Please read this passage before reading the homily.
My sisters and brothers,
This is the third Sunday Gospel that we use to prepare candidates for baptism. We have met the woman at the well and the living water Jesus offered her. We have encountered the man born blind who was healed in living water of a mikveh. Today we have the story of Lazarus who is raised from the dead.
In the story of Lazarus, we can see Jesus as the resurrection and the life. For those who believe, such as Martha and Mary, we have a great treat, life eternal. The end for us is not death, but life, a life, surprisingly without end.
Lazarus, however, is not resurrected. More properly, he is resuscitated, brought back to life. He had to go through physical death again. His return to life, however, becomes a symbol of our resurrection with Christ.
In our encounter with these three readings, we can see the understanding of Jesus change. To the woman, Jesus was a Jewish stranger who askes for a drink of water. Then he became the Messiah, the Christ who was to come.
To the man born blind, Jesus was “a man called Jesus”, who became a prophet and, then, the “Son of Man” whom he adored.
To Lazarus and his two sisters, Jesus became the resurrection and the life. To those who heard about this, Jesus became somebody in whom they believed.
Our candidates for baptism have come to a point in their lives when they have a faith strong enough for baptism. Just as we have had faith enough for baptism, yet have grown in the faith, our candidates for baptism will have to continue to grow in faith after baptism.
We have entered a turning point in Lent and are preparing to celebrate in a graphic way the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus in such a way as to lead us to renew our baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil in two weeks.