Ez. 37:12-14; Ps. 130:1-8; Jn. 11:1-45
“I will open your graves…I will put my spirit in you that you may love…” In the mercy and fullness of redemption “whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” O death where is your sting! The sting of the serpent is lost in the power of the resurrection for the just. Who are the just? The just believe in him, receive the spirit, live in the spirit and are righteous. Faith is the first act of salvation to believe by our free will we humble ourselves to the mystery of faith. “Living” our faith is the fruit of believing.
Lazarus is raised from the dead “so that you may believe” in the power of Jesus, in the resurrection and in the “glory of God”. Lazarus however remains in the flesh subject to a mortal death. Jesus resurrection is the victory over death itself. Only the foolish see death as an end but our hope is in immortality. You shall know the just by their love for God is love and our love unites us to God in immortality. Jesus provides us a window into the immortality to come in four visible signs.
The first sign of immortality is an “impassability” in which there is no more death, suffering and disease. The mortality of this body is all that perishes but the soul and spirit are alive for eternity. “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mt. 22:32). The power of this impassability is seen in the transfiguration as Jesus in transfigured by the light of heaven seen next to Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah are the visible sign of life after a mortal death of the body.
The second sign of immortality is “sotility” meaning a freedom from the material world. The visible sign is Jesus appearance to the disciples through the doors after his resurrection. Physically present he asks his disciple Thomas to touch his wounds and believe. Even before his resurrection he already demonstrated his divinity and walked on water towards his disciples. This is also seen in documented cases where souls are permitted to appear after the death of the body to holy souls and ask for prayers, masses, and penance to end their purgatory.
The third sign of immortality is “agility” to move through space at the speed of thought for the soul obeys the will. The visible sign is Jesus appearance on the road to Emmaus, on the shores of the sea, and in the room where the disciples were. This was his freedom to be present wherever his will desired. The souls of the just receive this gift to be present to God and to us most especially at the celebration of the Mass. The Mass opens the gates of heaven for the sacrificial offering we celebrate for our salvation and the redemption of souls.
The fourth sign of immortality is “clarity” meaning free from imperfections by being in the light of love, mercy, truth and the beatific vision. The only death is the death to lies. The visible sign we share of this clarity is the Word of God as he gave to the disciples and becomes our reality when we believe and follow the word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The reality of the word is made present when we believe, receive the Spirit and become the temple of the Lord. We are called to be the visible sign of immortality. Do you believe this?
O death where is your sting! We can think of death as coming to destroy life but it is Christ who comes to save us from evil, sin, sickness and darkness. We can think of death as an ending to a life as we know it and this is a reality, for we cannot reenter this existence again; let us also think of the new beginning into the immortal promises of God, the beatific vision of love itself. We can think of death as losing a part of ourselves when a loved one passes on left with the memories and treasures in our hearts; let us also think of gaining an intercessor for us whose love remains at our side as a worker for Christ in heaven. We can think of saying “goodbye” with tears in our eyes as the last breath of our loved one nears or we approach our final breath; let us also think of the reunion in heaven welcoming the souls of the just into the light of love and immortality. We can think of a “going away”; let us also reflect on the welcoming home into heaven. Finally, we can think of death whispering “you must go now”; let us listen to the voice of God calling us “Child of mine, arise!”
This is our Easter we celebrate each year, each time mortal death arrives, each time a soul is saved in baptism we are a recreation into immortality. In fact, our own mortal body passes through a death throughout our years of life as our cells die away and new cells are created so that every five years we live in a new body. Have we not left behind the child for the adolescent, the adolescent for the young adult, the young adult for the middle-aged person, and finally arrived at the elderly stage? The gift of the spirit also takes our soul through a journey of faith when we die to the old attachments to sin and are recreated into the image of our creator in greater holiness.
We are called to perfection and we cannot live out our perfection in isolation. It is in unity and fellowship with the church we come into immortality. We do not save ourselves, Jesus saves! Jesus saves by following him, his word, and his church. This Lenten season is as time to conversion while mortal death surrounds us in this COVID-19 pandemic. We are being called to repentance and conversion as children of the faith. The world does not recognize him but the faithful recognize him and our trust is in Jesus. Let us continue to pray, fast, and be charitable. It is to the degree of charity that we gain our perfection for immortality. What we do now matters! We are called to holiness, an unconditional love, sacrificial love, and purposeful living in love. Do you believe this? Believe and be saved!
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