Jesus is Resurrection and Life: Finding Hope in Lent and Faith
Vatican City – Pope León addressed worshippers today, , focusing on the significance of silence and listening during the Lenten season. His remarks, delivered during the Angelus, centered on the deeper meaning of Jesus’s identity as revealed through scripture, particularly the resurrection of Lazarus.
The Pope’s message underscored the importance of moving beyond a superficial understanding of faith to a “real relationship” with the Lord, one characterized by acceptance of his word and adherence to his commandments. He emphasized that believing in Jesus means recognizing him as the embodiment of God’s love and resting one’s life in him, allowing his influence to flourish and bear fruit.
Drawing from the Gospel account of Lazarus, the Pope highlighted the distinction between a localized resurrection – the restoration of sight to a man born blind – and a complete resurrection, as exemplified by Lazarus’s return from death. He explained that while the blind man experienced a restoration of a specific function, Lazarus required a total revitalization of his being, demonstrating Jesus’s power over death itself.
“When we confess that Jesus is Lord,” the Pope stated, “we mean, among other things, that he has power over death, that he commands where death commands, that his lordship reaches that ultimate frontier of death.” He described Jesus as a “ransacker of tombs,” contrasting this with the traditional corporal work of mercy of burying the dead.
The Lenten journey, the Pope continued, is not merely an intellectual exercise but an invitation to a genuine relationship of faith. He encouraged listeners to embrace a form of prayer characterized by simplicity and trust, citing the example of Lazarus’s sisters, Martha and Mary, who simply informed Jesus of their friend’s illness. He suggested that often, a quiet trust is sufficient, and that individuals should allow God to determine the timing of responses to their prayers.
The Pope also reflected on the emotional response to death, acknowledging the inevitability of grief even for those who believe in life after death. He differentiated between a despairing cry, characteristic of those who see death as final, and the serene sorrow expressed by Jesus at Lazarus’s tomb – a sorrow that acknowledges the pain of separation while maintaining hope in the promise of resurrection.
He further explained that Jesus’s request to remove the stone from Lazarus’s tomb represents a challenge to the perceived separation between the living and the dead. For those who believe in the resurrected Christ, he said, all are alive, albeit in different forms. The barriers between worlds were broken at Easter, allowing passage from one realm to another without dying.
The Pope identified two resurrections alluded to in the Gospel: the physical resurrection of Lazarus and the spiritual awakening of Martha. He explained that, like Lazarus, individuals can be freed from various forms of “tombs” – physical, psychological, or spiritual. Yet, he emphasized that the most profound form of death comes from a lack of love, which he equated with a lack of faith, stating, “Whoever does not love has not known God.”
The message delivered today, according to the Pope, is that only love triumphs. He concluded by reminding the faithful that while they are not the resurrection and the life, they are called to live as though they have been resurrected, embodying the essence of the Lord’s message.
Elsewhere in Spain, preparations are underway for the final weekend of Lent in Seville, with a detailed schedule of processions and religious observances published by Diario de Sevilla. This follows reports that, in a world increasingly filled with empty rhetoric, the scriptures offer sustenance and healing, as stated by Pope León, according to The Boston Pilot.