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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
On
the Resurrection of Lazarus
"The Last Great 'Sign' Worked by Jesus"
H.H. Benedict XVI
March 9, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our Lenten journey we have arrived at the 5th Sunday,
characterized by the Gospel that narrates the resurrection of
Lazarus (John 11:1-45). This is the last great “sign” worked by
Jesus, and after it the high priests will convene the Sanhedrin and
will decide to kill him; it is also decided that Lazarus himself
will be killed. Lazarus was the living proof of Christ’s divinity
and Christ is the Lord of life and death. In reality this Gospel
passage shows Jesus as true Man and true God.
In the first place the evangelist insists on his friendship with
Lazarus and the sisters Martha and Mary. He emphasizes that “Jesus
loved them very much” (John 11:5), and for this reason wants to work
the great prodigy. “Our friend Lazarus has died, but I am going to
awaken him” (John 11:11). This is how he spoke to the disciples,
expressing God’s view of physical death with the metaphor of sleep:
God indeed sees it as sleep from which one can awaken. Jesus shows
an absolute power in the face of this death: One sees it when he
gives life back to the young son of the widow of Nain (cf. Luke
7:11-17) and to the 12-year-old daughter (cf. Mark 5:35-43). Of the
young girl he says, “She is not dead but sleeping” (Mark 5:39),
provoking the derision of those present. But in truth this is
precisely what it is: The death of the body is a sleep from which
God can awaken one at any moment.
This lordship over death does not impede Jesus from experiencing
sincere compassion for the sorrow of parting. Seeing Mary and Martha
crying and, along with those who had come to console them, Jesus too
“is deeply moved and disturbed” and in the end “he wept” (John
11:33, 35). Jesus’ heart is divine-human: In him God and man have
perfectly met, without separation and without confusion, he is the
image, indeed, the incarnation of the God who is love, mercy,
paternal and maternal tenderness, of the God who is Life. This is
why he solemnly declares to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the
life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live; whoever
lives and believes in me, will never die.” And he adds: “Do you
believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
It is a question that Jesus addresses to each one of us; a question
that certainly overwhelms us, it overwhelms our ability to
understand, and it asks us to entrust ourselves to him, as he has
entrusted himself to the Father. Martha’s response is exemplary:
“Yes, O Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who
is coming into the world” (John 11:27). Yes, O Lord! We too believe,
despite our doubts and our darkness; we believe in you, because you
have the words of eternal life; we want to believe in you, who gives
us a trustworthy hope of life beyond life, of authentic and full
life in your kingdom of light and peace.
We entrust this prayer to Mary Most Holy. May her intercession
strengthen our faith and our hope in Jesus, especially in the
moments of great trial and difficulty?
[After the Angelus the Pope said the following in Italian:]
In these last days, violence and horror have again bloodied the Holy
Land, feeding a spiral of destruction and death that does not seem
to have an end. As I invite you to insistently implore the Almighty
Lord for the gift of peace for those regions, I desire to entrust to
his mercy the many innocent victims and to express solidarity with
the families and the wounded.
Moreover, I encourage the Israeli and Palestinian authorities in
their proposal to continue to build, through negotiation, a peaceful
and just future, and I ask all in the name of God to abandon the
tortuous ways of hatred and vendetta and to responsibly travel the
ways of dialogue and trust.
And this is also my wish for Iraq, while we are still concerned over
the fate of His Excellency Monsignore Rahho and of many Iraqis who
continue to suffer from a blind and absurd violence, certainly
contrary to the wishes of God.
Next Thursday, March 13, at 5:30 in the evening, I will preside at a
penitential liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica for the young people of
the Diocese of Rome. It will be a powerful moment of preparation for
the 23rd World Youth Day which will celebrate on Palm Sunday and
which will culminate in July with the great meeting in Sydney. Dear
young people of Rome, I invite all of you to this appointment with
the Mercy of God! To the priests and leaders I recommend that you
promote this participation of young people making the words of the
apostle Paul your own: “We are ambassadors of Christ … let
yourselves be reconciled with God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several
languages. In English, he said:]
My greetings to all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims,
especially to the members of the European Parents Association and to
the staff and students of Saint Patrick’s Evangelization School from
Soho, London. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus raised his
friend Lazarus from the dead. We also hear how Martha, in the midst
of her grief, was able to make her great profession of faith: "Yes,
Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is
coming into the world." As we approach the season of Our Lord’s
Passion, we pray that our own faith may be strengthened, so that we
too can place all our hope in him who is the resurrection and the
life. Upon all of you here today, and upon your families and loved
ones at home, I invoke God’s abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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