JESUS IS THE LORD OF LIFE
(Eze 37: 12-14, Ps 130, Romans 8:8-11, Jn 11:1-45)
Friends in Christ, the readings of today present to us Jesus as the Lord of life in this world. It means that in Jesus there is life. He is the one who is able to bring life into all dead and hopeless situations in our lives. It is Jesus who is capable of resurrecting all lifeless situations in our lives. Hence, there is the need to trust him and put all our hope in him. The situation that you have given up, Jesus has the power to turn things around for your good.
The first reading is a message of hope to the Israelites and by extension us. God promised restoration and deliverance to his people. The Israelites at a point in exile in Babylon, gave up the hope of returning to their homeland. They felt it was no more possible. But God spoke through his prophet Ezekiel to indicate to them that, he has not abandoned them. He used the vision of the dry bones to carry this message to them. Their lives were just like the dry bones which had no life in them.These bones were found in a valley, in other words in graves.Their situation was indeed a hopeless one that needed a mighty hand to perform a miracle. This can be termed as dead or lifeless situations. God promised to resurrect the dead situations in their lives. He called on them to be hopeful and trust him as their redeemer. He did it for them in Egypt and he will do it once more. He will open their graves and raise them from their graves. He is a powerful God who is able to turn around all situations for our good just like the Israelites.
The gospel reading presents to us the story of Lazarus who was raised to life. This was a man who was buried for four days. By that time decomposition has started, putting an end to all hopes of bringing him back to life. But this was the moment Jesus proved himself as the Lord of life. The hope of his sisters and all loved ones was lost. They all thought he was gone forever. Again, Jesus told his disciples that the death of Lazarus was according to the purpose of God, so that his glory will be manifested before men. This is not different from the case of the blind man in last week’s gospel reading. Who was born blind so that he would be healed by Jesus to demonstrate the power of God.
The situation of the Israelites and that of Lazarus points to one reality. The fact that they found themselves in the most hopeless situations in life. To be in your grave implies there is no possible sign of coming back to life. For Lazarus, he was there for four good days. Meaning he has started decomposing. Humanly speaking, there was nothing that anybody can do to change their situations. These were lifeless situations and they had to give up.
Beloved in Christ, Jesus says I should tell you ‘never give up’. Even though you may find yourself in dead situations in your life, he is about to put life in them. He is going to resurrect all the dead situations in your life. Don’t allow human beings to discourage you. Remember some people by nature are very pessimistic in life. These are people who never think positive about situations in life. Don’t let them fool you.When they make negative comments, let them know your God is able to change your story. Even if everybody gives up on you, never give up. Still hold on unto your faith in Jesus Christ.
Sometimes the prolongation of the situation makes us to easily give up in life. The spirit of waiting is a difficulty moment for most of us Christians. We easily give up when we pray for a long time and it seems that the Lord is not answering our prayers. But we need to learn from the man who was sick for thirty- eight good years (Jn 5: 1-16). He had definitely suffered a lot in his life because of his condition. Hehad become a mockery in society. Everybody had given up on him, and that might include his family. Because he told Jesus he had no one to take care of him. They saw his condition to be a dead one without any hope. But he still waited for his moment of deliverance. He never gave up. Some of us out of frustrations end up resorting to other sources of powers such as Mallams, shrines, and fake pastors. But they end up extorting our monies and our properties. Some of us especially our women end up selling all their properties to get solutions to their hopeless situations. Those who cannot bear it anymore end up committing suicide. But with Jesus on our side we can survive these storms in our lives. There would be light at the end of the tunnel. It doesn’t matter how long you have endured these sufferings in life. God is about to step into your situation and change your story. Continue to persevere in the most difficult situations in your life. Tell yourself I will never give up. I know some of us our conditions have compelled us to be crying always. My brother or sister, stop crying and wait on the Lord.
Again, let us know that it is only Jesus who can deliver us from these situations completely. The others can offer us some help but they will not last. Some of us admit to this situation but we do not have the courage to come to Jesus. Remember, nothing is impossible for Jesus. Come to Jesus the source of life, the living water and you will never be disappointed.
God allowed Lazarus to die for his glory to manifest, as Jesus told his disciples. Jesus is telling us today that, God allows certain things to happen in our lives for his own reasons. There are purposes for the misfortunes which happens in our lives. It is up to us to seek the face of God to understand the whys. Sometimes because we are blinded by our human understandings, we fail to have deeper meanings of these bad omens. What you are going through my brother or sister, there is a reason for God allowing it into your life. Perseverance will help you to triumph at the end.
God never abandons his people who continue to trust him. Mostly, we rather feel that he is not with us anymore. I want you to know that your God is still with you in your situation. It is a matter of time, he will save you from the unbearable condition. Your time will come, just have patience and wait on him. Jesus is with you in the boat of life, don’t be despair. He will resurrect all the dead situations in your life. Give this hope to someone today. May Jesus who is the resurrection and life touch you and change your story. AMEN.
Have a blessed Sunday and a favoured week ahead!
REV.FR. Akakpo Matthew
