Sign that precipitates the death of Jesus, for this is the Sign that convinces the religious leaders in Jerusalem that they must get rid of Jesus.

And so, the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Christ is an appropriate Sign to recall as a prelude to Holy Week, as a prelude to our preparations for the climax of Lent and to mark the death and resurrection of Christ.

3, What does it say about Christ, and his call to us?

This seventh Sign holds together the two natures of Christ, his humanity and his divinity.

It shows his humanity as he weeps at the death of his friend and asks: ‘Where have you laid him?’ (verse 35).

Jesus loved Lazarus, who had died in Bethany. When he is told of his death, his response is enigmatic (verse 4). But the tenderness he shows counters any possibility of a harsh interpretation of that reply – Jesus loves … he loves Mary, he loves Martha, he loves Lazarus … he loves you, he loves me.

And we have a revelation of Christ’s divinity. In him we see the love of God, the tender love of God. And he alone can command Lazarus to come forth from the dead (verse 43).

Humanity and divinity. The death, burial and shroud of Lazarus represent our own sinful state. And the raising of Lazarus is a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ and of the General Resurrection.

The Raising of Lazarus, Juan de Flandes, Museo del Prado, Madrid

In this reading, we engage with two recurring Johannine themes. There is the contrast between light and dark, a theme in the Gospel readings in recent weeks, as in the stories about Nicodemus and the blind man healed at the pool of Siloam.

And there is the contrast between seeing and believing. Think of Thomas’s apparent faith at this point, how it turns to folly, anticipating the drama in Bethany but not yet seeing for himself that Lazarus is dead (verse 16). We might compare this with his refusal later to believe that Christ is risen from the dead until he sees for himself after the Resurrection (John 20: 24-25).

Or we might compare Thomas’s reluctant faith after the Resurrection, with Martha’s trusting faith after the death of her brother.

Martha addresses Christ twice as ‘Lord’ (verses 21, 27). But she then uses three distinct titles in affirming her faith in Christ.

Her confession of faith before Lazarus is raised from the dead is unconditional faith: ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world’ (verse 27). It is like Mary’s ecstatic confession to the disciples after meeting the Risen Christ in the Garden on Easter morning: ‘I have seen the Lord’ (John 20: 18). It is the promise at the very end of the Book of Revelation: ‘Surely I am coming.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus (Revelation 22: 20).

When Martha then speaks of Christ as the Teacher (verse 28), she is using the same title Mary uses when she speaks to him on Easter morning, ‘Rabbouni! … Teacher’ (John 20: 16).

When Jesus asks: ‘Where have you laid him?’ (verse 34), he uses the same phrase used by the women at the empty tomb on Easter morning (John 20: 2), the same phrase Mary uses when she approaches Jesus in the garden (John 20: 13).

Martha’s free confession, her unconditional faith, her passion, are so unlike Thomas’s confession of faith, which only comes after he gets to see what he demands, even if eventually he confesses: ‘My Lord and my God’ (John 20: 28).

Martha moves beyond personal interest in seeking for her brother; now she moves beyond even that wider but limited circle of want and need to accepting God’s will.

Do we believe because God answers our shopping-list requests for favours?

Or do we believe because of the totality of God’s liberating acts, God’s loving acts, God’s faithful acts for us?

Do we set conditions and terms for our belief, our faith, our commitment?

Death was not the end for Lazarus … this time around. There is no further mention of him in the Bible. His first tomb in Bethany remains empty. According to tradition, he was 30 years old when he was raised from the dead. But, of course, he had to die a second (and final) time. And, at that death, it is said, Lazarus was buried in Larnaka in Cyprus.

Death comes to us all. We all end in the grave. No miracles, no wishing, no praying, can avoid that inevitability. So what was wrong with the fact that Lazarus had died? That he was too young? We will all find when death comes that we are too young.

Perhaps what the Gospel writer is saying here, in a deep and profound way, is that death without the comfort of knowing the presence of Christ is distressing for anyone who seeks to be a follower of Christ.

In the Litany, we pray, ‘from dying unprepared, save us, good Lord’ (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 175). Those involved in pastoral care should never forget the comforts the ministry of word and sacrament brings to those who are preparing to die and to those who mourn.

For we know that death is not the end. In his death, Christ breaks through the barriers of time and space, bringing life to those who are dead. Those who hear the voice of Christ live.

I once interviewed Archbishop Desmond Tutu and asked him about the death threats he faced in South Africa at the height of apartheid. He engaged me with that look that confirms his deep hope, commitment and faith, and said: ‘But you know, death is not the worst thing that could happen to a Christian.’

When Jesus looks up and says: ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me,’ the Greek conveys more of the prayerful action that is taking place: And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, <<Πάτερ, εὐχαριστῶ σοι>> (Páter, efcharisto soi, ‘Father, I am giving thanks to you’). Lifting up his eyes is a prayerful action in itself, and combined with his giving thanks to the Father has actions and words that convey Eucharistic resonances.

Comfort for the living, comfort for the dying and comfort for those who mourn.

In the Eucharist, we remember not just Christ’s passion and death, but also his Resurrection, and we look for his coming again.

Christ in his life points us to what it is to be truly human. In the grave, he proves he is truly human. He has died. He is dead. Yet, unlike Lazarus the beggar, he can bridge the gap between earth and heaven, even between hell and heaven. But, like Lazarus of Bethany, he too is raised from death not by human power but by the power of God.

‘But you know, death is not the worst thing that could happen to a Christian.’ We know this with confidence because of the death and resurrection of Christ. Death is not the end.

TS Eliot opens the third of his Four Quartets, East Coker, with the words:

In my beginning is my end.

But he concludes with these lines:

Love is most nearly itself
When here and now cease to matter.
Old men ought to be explorers
Here and now does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion
Through the dark cold and the empty desolation,
The wave cry, the wind cry, the vast waters
Of the petral and the porpoise. In my end is my beginning.

Let us give thanks to God for life, for death, and for the coming fulfilment of Christ’s promises, which is the hope of the Resurrection, our Easter faith.

‘Surely I am coming.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus (Revelation 22: 20).

The Raising of Lazarus by Duccio di Buoninsegna (ca 1260-1318), Kimbell Art Museum

John 11: 1-45 (NRSVA):

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ 8 The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ 9 Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ 11 After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ 12 The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ 23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ 24 Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ 25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ 27 She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ 37 But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ 40 Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

A modern icon of the Raising of Lazarus from the Dead

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: Violet (Lent, Year A).

The canticle Gloria may be omitted in Lent.

Traditionally in Anglicanism, the doxology or Gloria at the end of Canticles and Psalms is also omitted during Lent.

Penitential Kyries (Passiontide and Holy Week):

Lord God,
you sent your Son to reconcile us to yourself and to one another.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you heal the wounds of sin and division.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
through you we put to death the sins of the body – and live.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day:

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
Grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross,
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This Collect may be said after the Collect of the Day until Easter Eve

The Collect of the Word:

Life-giving God,
your Son came into the world
to free us all from sin and death:
breathe upon us with the power of your Spirit,
that we may be raised to new life in Christ,
and serve you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ’s blood; for he is our peace.
(Ephesians 2: 17)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who, for the redemption of the world,
humbled himself to death on the cross;
that being lifted up from the earth,
he might draw all people to himself:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of hope,
in this Eucharist we have tasted
the promise of your heavenly banquet
and the richness of eternal life.
May we who bear witness to the death of your Son,
also proclaim the glory of his resurrection,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing:

Christ draw you to himself
and grant that you find in his cross
a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven:

Come out, Lazar (Paul Spicer, the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge)

Suggested Hymns:

Ezekiel 37: 1-14:

293, Breathe on me, breath of God
613, Eternal light, shine in my heart
319, Father, of heaven, whose love profound
338, Jesus, stand among us
305, O Breath of life, come sweeping through us
306, O Spirit of the living God
308, Revive your Church, O Lord
310, Spirit of the living God

Psalm 130:

564, Deus meus adiuva me (O my God, in help draw near)
620, O Lord, hear my prayer
9, There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
627, What a friend we have in Jesus

Romans 8: 6-11:

294, Come down, O Love divine
319, Father, of heaven, whose love profound
74, First of the week and finest day
299, Holy Spirit, come, confirm us
338, Jesus, stand among us
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing

John 11: 1-45::

293, Breathe on me, breath of God
87, Christ is the world’s Light, he and none other
613, Eternal Light, shine in my heart
511, Father of mercy, God of consolation
569, Hark my soul, it is the Lord
420, ‘I am the Bread of Life’
226, It is a thing most wonderful
99, Jesus, the name high over all
671, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
392, Now is eternal life
513, O Christ, the healer, we have come
308, Revive your Church, O Lord
490, The Spirit lives to set us free
115, Thou art the Way: to thee alone

Lazarus is raised from the dead … a stained-glass window in the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Clontarf (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)


Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

‘The Lord … set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones’ (Ezekiel 37: 1) … the bones of the dead left behind in the charnal house beside the Basilica of the Panayia Pirgiotissa in the former Greek village of Levissi or Karmylassos, now the ghost town of Kayaköy in western Turkey (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)