LENT AS A MOMENT OF COMING BACK TO LIFE

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

A man once shared how he lost all motivation after a series of setbacks and failures. He said that he was physically alive, but inwardly, he felt buried - no joy, no direction, no hope. One day, a friend said to him, “You are not dead, you are just buried under too many things.” That statement changed him. Slowly, he began to rise again. In many ways, this is the experience the Fifth Sunday of Lent places before us: the call to come back to life.

Since the beginning of Lent, our Lenten journey has been unfolding step by step. On the First Sunday, we entered the desert, where we confronted temptation and learned dependence on God. On the Second Sunday, we climbed the mountain, where we encountered God’s glory and were invited to transformation. On the Third Sunday, we stood at the well, recognizing our deep thirst and allowing Christ to satisfy it. On the Fourth Sunday, we moved into the light, where Christ opened our eyes and led us from blindness to sight. Today, the journey reaches a decisive point; we find ourselves at the tomb - the place of death, but also the place where God reveals His power to restore life.

In the Gospel reading, we encounter Lazarus, who has been in the tomb for four days. Everything about the situation speaks of finality - loss, decay, hopelessness. Yet Jesus arrives and declares one of the most powerful truths in Scripture: “I am the resurrection and the life.” He does not merely promise life; He is life.

Notice something striking: before calling Lazarus out, Jesus asks that the stone be removed. The people hesitate - there is fear, there is the stench of death. But Jesus insists. Then He cries out: “Lazarus, come out!” And the man who was dead walks out. This is not just a story about Lazarus; it is a story about us. There are areas in our lives that feel like tombs - habits we cannot break, addictions we struggle with, sins we have grown used to, setbacks and disappointments that have buried our hope, wounds that have made parts of us lifeless. Lent brings us face to face with these tombs, not to condemn us, but to call us out of them.

The first reading from the Book of Ezekiel resounds this promise: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” God does not only improve what is weak; He raises what seems dead. And the second reading from the Letter to the Romans reminds us that the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is already at work within us, ready to give us new life. The Spirit is presented as the giver of life, even in situations marked by death.

But there is a process. First, the stone must be rolled away. What is that stone for you? Pride? Fear? Unforgiveness? Resistance to change? Then comes the call of Christ - personal, direct, and powerful. And finally, the community is told: “Untie him and let him go.” New life is not meant to remain bound; it must be lived out in freedom.

Dear friend, Lent is not just about giving things up; it is about coming back to life. It is about hearing Christ call your name and stepping out of whatever has held you captive. As we approach Easter, the question is no longer whether Christ can raise the dead, yes, He can. The question is: Are you willing to come out from the different tombs you have found yourself in? May the same Spirit who raised Christ and Lazarus from the dead raise up all that is dead in us. Amen.