My Dear Parish,

We are moving towards the high holy days! Next week is already Holy Week, when we process into church with palms cheering, “Hosanna to the Son of David” and then in the same liturgy shouting, “Give us Barabbas!” That stark turn makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Surely, a moment to realize how fragile our faith can at times be. If you have any old palm, bring it next week, when you pick up your new palm. The old palm will become part of the sacred fire that begins our Easter Vigil.

This season as we walk through Lent, we are invited to enter into a series of encounters. Jesus meets the woman at the well, the man born blind, and now Martha & Mary who have lost a brother, Lazarus. In each instance, he steps into the moment with them and walks with them. There is a meeting with our Lord, and healing. Healing brought through presence. And while during this season, we are highlighting our need for healing and the reparation of the entire world, we also might ask ourselves how we can be a source of healing for others. One of the beautiful aspects of the account at Bethany is how many friends have journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethany - only about two miles - to spend time grieving with and comforting the sisters. Who needs your healing presence this Spring? Maybe it is time to reach out and connect with someone. 

Another detail from this beautiful account (see: Jn:11) is the way that Jesus both assures his followers that “the illness is for the glory of God” (Jn 11:4) but at the same time waits two days before returning to Bethany. Jesus does not respond immediately but waits. Oftentimes with our wounds and needs, God does not seem to respond right away but waits. And this can be agonizing for us! God’s designs are not our own designs; still, this gives us more time to trust in the promise that all things (except sin) are unfolding according to a greater plan that is at work. One question we might pose: how well do I trust in God’s plan and timing?

If we jump ahead to the moment that Jesus calls forth Lazarus from the tomb, having already been dead for four days, we hear another beautiful statement: “Untie him and let him go!” (Jn 11:44). He has been bound in the burial clothes, the same clothes that will be wrapped around Jesus in just two weeks. This freedom and life our Lord offers Lazarus speeds on his own death: “so from that day on they planned to kill him,” (Jn 11:53). There is freedom in Christ’s healing: the one who is bound now walks free. But also present is the theme of exchange: Jesus will be the next one to suffer, the sinless one making reparation for all the sinners of this world.

Each Lent we are invited to walk with the Lord through the desert, to enter into some suffering and penance, to pray more and even to give generously as a sign of our deeper love, but at the core of that journey is a way in Christ to greater freedom. Truly the more we belong to Christ and follow ever more closely in his ways, even up to Calvary, the more truly free and truly human we become. I pray these last two weeks of Lent prove deeply fruitful for you and all those you love!

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Joel