But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

It is Passion Sunday. Today we enter into the Passiontide, the two weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. On this Passion Sunday the Church’s readings remind us of several important things.

First and foremost, we are reminded of the resurrection. Jesus raises His friend Lazarus. This is the third time, prior to His own death, that Jesus has exhibited His power – and by exhibiting His power over life and death confirmed the fact that He is God’s son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. No one who is not God has power over life and death.

In Luke 8 we read of Jarius’ daughter:

And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
And all were weeping and bewailing her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.”
And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat.
And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

In Luke 7 we read of the widow of Na’in:

Soon afterward he went to a city called Na’in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her.
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”
And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Today we read of Lazarus:

[Jesus] cried out in a loud voice,
—Lazarus, come out!—
The dead man came out

Just before Jesus raises Lazarus He told His disciples that He will lay down His life, and that He has the power to take it up again:

—For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.”

So Jesus has made His point. He is God. God who has power over life and death.

Regardless of the miracles, regardless of our church attendance, this is a good lesson for us. We may say Jesus, Jesus. We may say He is the Christ. Yet we may fail to recognize the simple fact – He is God.

Brothers and sisters,

Secondarily the Church reminds us that God’s appearance, God’s revelation, is one half of the equation. The other half of that equation is our response. Revelation – response. Our response must be one of faith.

In our first reading we hear God state that His actions will elicit a response from us.

O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.

We who sit here have made that response. We have come to the realization that God came to dwell among us. His spirit is in us and He has settled us in our land, our land is the Church. Our response to what God has revealed, externally, and in our hearts, is that we fully recognize Him as the Lord.

Both Martha and Mary, in the midst of their grief, express their faith in Jesus – as Lord of life, with power, even over death.

Jesus told her,
—I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?—
[Martha] said to him, —Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.——¨

My friends,

Jesus has shown Himself – God among us, Emmanuel. Jesus has shown that He has power over death. In two weeks we will commemorate the fact that Jesus – who died, sacrificed upon the cross – will take up His life again, opening the gates of heaven to us. He has shown us the promise of heaven – life eternal – what life will be in perfection.

As we walk through this two week period of reflection, increased fasting and prayer, and time in silent reflection before the wood of the cross and the the tomb, let us remember what God has done. Let us remember that God touched our lives. That He shared in all we experience, except sin. Let us remember that we are called to respond to Him in faith.

Therefore, let us recommit to a life lived as the people in whom Christ dwells, that we are in the spirit, as long as the Spirit of God dwells in us. Jesus Christ lives in us. God is with us.

Amen.