5th Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Ezekiel 37:12-14 | Psalm 129(130) | John 11:1-45
Today’s scripture is all about rising from the dead, an appropriate thing to look forward to as we approach both Holy Week and the start of Lenten Penitential Services.
The Lord longs to “open our graves” (Ezekiel 37:12), and lead us back to the “soil of Israel”, the land of righteousness and love. He calls us to meet up halfway, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Each time I go for monthly confession before mass, I feel the relief of a sinful load I never realized I was carrying. It still troubles me that, after so many iterations, I still don’t feel that burden in my daily life. It’s only when I come to reconcile myself with Christ, and prepare myself by examining all that has happened during the weeks before, that I truly realize just how often I’ve gone astray, and how much of a price I’d unwittingly paid, through unnecessary conflict with others, the fear of being found out, and an uneasy rest in the night.
The first few times were somewhat scary, but once I got used to being honest with myself about my own failings, it became much easier to admit to Jesus, in the person of a priest, that I had transgressed and longed for healing absolution.
As we prepare ourselves to walk with Jesus and relive His glorious Passion, let us cast off all our yokes of sinfulness, refresh our spirits with the cleansing waters that flow from the right side of the Temple that is the Lamb of God, and wander back onto His Holy Way.
Amen.