![]() ![]() Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Second Reading, from Romans 8:8-11, continues the theme of resurrection from the dead. Though the soul knows of his iniquities, nonetheless he hopes in God’s abundant mercy and awaits the resurrection: “more than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD.”ģ. The Psalm is thus understood as the cry of the penitent soul from Sheol. “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!” What depth is deeper than that of death? God’s salvation reaches even the realm of the dead, the biblical Sheol, the lowest level of the cosmos in biblical cosmology. R/ With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. R/ (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. The Psalm, the famous Psalm 130 (De Profundis), dovetails with the theme of resurrection: ![]() The basis of Christian hope is in the resurrection from the dead, because in this life none of us receives the fullness of all the good that God has promised us in Christ.Ģ. So your faith is not in vain!” God is able to do the unthinkable in able to be faithful to his word. The point of Ezekiel’s vision is this: “If he has to, O Israelites, God will drag you out of your graves in order to fulfill his covenant promises to you. 637-572 BC), many Israelites were nearing death in exile and realizing that they would never see the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises personally. The issue has to do with God’s promises to Israel. However, the ancient manuscripts of Ezekiel were circulated without the notes in the RSVCE2 or NAB, etc., and the ancient readers tended to assume that, since the text explicitly describes resurrection from the dead, it was about the resurrection of the dead. It is true that it pertains to the national hopes of Israel. Now, most study bibles will have notes in the margin or the bottom of the page informing the reader that this passage from Ezekiel 37 has nothing to do with resurrection from the dead, but only pertains to the restoration of the national hopes of Israel. The sign of Lazarus’ resurrection points to the divinity of Christ. Thus, when Jesus opens Lazarus’ grave and causes him to rise, we know that Jesus is “the LORD,” that is, YHWH, the God of Israel. “You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!” Ezek 37:12 However, it does preserve the most important verse: I only wish the Lectionary included the entire story. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. I will put my spirit in you that you may live, When I open your graves and have you rise from them, ![]() Afterward, God explains the meaning of the vision:Īnd bring you back to the land of Israel. This is the famous vision of the Dry Bones, after which an entire dead army of skeletons is resurrected before Ezekiel’s eyes. The First Reading is an excellent choice: Ezekiel 37. The Gospel is building toward the seventh and final sign, the Resurrection of Christ. The Healing of the Man Born Blind (last Sunday’s reading) was pretty impressive, but raising Lazarus is going to top it. The signs seem to escalate as the Gospel progresses. The Raising of Lazarus is the sixth of the seven “signs” of the Gospel of John: The Water to Wine (John 2), the Healing of the Official’s Son (John 4), the Healing of the Paralytic at Bethesda (John 5), the Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6), The Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9), the Raising of Lazarus (John 11), and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus (John 19-20). This is quite evident in this weekend’s Gospel reading, in which we get a very lengthy description of all the events surrounding the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Although John tells us of only a few miracles, he describes them in much greater depth than the other gospel writers do. Unlike the other Gospels, John recounts only a limited number of miracles of Jesus, which he designates as “signs,” a rare term in the other Gospels. ![]()
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