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5th SUNDAY IN
LENT
The mighty [ Breath-Ruach-Spirit ] breathes new life into
communities and individuals in this week’s lessons. God says in
Ezekiel 37:5: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall
live.” Paul writes, “. . . the Spirit is life because of
righteousness” (Romans 7:10), and in the gospel lesson, Jesus
cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” And astonishingly, “the dead
man came out” (John 11:43-44). Hope stands tall right beside
hopeless situations and scenarios as the Hebrew and Christian
Scriptures remind us that the Spirit is the “Lord and Giver of
Life.” In such a contrast of life and death and hope and
hopelessness, the texts for this Sunday prepare us for Holy Week by
proclaiming the Spirit’s power and Jesus’ life as the life and
the resurrection.
Psalm 130—a call to hope in God's
redemptive love
The psalmist invites listeners to hope
and trust in God’s redemptive power and love. Our human predicament
too often petitions God “from the depths,” as the psalmist owns, from
the dark, watery abyss of iniquities. Though before God our shortfalls
and shortcomings would fill a lake God’s nature is rather to forgive
than drown us. So the psalmist invites all to wait, watch for, and
hope for God to come and finally and totally redeem us from all
iniquities (130:7-8).
Ezekiel 37:1-14-To the Community: The Spirit Gives Life
This is arguably the best-known and remembered passage in
Ezekiel. The vision-story is poignant in its stark portrayal of
hopelessness: the valley of dry bones. It is well-written
rhetorically. The conversation between God and Ezekiel (vs. 1-10)
opens with a vision of condition and response. To the valley of
bones God commands words of faith and life. By verse 10 “breath
came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast
multitude.” Verses 12-14 offer the interpretation of the vision:
God is going to bring these folks back to the land of Israel.
Romans 8:6-11-To the Individual: The Spirit Gives Life
Most Bible translations would entitle this passage something
like, “Life in the Spirit,” for here Paul works out his
understanding of the Spirit in the life of the Christian
individual. Following a thumbnail summary of the kergyma, Paul
makes a theological statement that the spirit and flesh are at war
within human beings. Christians, following the Spirit can enjoy
life while those who cave in and pander to the desires of the
lower nature experience alienation and hostility with God. Again,
the Spirit is portrayed as the animating quality in the
Godhead-that which breathes and brings life to our mortal lives.
Though dying, the animating Spirit involved in Jesus’
resurrection will also raise us up.
John 11:1-45-To a Corpse: The Spirit Gives Life
This story would be excellent to speak about on Easter. The
story of Lazarus is primarily narrative, uses wordplays, is rich
in allusions, functions on multiple levels, and parallels Christ,
if not our end and beginning. This story of course, looks ahead to
Jesus’ own death and resurrection. Jesus speaks of Lazarus’
raising as leading to the glorification of the Son of God (11:4).
It precipitates and serves as the catalyst that leads to Jesus’
death. So read this story with the naiveté of one who is hearing
it for the first time; let John tell this story as he points us to
what is to come-to Jerusalem, Gethsemane, the cross at Golgotha,
and the empty tomb of Easter.
