Lazarus come out!  That was this Sunday’s call from Jesus.  As we approach Holy Week our scriptures have us reflect more on death and God’s power over death.  We saw it on Sunday’s gospel in the death of Lazarus and Jesus announcing, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live and everyone who believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  That is the question we need to answer for ourselves in facing death.  Fear of death is a powerful force for the evil one to use on us. 

This week King Nebuchadnezzar in his “utter rage”   has Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bound and thrown into the furnace but four appear to be walking in the fire, unfazed by it, and the “fourth looks like the son of God”.  How is it that Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the fourth as the “son of God” but the Jews don’t recognize the son of God before them fulfilling the scriptures?  The great sign is victory over death.  Soon we will be celebrating the passion of the Lord and Jesus victory over death.  “Do you believe this?”  Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Martha, and Mary believed. 

The fear of death is powerful among the earthly living?  Why, a lack of faith?  Perhaps one reason is we are taught the definition of death is “the end of life…a permanent and irreversible cessation of all vital functions” in Webster’s Dictionary.  This is a contradiction to God’s spirit in us for everlasting life.  If this humanity was the true “end of life” then Jesus coming is a myth for the weak and vulnerable and his miracles an illusion. 

Science will attest that in human development all our cell structure dies and is renewed about every five years; thus an infant dies to itself to become a child, and a child dies to become a teen…in more ways than one…and a teen passes on to become an adult and the adult an elderly person with the same spirit and soul given to the infant.  We are not in the custom of saying each dies to itself into the next stage of life, we say we grow and develop.  We also grow and develop into the divine life and image of our creator.  Jesus calls us to die to oneself and be transformed into his image. 

The final transformation is to leave this body for a spiritual state and then the final coming when we will have an incorruptible body reunited to our soul.  Two more stages to grow into.  Recall the transfiguration of Jesus when he appears with Moses and Elijah, they are all alive. 

So what is death?  Sin is death and death is a permanent and irreversible separation from God.  We fear mortal death and don’t fear sin to the pleasure of the evil one who desires our permanent and irreversible separation from God.  Human decay is the stench of sin.  Death where is your sting?  It is in sin.  Jesus victory over death is not a mortal victory over the body, it is the victory over sin for our humanity that we may believe. 

Catechism has clear teaching on death.  In #1105 we read, we must “be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  In that ‘departure’ which is death the soul is separated from the body.  It will be reunited with the body on the day of the resurrection of the dead.  #1006 say, “Death is in fact ‘the wages of sin.”  #1007 says, “Death is the end of earthly life.”  #1008 says, “Death is a consequence of sin.”   And, #1009 says, “Death is transformed by Christ.” 

It also reminds us to die in a state of Christ’s grace is to participate in the Lord’s death so we can also share his Resurrection (#1006).  This participation we will be celebrating liturgically this coming Holy Week but we live it daily.  Thus as scripture says, “not all will die” but all share Christ’s death.  Let us remain among the living for all eternity.  Prepare to live on!