In the first reading, the prophet Book of Ezekiel proclaims God’s promise: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” This is not only about physical death. God speaks to every heart that feels buried under sin, despair, guilt, or suffering. Even when life seems like a closed tomb, God still has the power to restore life.
Paul the Apostle in his letter to the Epistle to the Romans reminds us that those who live according to the Spirit belong to Christ. When we allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us through prayer, repentance, and charity, our lives are gradually transformed.
In the Gospel according to John the Apostle, we encounter the moving story of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus arrives at the tomb of Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Mary of Bethany and Martha of Bethany. Seeing their grief, the Gospel tells us that Jesus wept. This shows the tender and compassionate heart of Christ—He truly shares in our pain.
Then Jesus cries out: “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man comes out, still bound with burial cloths. Jesus commands the people: “Untie him, and let him go.”
Dear brothers and sisters, many of us are like Lazarus. We may be alive physically, yet bound by fear, sin, resentment, addiction, or discouragement. These are the grave clothes that imprison our souls. But the good news of Lent is this: Jesus calls each of us out of the tomb.
A sincere Lenten observance—through prayer, fasting, repentance, forgiveness, and acts of charity—allows Christ to untie the knots that bind our hearts. When we forgive someone who hurt us, when we return to confession, when we help the suffering, we begin to experience the freedom Jesus promises.
As we prepare for Easter, Christ is standing before the tombs of our lives today. He calls each of us by name: “Come out!”
Let us allow Him to remove whatever binds us so that we may walk in the new life, freedom, and joy that come from God.
Amen.
